💥 🎈 Rising Together: Virgil Ortiz Collaborates on Hot-Air Balloon for Heritage Hotels’ Anniversary. Sage Vogel for Pasatiempo. LET’S GO HERITAGE HOTELS! Thank you Sage & Pasatiempo! At sunrise in Albuquerque beginning on Saturday, October 4, the sky will be transformed into a floating gallery: hot air balloons of every shape and color drifting upward, carrying with them the gaze of thousands of spectators gathered below. Each of those vessels carries with it an artist’s vision, an element spectators don’t always think about as they watch the International Balloon Fiesta’s floating flock each fall. And they don’t always think about the work and time — and collaboration — that goes into each balloon. One such artist is a new one to the ballooning realm: Virgil Ortiz (Cochiti Pueblo), who collaborated with Heritage Hotels and Resorts on the creation of a new balloon, which folks might get a glimpse of at this year’s Balloon Fiesta but most likely will have to wait to see at the 2026 ...