Issuu

THE TAOS NEWS

RAICES T radiciones 2018

TRADICIONES Our identity, our roots

C O N T E N T S

ON THE ROAD TO TAOS

‘New Women’ find a new purpose in life along the Río Grande BY CINDY BROWN

ROADSIDE ATTRACTIONS

Fruit stands hang on BY STANLEY CRAWFORD

TAKING A DAY ON OLD STATE RD 3

Some drive thoughts, written down BY CODY HOOKS

BREAD BASKET OF EL NORTE

The history of Taos’ subsistence farming BY F.R. BOB ROMERO

¿PARADISE FOUND?

The hippies’ search for utopia in Taos County BY DAVID LERNER

FIGHTING MORADA SUPPRESSION

Penitentes were a ‘cult’ to the Catholic Church, a brotherhood to Taoseños BY LARRY TORRES

Everyone comes from somewhere.

Although the cultures we were raised in may share similarities, no two are identical. But the raíces (roots) planted for us by our ancestors, immediate family and the role models who came before us, laid a foundation — a system of learning and rules of nurturing. From our raíces rise dance, music, art, food, architecture, clothing and language. In Northern New Mexico, family is upfront. Taos’ mixture of roots reside in the hearts and souls of its striking, resourceful, loyal people. Our roots planted before us and the ones we leave behind are our identity, for better or worse. While some communities in other parts of the country, and world, seem to be in serious need of digging up their roots and replanting them in more fertile, stable soil, Taos’ raíces are as strong and blended as ever. Scott Gerdes

S T A F F

special sections editor SPECIAL SECTIONS EDITOR SCOTT GERDES

OWNER ROBIN MARTIN

CREATIVE DIRECTOR KARIN EBERHARDT

PUBLISHER CHRIS BAKER

ADVERTISING DIRECTOR CHRIS WOOD

MANAGING EDITOR STACI MATLOCK

PRODUCTION MANAGER WILLARD AVERY II

COPY EDITOR MARY BETH LIBBEY PHOTOGRAPHER MORGAN TIMMS STAFF REPORTER CODY HOOKS CONTRIBUTING WRITERS CINDY BROWN, STANLEY CRAWFORD, DAVID LERNER, F.R. BOB ROMERO, LARRY TORRES

“A concerted effort to preserve our heritage is a vital link to our cultural, educational, aesthetic, inspirational, and economic legacies - all of the things that quite literally make us who we are.” – S. Berry

Questa Mine thanks the generations of families in Northern New Mexico and Southern Colorado who have been a part of the mining heritage for nearly a century.

tradiciones /raices 2018

On the road to Taos

‘New Women’ find a new purpose in life along the Río Grande by cindy brown ‘Bucking the barrel,’ cowboy sports at San Gabriel Ranch.

CONTINUES ON PAGE 4

Courtesy Marie Markesteyn/photo from Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railway

Feel Good

ABOUT YOUR ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT

OS’ ONLY A T

Fair Trade Beaded Club Bags From Guatemala For That Special Evening.

• 100% SOLAR ELECTRIC POWERED • ALL WASTE OIL REPURPOSED FOR HEATING • ALL COMPOSTABLE MATERIALS RECYCLED • ALL METAL RECYCLED

Best of Taos 17 Years!

216B Paseo del Pueblo Norte (Across from Kit Carson Park)

575-758-1256 taosmoxie.com

tradiciones /raices 2018

New Mexico’s only solar powered, 100% Green Garage

1314 PASEO DEL PUEBLO SUR 758-1658

It wasn't only East Coast men who wanted a taste of the cowboy life. Courtesy Marie Markesteyn An Edward Kemp photograph of cowboys shooting craps at San Gabriel Ranch owned and operated by Carol Stanley and Roy Pfaffle (circa 1920-1930). Drinking and gambling got the best of many a cowboy, including Pfaffle. Courtesy of the Palace of the Governors Photo Archives (NMHM/DCA), Negative Number LS.1899

CONTINUES FROM PAGE 3

ravelers wishing to reach Taos from Santa Fe in the 1920s had two primary choices: either catch the Chili Line (Santa Fe branch) narrow gauge railroad to Tres Piedras and then come to Taos by stagecoach or travel up the road along the Río Grande by horse, wagon or car. The road followed the footsteps of Native peoples and what became the Spanish route of El Camino Real de Tierra Adentro from Mexico City. In the 1920s, it was described as a “rutted dirt road that meandered for 30 miles up the Río Grande Valley, past buttes streaked with white bones of creatures that antedated the modern traveler by many millions of years,” in an essay by Taos painter Gustave Baumann and his wife Jane. The road became a corridor especially for the “New Woman,” the adventurous female from the East who discovered the Southwest as a place to be free and true to herself. Socialite and art patron Mabel Dodge Luhan took this road in 1917 when she came to Taos for the first time. Many other women — writers, painters, businesswomen and patrons of the arts — followed in her footsteps to create new lives, setting down roots here and adding their stories to those of the Native and Spanish peoples who came before them.

‘They do as they please, they say what they think, and nobody cares, for everyone is busy doing likewise.’ - MABEL DODGE LUHAN in ’Ladies of the Canyon: A League of Extraordinary Women and Their Adventures in the American Southwest,’ by Lesley Poling-Kempes

Women of high society with financial means didn’t need marriage to survive. Unconventional marriages for these women were not uncommon, such as the one of Mabel Dodge to Tony Luhan from Taos Pueblo and that of East Coast pianist Carol Stanley to a younger cowboy, Roy Pfaffle. Because traveling from Santa Fe to Taos during this time required hours of bumping over the rough dirt road, many travelers stopped for lunch or longer at ranches along the way that were owned and operated by “New Women.”

tradiciones /raices 2018

San Gabriel Ranch and Carol Stanley “San Gabriel Ranch is in the historic settlement of Plaza del Alcalde, half way between Santa Fe and Taos, New Mexico and in the center of America’s most famous 50-mile square — altitude 5,800 feet. San Gabriel Ranch is the logical starting point for every variety of trip in the Santa Fe–Taos region.” — Brochure advertising San Gabriel Ranch in Alcalde, New Mexico near Old Santa Fe

n “Ladies of the Southwest,” Poling-Kempes describes the arrival of women from the East who were drawn to experience the freedom and cultures of the Southwest. One of these women, Carol Stanley, was a concert pianist from Nahant island in Massachusetts. She first came to the Southwest in 1915 at the suggestion of friends and family, after a scandalous affair with a violinist. Stanley traveled across the U.S. by train to Evergreen, Colorado and then south to Durango. The trip continued cross-country to reach Kayenta, Arizona. By 1916, she had come to Santa Fe and visited a rustic guest ranch on the Pajarito Plateau. During this time, she met Roy Pfaffle, a former forest ranger who owned a trail riding operation. By October, the two had married. The following January, they opened their outfitting business at the Oñate Hotel in Española. They ran the Ramon Vigil Ranch on the Pajarito Plateau and helped establish Bishop’s Lodge in Santa Fe. Wanting to have a ranch of their own, they purchased 34,000 acres on the eastern bank of the Río Grande in 1920, a place that they named San Gabriel Ranch.

Guided adventures The ranch was famous for its excursions to nearby San Juan Pueblo (Ohkay Owingeh) to take in the ceremonies and purchase pottery and weaving. Longer trips by horse went to Taos, Mesa Verde in Colorado, and other points in New Mexico, southern Utah and Arizona. During its peak, the ranch attracted well-to-do families from the East who came to experience the Southwest dude ranch for their summer vacations. CONTINUES ON PAGE 6

In the 1920s, San Gabriel was a magnet to wealthy families who vacationed in the Southwest for the dude-ranch experience. Courtesy Marie Markesteyn

‘Travelers wishing to reach Taos from Santa Fe in the 1920s had two primary choices: either catch the Chili Line (Santa Fe branch) narrow gauge railroad to Tres Piedras and then come to Taos by stagecoach or travel up the road along the Río Grande by horse, wagon or car.’ Courtesy Marie Markesteyn, Historic Los Luceros

LEADING THE WAY

Local Rising Leaders at Kit Carson Electric Cooperative LEFT TO RIGHT:

BRENDA CORDOVA, INTERNET DIVISION ASSISTANT MANAGER

JOHN ORTEGA, ASSISTANT SAFETY COORDINATOR

MICHAEL SANTISTEVAN, PUBLIC RELATIONS COORDINATOR

LAURA VALERIO, TECHNICAL SUPPORT KIT CARSON INTERNET

MARGARET ROMERO, ASSISTANT MANAGER KIT CARSON PROPANE

THE LEADERSHIP JOURNEY The above five employees embarked on a year long strategic program for rising leaders. It is designed to activate organizational excellence in the New Mexico workforce, strengthen professional integrity, build outstanding customer service skills, and assist in successfully growing an organization. We salute their—and all of our employees—accomplishments!

tradiciones /raices 2018

CONTINUES FROM PAGE 5

Famous visitors included author Willa Cather and her traveling companion Edith Lewis who came in 1925, before continuing on to Taos. “In late June, Tony and Mabel Dodge Luhan drove the 40 miles from Taos to Alcalde to retrieve Cather and Lewis who spent the next two weeks at Los Gallos with Mabel and her other illustrious houseguests, including D.H. and Frieda Lawrence,” writes Poling-Kempes in “Ladies of the Canyon.”

Edward Kemp image “Woman on horse with Pueblo man, San Gabriel Ranch, Alcalde, New Mexico,” (1923). The ranch, owned by Carol Stanley and Roy Pfaffle, was a popular stopover for automobile travelers on the road between Santa Fe and Taos. Courtesy of the Palace of the Governors Photo Archives (NMHM/DCA), Negative Number 151369

Although the ranch was prosperous in the mid-1920s, trouble visited in the form of Pfaffle’s drinking and gambling. It was in a poker game that Pfaffle won the deed to a 157-acre homestead near Abiquiu known as El Rancho de los Brujos (The Witches’ Ranch), according to legend. After the couple lost San Gabriel Ranch, Stanley divorced Pfaffle and moved to the property. She renamed it Ghost Ranch.

Florence Dibell Bartlett Ownership of the San Gabriel land eventually passed to Florence Dibell Bartlett, a philanthropist from Chicago and herself a “New Woman.” She built a summer house here in 1922 and began to collect Native arts. Her collection formed the basis for the Museum of International Folk Art that she established in Santa Fe. In the 1950s, Bartlett deeded the ranch property to the State of New Mexico, and it was later sold to New Mexico State University.

Los Luceros Hacienda and Mary Cabot Wheelwright One of the visitors to San Gabriel Ranch was another New Woman, Mary Cabot Wheelwright. From a prominent family in Boston, Wheelwright first came to New Mexico in 1918 to visit Rancho Ramon Vigil, run by Stanley and Pfaffle at the time. She returned for an extended stay at San Gabriel in 1920.

Carol Stanley and husband Roy Pfaffle, owners of San Gabriel Ranch in Alcalde; photographer unknown (1923). The ranch was a popular stopover in the 1920s for travelers on the road between Santa Fe and Taos. It also became a dude ranch destination for the East Coast elite. Courtesy of the Palace of the Governors Photo Archives (NMHM/DCA), Negative Number 112306

“In the autumn of 1923, while out riding with Carol through the golden-leafed cottonwoods of the Río Grande bosque (woods), Mary saw the abandoned, two-story adobe mansion with sagging wraparound porches called Los Luceros (The Stars). Carol and Ray purchased the dilapidated house and the surrounding 138 acres of fields, orchards and outbuildings on the east banks of the Río Grande in January of that year. The Pfaffles were using the property to grow alfalfa and to pasture San Gabriel’s horses, but they had no plans to rehabilitate the old hacienda,” writes Poling-Kempes in “Ladies of the Canyon.” Soon after, Pfaffle and Stanley sold the two-story house known as Casa Grande (Big House) and 6 acres along the banks of the Río Grande to Wheelwright. Stanley oversaw a massive renovation of the house to meet Wheelwright’s specifications. Stanley hired Ted Peabody of Española to take on the remodel of the territorial-style adobe, incorporating elements of Spanish-Pueblo revival architecture and New England touches, such as bay windows, built in cabinets, bookshelves and closets. In her travels through the Southwest, Wheelwright became fascinated by the cultures of the Native people she encountered. She met Diné (Navajo) medicine man Hostiin Klah, an influential spiritual leader. They struck up an unlikely friendship that led Wheelwright to act as scribe for the recording and preservation of Diné myths and music. Her work formed the basis for the museum she established in Santa Fe, known as the Wheelwright Museum of the American Indian.

One of the prominent “New Women” of Northern New Mexico, Mary Cabot Wheelwright — anthropologist, museum founder and the person responsible for bringing Los Luceros hacienda back to life. Courtesy of the Wheelwright Museum, Santa Fe

tradiciones /raices 2018

Today at San Gabriel Ranch and Los Luceros SAN GABRIEL RANCH

Legends of Los Luceros Current Los Luceros docent, Marie Markesteyn, who has been studying the property for almost 40 years, says there are many stories — both historical and folklore — associated with the property. Pottery has been found that was made by the Phioge Pueblo people who lived just east of there between 1200 and 1555 A.D. When all of New Mexico was claimed for Spain by Don Juan de Oñate in 1598, an outpost was established in this area, perhaps in the room that is now used as the pantry of the big house, according to local tales. There is evidence that a four-room adobe house was built by a member of the Lucero de Goday family during this time. The land passed to various relatives and a chapel was constructed in 1779 that still exists on the property, along with the 5,700-square-foot Casa Grande. Buildings on the property were restored beginning in 1999 by Wheelwright’s relatives through the Cabot Foundation. Apple orchards, farm buildings, the original village jail, corrals and irrigated pasture land are preserved at Los Luceros.

New Women In “Ladies of the Canyon,” Poling-Kempes points out that Stanley and Wheelwright, along with the other “New Women” who came to travel and live along the road from Santa Fe to Taos, “had rejected the disillusionments, rigid structure and materialism of modern life for the psychological space, spiritual freedom and unconventional society of New Mexico.” Much like the 1920s, today both women and men who seek a new way of life with freedom and adventure are drawn to the beauty of life along the Río Grande in New Mexico, establishing roots and joining the long-established Native and Spanish cultures to create their own legacies.

Sixty acres that once formed the northern part of the San Gabriel Ranch is now home to the New Mexico State University Sustainable Agriculture Science Center. Research projects here focus on the agriculture of north-central New Mexico, including greenhouse crops, fruit growing and studies of red chile and bee health, says Steven Guldan, superintendent of the center. Experiments with compost can be seen inside the old corral of the San Gabriel Ranch. The southern portion of the property now houses the Santa Maria El Mirador program for people with disabilities. LOS LUCEROS The State of New Mexico purchased the property in 2008 and the Department of Cultural Affairs acts as the steward for the site. Los Luceros is open by appointment and for special events that invite visitors to tour the property and learn about its history. In addition to preserving the 148-acre hacienda, there are plans to partner with other groups to preserve its agricultural heritage, says Dr. Patrick Moore, director of historic properties for the Department of Cultural Affairs. In his two years in the position, Moore has been exploring ways to tell the story of Northern New Mexico through historic properties like Los Luceros. “It is such a pivotal property, not only for its location on the road from Santa Fe to Taos, but also for its connection with ancient Pueblo people and with El Camino Real,” says Moore. Working together with the U.S. Parks Service, the history of Los Luceros is being preserved and shared. In addition to the Amigos de Los Luceros, who help with the upkeep of the buildings and grounds, a new partnership is being formed with the New Mexico Acequia Association that will allow the association to move its offices to the site’s Victorian house. “What better place for the association to be located than Los Luceros?” asks Moore. “Here we have a long history of irrigation from the Río Grande during the time of the Spanish farms. With the acequias we are still a vibrant producing agricultural site.” For more information, visit ranchoslosluceros.org or newmexicoculture.org.

Los Luceros photos courtesy The New Mexican

BREATHE IN CONFIDENCE... Breathe Out Doubt Every day

Rocky Mountain Youth Corps Makes a Difference in the lives of young adults. Through training and service, Corpsmembers discover their potential for healthy productive lives.

OCT

Join Us This year is a Celebration of Diversity at Rocky Mountain Youth Corps. Support

youth development and join us for a fun evening with dinner and a silent auction. Come celebrate the diversity of RMYC.

@Taos Mesa Brewing Mothership

SAVE THE DATE

tradiciones /raices 2018

Doors Open - 5pm Tickets and information at youthcorps.org or by calling 575.751.1420

PATHWAYS

DINNER & AUCTION

The Dixon area is known for its apples and roadside fruit stands. Santa Fe New Mexican file photo/Julie Graber

Roadside attractions Fruit stands hang on by stanley crawford 8

tradiciones /raices 2018

Photographer Anacleto G. Apodaca’s “Girl fruit peddler in roadside stand, New Mexico,” (1949). Courtesy of the Palace of the Governors Photo Archives (NMHM/DCA), Negative Number 149288

popcorn and chile. In the fall, her stand, like most in the area, is festooned with long ristras of Chimayó and Hatch chile, and wreaths and shorter ristras of fiery chile pequin. Next to the stand is her head-turning rose garden. Velarde is named after a Velarde, and the most prominent grower of the productive valley is Eddie Velarde, whose 40 acres of apples, peaches, apricots and cherries supply his roadside fruit stand, the Fruit Basket, and his Santa Fe Farmers Market stand. The highway stand is open from June through October. His mother, June, and his sister, Linda, help with the extensive operation. The Velardes have lived in Velarde for 15 generations, according to Linda. Before the days of regular highway traffic, the earlier Velardes sold fruit and vegetables door to door and out of baskets by the side of the road, and also delivered produce to the daily Denver and Río Grande Western narrow-gauge Chili Line trains at either nearby Embudo Station or more distant Española.

ack in the day before interstates and freeways, most highways were slow two-laners, and air-conditioning as standard equipment in cars was still a few decades off. In summertime, fruit stands were particularly inviting to overheated drivers and passengers, and especially backseat children, with offerings of cold — though not refrigerated — soda pop and fresh cherries, and in fall peaches and plums and apricots, melons and watermelons, apples and apple cider. From my childhood trips through the Central Valley of California on the way to Sequoia National Park in the first years after World War II, I remember little else than staring out the backseat window of our 1939 Ford at all the fruit stands we didn’t stop at. Northern New Mexico still has a good representation of what has become a dying breed — fruit stands that elsewhere are a casualty of four- and six-lane highways, air-conditioned cars, efficient coolers and a fixation on reaching one’s destination as quickly as possible. Highways used to go through the countryside; now interstates bypass it and everything else. But north of I-25, New Mexico is still interstate-less, with US 84/285 from Santa Fe north to Pojoaque being the only controlledaccess portion of the road system. As a result, a handful of interesting fruit stands prevail in the Velarde-Rinconada stretch of NM 68 (the Taos Highway) and along US 84/285 (the Chama highway) through Hernandez west of Española.

A few miles north on NM 68, you pass through the community of Rinconada, site of another venerable fruit stand, established long ago by a Ukrainian immigrant couple, the Sopyns. Besides apples, peaches and cherries from the roadside orchard, the Sopyn Stand sells large bottle gourds, which can be seen drying out in the sun next to the stand. In good fruit years, there are also a number of what we would now call popup fruit stands along the highway, selling in-season cherries, peaches and apples, plus roadside pickup trucks laden with Colorado potatoes and California oranges. Another once-prominent fruit stand corridor is Hernandez, northwest of Española, on US 84 before US 285 splits off for Ojo Caliente and points north. The sole survivor today is Romero Fruit Stand, owned by Jake Romero and established in 1983. The stand is in reality more like a convenience store with a strong emphasis on chile wreaths and ristras, dried chile from Hatch and Artesia, beans and potatoes, and in season green chile from Socorro and local fruit. The store is open seven days a week, except for four national holidays. Northern New Mexico sights and tastes await visitors and locals who heed the advice and take the time to pause at fruit stands. Here and there will be the collapsing hulk of an old wooden fruit stand that has remained closed for years now, a remnant of a world of narrower highways and slower cars, which to some of a certain age will evoke memories of long-ago road trips and thirst-quenching peaches and apples and ciders and sodas.

But fruit stand is a term too narrow for the roadside phenomena of the north. As a novice farmer back in the 1970s, I first sold Indian corn and strawberry popcorn to Loretta and Herman Valdez in Velarde. Loretta was nationally famous for her dried flower arrangements and wreaths while Herman was an important apple grower in the valley. Their stand — in reality a large metal warehouse with a smaller showroom — was always teeming with workers and customers. Loretta encouraged me and my wife, RoseMary, to turn our rapidly expanding garlic crop into decorative arrangements, which we then wholesaled to her. After the Valdezes retired and sold the property, the new owner turned to selling produce at the Santa Fe Farmers Market and the stand was closed. Another customer of ours back in the ’70s and ’80s was Anna Mae Salazar, whose unnamed stand in Velarde is immediately north of Black Mesa Winery and attached to Flavio’s Farm Service. Anna Mae also creates dried arrangements of flowers and decorative corn and chile — her Flor del Río Decorations. Across the highway lies the Salazar orchard of 100 apple, peach and cherry trees, plus plots of Indian and strawberry

A double red delicious Dixon apple ready for the fruit stand.

Santa Fe New Mexican file photo/Julie Graber

Stanley Crawford writes and farms garlic in the Embudo Valley. His many nonfiction books include “Mayordomo,” “A Garlic Testament” and “The River in Winter.” He’s also has written many novels, most recently, “Village.”

tradiciones /raices 2018

Taking a day on Old State Road 3 Some drive thoughts, written down

This isn’t my only observation from working at a newspaper, but this I do know: The great thing about it is hearing people’s stories and many times, in the best of cases, being changed by them. Regardless of the topic, a lot of these stories end up being about “the old days.” And depending on the teller, “the old days” is really any point in time. And regardless of the time, many of these stories also end up being about roads. This is a universal truth, it seems, democratized among tellers. So naturally, I think these stories, which are stories about the way things change and how we feel about it, are ultimately mediations on death. In a year of reporting on roads, I chose this as my topic. For those of us new enough to Taos, the idea that the West Rim Road wasn’t paved until about a decade ago can be hard to imagine. But I still try to imagine. I think about the unpaved “old days” when I’m driving around town, taking the High Road across U.S. Hill or going north to Questa or Colorado. I think, how the hell did they to do this? And ultimately, this is also a meditation on death.

Getting the map

by cody hooks

Above: earlycaliforniaantiques.com

My most recent mediation in this vein — a road trip, we’ll call it — took me from the convenience store in Arroyo Hondo to the convenience store in Costilla. The drive had me thinking how, even now, there’s nothing convenient about going between the two other than the road being paved. Before 522, there was State Road 3. The former highway still bears that name but shows its age on a handful of extant roadsigns — “Old State Road 3,” some to the south end and some on the north, the switch somewhere on the north side of the Hondo valley. When I mentioned this in conversation I was going to check out the old highway, I was quickly directed to Corky Hawk. During his time leading the small but enthusiastic Taos County Historical Society, he walked the very roads I wanted to explore. And then some. It wasn’t like on the routes south; only a few well-used paths went north of Taos because there were comparatively fewer reasons to make the effort. The oldest path is what Hawk and historians call the Old Spanish Road, a route that hugs the slopes of the Sangres, an “ingenious ways people found to get through these mountains,” he said. The U.S. military built a road in 1876, and Taos County, three years into statehood, built another. All varied but intersected. Depending on the place, Old State Road 3 follows exactly or parallels a slightly older state highway, State Road 8. In others areas, the highway — unpaved, I imagine — was the first road to go over a particular drainage, something made possible by early dirt-working equipment. The construction of each road led the the eventual passing of the rest. I decided to retrace the old highway between Taos and Colorado. Maps of these roads and the places they passed through do exist, I should point out. But maps, like stories and especially stories about death, have both intriguing morsels and glaring omissions. One map listed Lobo del Agua as a community that existed between San Cristobal and Lama, while another, a map of a land grant, includes within its boundaries no roads: like a lot of things, that map depicted idea more than actuality.

The highway, more or less, follows Old State Road 3 between there and San Cristobal where it cuts east toward the D.H. Lawrence Ranch.

Cody Hooks

tradiciones /raices 2018

“Before 522, there was State Road 3. The former highway still bears that name but shows its age on a handful of extant roadsigns — ‘Old State Road 3,’ some to the south end and some on the north, the switch somewhere on the north side of the Hondo valley.”

For this day, and another day It had been a dry summer so far, but the forest had just reopened to people other than firefighters. By the middle of that Sunday morning, the monsoons were starting to set up over the mountains. Say what you will about the power of prayer, but some people had theirs answered. The first leg of the trip went the leisurely way through Hondo, first along the river, then up the switchbacks and past a little spring that lit the hill in a green made deep by the thick overcast and stark by a brittle and persistent drought. The road meets back with the present highway — pavement and all — just north of the Hondo hill. It was a leisurely reminder that there are different ways to get where you’re going. The highway, more or less, follows Old State Road 3 between there and San Cristobal where it cuts east toward the D.H. Lawrence Ranch. Visiting that place would be an adventure for another day, much like reading that Lawrence book tucked behind the seat of the truck.

Cody Hooks

From San Cristobal, the old highway goes north to Lama on the grated dirt Forest Road 493, snaking up the north side of that valley.

Going

Immediately, I was in the burn scar of the 1996 Hondo Fire. It was humbling, especially coming off a serious burn ban. Oak thickets cover the slopes as the road drops into the Garapata drainage, where on the Fourth of July the San Cristobal firefighters found a couple of guys with a campfire. Dumb. I could see only a handful of root wads turned over to the sky, one cow and no flowers, save for a stalk of purple lupine a ways down the road.

The Old State Road 3 winds its way north, where it drops down into the last valley before reaching Questa, the expansive landscape of the San Luis Valley that starts just beyond the village. The road goes underneath the old tailings pipeline from the molybdenum mine, elevated above the road and Red River. Along the banks, cottonwoods grew old, willows grew thick and the river bent between thickets of poison hemlock and wild rose.

In Lama, one road heads west toward the highway, the other generally east to the Lama Foundation. A handmade road sign at the turnoff says “Yield to the present.” I wondered if this wasn’t also a mediation on death — it’s carved similar in form to the all too common roadside descansos, the tributes of a cross to the dearly departed, the memorials Catholic pilgrims take their hat off for — but of course it is.

The road runs west of the highway in Questa, going behind the municipal hall. The only other named remnant is 20 miles to the north, a small stretch of road just before Costilla — paved, but not by any current highway standards. By the time I got there, it was starting to drizzle and seemed time to head back; Down the highway, but down the “new” one. I got to where I was going.

Privileged to help.

I love town. We’re honored to this serve this community for 36 years. Thanks, TAOS! love forward being here to helpmore life with you. My team and II look to many go right in a community where people Thank you are for your continued support and business. making a difference every day. TM

We celebrate the hard working family traditions of Taos County

Thank you for all you do.

Wanda WandaLucero Lucero 575.737.5433 575.737.5433 wandalucero.com wandalucero.com

CREATIVE

WHIMSICAL

CFT Decor and Gifts Salutes the Legends of Taos! HALLOWEEN FUN IS ARRIVING!

Come in early for the best selection.

A full service Hardware store and Lumber yard at 2349 St. Hwy 522 (Next to Family Dollar)

Questa Lumber & Hardware Co. 575-586-0414

ARTISTIC A UNIQUE TAOS DESTINATION 534 PASEO DEL PUEBLO NORTE 575.758.4633

cftaos.com

tradiciones /raices 2018

| 11

FUNERALS DO NOT NEED TO BE EXPENSIVE; they just need to be what YOU want them to be. The Funeral Professionals at

Riverside Funeral Home of Santa Fe are here to ensure that you receive the funeral YOU want. We DO BELIEVE in your right to choose. We DO respect your final wishes and budget. We DO NOT try to sell you expensive and unnecessary products. We DO NOT pressure you to purchase additional options or guilt you toward traditional funeral arrangements. Immediate Cremation $745.00 Traditional Full-Service Burial $2,995.00 (includes Casket) Services can be held at any church or facility anywhere in Taos County.

PROUD TO BE NEW MEXICO OWNED & OPERATED FOR OVER 25 YEARS ~ A FULL SERVICE FUNERAL HOME ~

505-395-9150 ~ www.RiversideFunerals.com PROUD TO BE NEW MEXICO OWNED & OPERATED FOR OVER 25 YEARS ~ A FULL SERVICE FUNERAL HOME ~

505-395-9150 ~ www.RiversideFunerals.com 12

tradiciones /raices 2018

THE TAOS NEWS

RAICES T radiciones 2018

Breadbasket of El Norte

A Chamisal Spanish-American subsistence farmer supplies his family with fresh pork. Library of Congress, loc.gov/item/2017742901/Lee, Russell (1940)

AQUÍ EN TAOS It’s not just a slogan. It’s a way of life.

d o o G y r a d n e Leg imes T

Since 1971, Taoseños have embraced our family and business. You could say the Mountain has accepted us... Thank you Taos, for 47 years and counting!

575.776.3333 sabrosotaos.com Located on Ski Valley Road, 470 State Highway 150 in Arroyo Seco

tradiciones /raices 2018

The history of Taos’ subsistence farming by f.r.bob romero

A Spanish-American subsistence farmer working in his garden, Chamisal, New Mexico.

Library of Congress, loc.gov/item/2017742751/ Lee, Russell (1940)

CONTINUES ON PAGE 16

Our Roots Run Deep...

HAPPY HOUR

Proudly Supporting Our Cultures Since 1852

Mon-Fri, 4-6 pm

Well Drinks $5, Draft Beer $5, Mojito $6, Sangria $5, House Red & White Wine $5 Happy Hour Appetizers $5-$8

taoscounty.org

317 Kit Carson Rd. | 575-758-3502 ElMonteSagrado.com/Dining-Nightlife

tradiciones /raices 2018 The

Original Fountain of Youth

| 15

Many Spanish-American subsistence farmers in Northern New Mexico not only grew and harvested crops and livestock for only their family’s consumption, but made their own tools as well. Library of Congress, loc.gov/ item/2017742767/ Lee, Russell (1940)

Top right: New Mexicans, like this early-day farming family in the Sangre de Cristos, practiced subsistence agriculture — a self-sufficiency farming system in which the farmers focus on growing enough food to feed themselves and their entire families.

CONTINUES FROM PAGE 15

Santa Fe New Mexican file photo/ Museum of New Mexico photo, Negative #22468

In this modern age, it is somewhat romantic to aspire to subsist and feed ourselves as we once did in New Mexico. Subsistence farming, as a way of live and survival, was present in New Mexico for a very long time. Once, some Native Americans decided to give up the nomadic way of life and settle down in one place where subsistence agriculture was part of the plan. The people worked hard and were productive. It was imperative to provide food for the entire village. About 2,000 years ago, the Anasazi immigrated into New Mexico and lived in places like Chaco Canyon and Bandelier. After they experienced drought and societal conflict, the Puebloan People relocated to various sites along the Río Grande corridor where they built pueblos and continued to live and subsist. One thousand years ago, splinter groups of Native Americans moved into the Taos Valley and began to make permanent settlement. They first lived in pit houses, then small pueblos and then larger pueblos. They grew small plots of crops and hunted small game. So when the Spaniards arrived in the 1500s, Pueblo Indians had long been practicing a form of subsistence farming. Initially, the Spanish Conquistadors’ main priority in New Mexico was the pursuit of precious metals, such as gold and silver. Subsistence farming was a necessary secondary pursuit. They did, however, begin to issue land grants, build acequias (an extensive system of irrigation) and plant crops in the late 1500s and the 1600s. It was only after the Pueblo Revolt of 1680 and the reconquest of New Mexico that the Spaniards, by then people of mixed bloodlines, that Hispanos began to seriously establish extensive subsistence farming in El Norte. During this time, drought, dry years and decades in a high-desert environment were common. In fact, a severe drought in the last half of the 17th century was a contributing factor to the Pueblo Revolt of 1680. To survive drought, the people had to store food, work cooperatively and use drought-resistant methods and seeds. In the 1700s, when the Spaniards returned in earnest, they used the irrigation skills learned from the Romans and the Muslim Moors in Spain to cooperatively build the acequias. The monsoons were a godsend, especially in the years when they dumped substantial rains, thus producing bumper crops. This allowed them to develop a communal agrarian-based society that sustained them for two and a half centuries until about the 1950s. In the later half of the 1800s, a particularly wet time period, a variety of crops such as native corn and foreign wheat were grown in abundance. Taos became known as the “breadbasket” of the area. In addition to the large amounts of crops being grown, livestock that had been imported from Europe

This 1939 scene shows strip farms along the Río Hondo near Taos. This land was originally Spanish land grants and was later divided and subdivided among the descendents of the first farmers. The farms eventually shrank in size, some being only 5 or 6 acres. Library of Congress, loc. gov/item/2017784317/Lee, Russell (1939)

tradiciones /raices 2018

These tools are some examples of Spanish farming traditions that permeate New Mexico's agricultural history. At top is a sickle with an antler handle for harvesting wheat. Beneath are two types of hoes; on the left is a wide irrigation hoe, and on the right is a narrow grubbing hoe. New Mexican file photo/Photo courtesy of Marc Simmons

Top right: Most subsistence farmers had dairy cows for their own use. Straining the milk was just part of the labor-intensive process. Livestock was not a part of subsistence farming in New Mexico until the the Spaniards colonized the territory. Library of Congress, loc.gov/item/2017786691/Lee, Russell (1940)

Native corn was a common subsistence crop in Northern New Mexico beginning in the later half of the 1800s and into the 1950s. Library of Congress, loc.gov/item/2017742703/ Lee, Russell (1940)

were also essential. Sheep, cows, hogs, horses and mules were domesticated animals not found in El Norte until the Spaniards colonized New Mexico. The settlers were able to survive and even thrive with the benefit of their crops and livestock. There was not much of a cash economy as barter and subsistence agriculture was the lifeblood of the economy. In addition, handcrafts, faith and large extended families were the norm. Many things began to change as early as the Mexican Period (1821-1846), when an abundance of scarce goods such as glassware and metal products became more available in New Mexico. These trade goods were brought in on the Santa Fe Trail from the eastern United States. After American sovereignty became a reality in 1848 in New Mexico, a free market economy began to take hold. Water rights began to become privatized as was the land, and as a result long-held Hispano communal grazing lands were eventually lost. From this point forward, subsistence agriculture began to decline, and surviving and subsisting strictly by producing virtually all of the societal needs became more and more difficult. As the land base was lost, the pressure applied by market forces became greater and greater. At the tail end of the 1800s, the people living in New Mexico still produced about 95 percent of what they consumed. Furthermore, during the “bread basket” days (1850s-1880s) they sold surplus crops to the U.S. government to feed soldiers. They even shipped sheep to the Midwestern states, throughout the Rock Mountain West and to California as New Mexico became the “Cradle of the Sheep Industry.” In the early 1880s, 5.3 million sheep grazed the mountain ranges and pastures of New Mexico and in 1880, 186,000 sheep were counted in Taos County alone. By the 20th century, New Mexicans were able to engage in raising sheep, but only by securing permits from the U.S. Forest Service. Much of the communal grazing lands that remained became public land under the Theodore Roosevelt Administration; to be managed by the U.S. Forest Service and the Bureau of Land Management. In the 1940s, Taoseños were still producing about 75 percent of what they consumed, but the drought and the changing economy of the 1950s dealt a death knell to subsistence farming in Taos County. Subsistence farming did not disappear instantly. Some people continued to farm for profit, and some continued their subsistence agricultural activities to supplement their wage incomes. But after the middle of the 20th century, very few families were able to raise and feed a family solely through subsistence farming. This dramatically changed the economy and the agrarian lifestyle in El Norte. The traditionally large families were no longer as common. Today, the old infrastructure that still exits includes the acequias, water rights and some private agricultural land plots. Many people enjoy gardening and organic farming on a small scale and some still own livestock. The stores and farmers’ markets are usually teeming with homegrown produce, but subsistence farming as a way of life and a singular way to raise a family is a thing of the past; but perhaps some people are just waiting for an end to the drought, new economic conditions and a revival of agricultural production initiated by yet another wet time period.

F.R. Bob Romero is a ninth-generation New Mexican, local historian, lifelong educator and author of the book “History of Taos-Historia de Taos.”

tradiciones /raices 2018

| 17

¿Paradise found? The hippies’ search for utopia in Taos County by david lerner

Top: Hippies were drawn to New Mexico in part by cheap land where they could practice the values of peace, love, personal freedom and mind expansion. But many locals resented them for their lifestyles and their middle-class privilege backgrounds. Courtesy Douglas Magnus | Bottom: Hog Farm leader Wavy Gravy (in white) captioned this photo “Gonk Family Theater,” and signed a copy for photographer Douglas Magnus. It was taken as Gravy was preparing for the June 20, 1969 Apollo Moon Landing. Hog Farm in Llano was one of the more easily accessed and entertaining communes, according to Magnus. “A lot of the communes took themselves oh so seriously,” he said. Courtesy Douglas Magnus

tradiciones /raices 2018

Here in the high desert, the Aquarian Age encounter between a huge wave of hippies hailing from every corner of the continent and the traditionalleaning, though fairly cosmopolitan ( for a remote, isolated town of a few thousand) people of Taos made for a curious dynamic.

cleanliness was a matter of pride. By contrast, the mostly Anglo communes were notorious for their lax to nonexistent health standards. Today, they would be shut down immediately for countless health and building code violations.

humanity, cosmic cowboy bullshit.” Their militant, gun-toting ways were starkly out of step with a prevailing nonviolent ethos. Unsurprisingly, Reality did not last.

Subsequent waves of hippies gravitated to communes to explore a This was particularly true of simple agrarian way of life, spirituality, Morningstar. Lou Gottlieb owned Former residents of New Buffalo drugs and free love — though not the Sebastopol, California ranch that necessarily in that order. The Family, in Arroyo Hondo recall neighbors became Morningstar, but was forced a commune occupying a rambling looking on quizzically as longhairs off the land after complaints from labored, usually in the nude, at structure on Ranchitos Road, Sonoma County neighbors about tasks locals associated with their strongly believed in a polyamorous unsanitary conditions resulted in grandparents: baking abode bricks, or a high, fleeting time beginning arrangement they called “group a police action. A classical pianist hauling water, digging irrigation around 1967 and lasting until marriage.” A sizable contingent, ditches and trucking endless loads of and former member of folk-revival the early 1970s, dozens of hippie including many women, looked firewood for cooking and heat. Those group The Limelighters, Gottlieb truly communes dotted the sagebrush to the communes as a place to relished his commune’s dirtiness, looking to sell rusty farm equipment mesas and river valleys of Northern raise healthy children outside the even framing “filth” as an ideological New Mexico. Almost all of them were or old kerosene lamps found in the stultifying mainstream. Young families weapon against the sterile middle located in Taos County. Hundreds of communes an endless source of typically exited the communes hippies came here to follow Timothy inexplicably enthusiastic buyers. Rural class. On this front, little changed quickly, frustrated as their hard work when the commune moved from New Mexicans were quite willing to Leary’s advice to “Turn on, tune benefited freeloaders only around California to New Mexico. Though forego junk and chores to join the in and drop out.” According to one for the party, or for lack of anywhere Morningstar began as an outpost of same middle class the hippies were estimate, there were 27 communes hip Haight-Ashbury culture affiliated else to go. Then as now, Taos was a in Taos County alone during the late opting out of in droves, although some have gone on record to express with the Diggers and early taper and place transients drifted in and out ‘60s and ‘70s. Most of the members of, seemingly with the wind. The regret at what in hindsight appeared polymath Ramon Sender, it sadly were under age 25. communes welcomed all comers with the piecemeal selling off of a way of life. devolved into a place known for its three meals a day, whether or not squalor, machismo and nudity. Even Though their physical sites are Presumably less enamored of people worked for them. sympathetic observers dismissed now either gone or significantly the hippie influx were struggling most of the later Morningstar transformed, the communes left Area tourist maps guide a steady landowning families, the majority residents as a little thick. behind a legacy so ubiquitous as stream of visitors to museums and of which were of Hispanic or mixed to be hidden in plain sight. Natural landmarks such as the D.H. Lawrence New Buffalo was more refined. Like descent and had been in town for building programs, alternative many who flocked to New Mexico in Ranch, San Francisco de Asís Church generations. Due to decades of learning centers, meditation and yoga the early 1960s, founders Max Finstein and Taos Pueblo. Not so for the predatory practices in ranching and retreats, sustainable farms, slidingfarming, many landowners were cash- and Rick Klein came of age in a post-

Left: “The Great Hog Farm Water Polo Match” taken in 1969. According to one estimate, there were 27 communes in Taos County alone during the late 1960s and ’70s. Courtesy Douglas Magnus Right: The Hog Farm in Llano started on a California farm where the group lived rent-free in exchange for taking care of 50 hogs, including one that the Yippies, a counterculture political party, later nominated for president. The group bought 7 acres and set up a commune in Llano too, as leader Wavy Gravy said, “get jiggy with the rainbows.” At one time there were 50 people living there. Courtesy of Douglas Magnus

poor and needed to sell. According to one Realtor who recalls the time, this situation resulted in what we might now call gentrification: over half a million dollars of prime land was eventually sold to hippies, many of whom had an inheritance or trust fund to burn. Though drugs, Intentional communities, cults and nudity and poor hygiene created communes have been a part of American life since the 19th century. a rift between hippies and locals, Famous utopian experiments such as this underlying disparity in privilege Ralph Waldo Emerson’s Brook Farm, was arguably more to blame for the resentment and flashes of violence Bronson Alcott’s Fruitlands, New the longhairs met on multiple Harmony in Indiana and Oneida in occasions. upstate New York may have come and gone, but interest in alternative The more outré hippies must have living arrangements is very much appeared a foreign species, and many alive. The runaway hit Netflix series of them were treated as such. Stern “Wild Wild Country” chronicling nuns at Holy Cross Hospital denied the fiasco of Rajneeshpuram in medical treatment to hippies, citing central Oregon speaks to this fear of contagious disease. This led to abiding fascination, as do recent the establishment of La Clinica, a free books such as Ryan Walsh’s “Astral and sliding-scale facility that treated Weeks: A Secret History of 1968,” everyone. Indeed, cleanliness, or lack which investigates the creepy saga of thereof, became a recurring cultural Boston’s Fort Hill Community, led by wedge. For Spanish-speaking people, folk musician turned guru Mel Lyman. scale medical clinics, underground newspapers and even health food store bulk sections can all trace their roots back to the dreamers and visionaries who came to Taos and built the commune scene.

tradiciones /raices 2018

war counterculture loosely informed by the Beats, LSD, “Whole Earth Catalog” creator Stewart Brand’s study “America Needs Indians” (an important early work of Native American advocacy that sparked interest in the ceremonial use of peyote), the radical ecology of writers such as Gary Snyder and Edward Abbey, and Eastern spirituality. Galvanized by opposition to U.S. militarism and the Vietnam War, the counterculture rejected capitalism in favor of a back-to-the land ethos and preferred native handcrafts to industrial products. Finstein soon tired of New Buffalo, left for Israel, then returned to found Reality Construction Company, the most politically radical of the communes. Reality courted Black Panthers and activists of color while eschewing peace and love. They told hippies to stay home and distanced themselves from “games of friendliness, unity, one

communes. Though they beckon us with evocative names like Hog Farm, Lila, Lorien and Magic Tortoise, these places are now mainly accessible through oral history. The notable exception is Lama Foundation, a drug-free spiritual community started by Stephen and Barbara Durkee in 1967. Despite a devastating fire in 1996, Lama is the only organization born of the original commune period that is still a going concern. For a quick detox from electricity and screens, the rustic hermitages at Lama are well worth an overnight stay, and more extensive retreats are offered as well. For those wishing to learn more about Lama, New Buffalo and the other communes from this colorful period of Taos’ history, Iris Keltz’s “Scrapbook of a Taos Hippie,” and “Voices of the Counterculture in the Southwest” (edited by Jack Loeffler and Davidson Meredith) are both excellent places to start.

| 19

Fighting morada suppression Penitentes were a ‘cult’ to the Catholic Church, a brotherhood to Taoseños

by larry torres

The period in the mid-1800s was a turbulent time in the history of New Mexico. U.S. President James K. Polk waged war with Mexico

in 1846 in an effort to secure sea to shining sea domination of the territory that would become known as the Great American Southwest. The controversy was settled by the signing of the Treaty of Guadalupe-Hidalgo of 1848, orchestrated by American Diplomat Nicholas Trist. Almost overnight, Mexican-Americans became foreigners on what used to be their own land. On July 19, 1850, Pope Pius IX had declared the Southwest region of the United States, exclusive of California and Texas, as the Vicariate Apostolic of New Mexico (a territory of jurisdiction). In 1850, New Mexico became a U.S. territory and the Catholic Council of Baltimore, Maryland proposed the creation of the Diocese of Santa Fe.

Taos Penitente cross taken by John Collier Jr. in January 1943. Library of Congress

Padre Antonio José Martínez had been groomed by Bishop Laureano Zubiría of Durango, Mexico to be the first archbishop of New Mexico. Because the Catholic Church of Mexico did not recognize the Río Grande as the national boundary between the two countries though, the U.S. wanted no Mexican influence in its new territory. Therefore, the See of Baltimore selected a Frenchman named Jean Baptist Lamy to oversee the pulpit of Santa Fe in 1851. His next three subsequent successors were also Frenchmen.

“Penitentes ‘crucifying’ one of their own,” taken by C.F. Lummis at an unknown New Mexico location in 1888.

Library of Congress

tradiciones /raices 2018

Las moradas In 1834, the morada (tribal chapels for worship, education and sacrifice) of Taos, known as La Morada de Nuestra Señora de Guadalupe, was fully established on Taos Pueblo land that was granted to the Penitentes 35 years earlier in 1797 by Pueblo fiscales (those who are in charge of Catholic Church matters). It was occupied until 1977 when the last penitente sold it to the Kit Carson Memorial Foundation. Although some devotional practices have been held within it, to date the Morada de Taos has not been reconsecrated by the archbishop of Santa Fe. Other moradas had sprouted up all over the valley including La Morada de San Ignacio in Des Montes; La Morada de San Juan Nepomuceno in Valdez; La Morada de Nuestra Señora de la Soledad in Arroyo Seco; La Morada de Nuestro Padre Jesús Nazareno in Upper Arroyo Hondo; and La Morada de Talpa. Three years later in 1837, Padre Martínez became spiritual advisor to Los Hermanos Penitentes. He allowed the Penitentes to conduct their blood rites in public at the church of San Cruz de la Cañada. The institutional Catholic Church of Santa Fe saw Los Hermanos Penitentes as a challenge to its own ecclesiastical authority. In his ad limina visit to Rome a few years later, the first archbishop of New Mexico reported to Pope Pius IX and to Cardinal Alessandro Barnabo that there was a renegade group of religious zealots known as Los Hermanos Penitentes who thought they were the church of New Mexico. Archbishop Lamy complained to Pope Pius IX that the 63 moradas in New Mexico were practicing medieval rites of self-flagellation and crucifixion. The Pope quietly told Archbishop Lamy to disband of the brotherhood. Meanwhile, Archbishop Lamy returned to New Mexico and confided the conversation he had with Pope Pius IX to Padre Martínez who was outraged, since he considered himself to be the spiritual head of the Penitente Brotherhood.

Pope Pius IX, born Giovanni Maria Mastai-Ferretti, was the longest-reigning elected Pope in the history of the Catholic Church, serving from 16 June 1846 until his death in 1878. Library of Congress

The first archbishop of Santa Fe, Frenchman Jean Baptiste Lamy (1814-1888), followed the directive of Pope Pius IX to “disband” New Mexico’s Penitentes. findagrave.com

Citing The Syllabus of Errors issued by Pope Pius IX, Archbishop Lamy tried to suppress religious cults like Los Hermanos Penitentes. “The Syllabus of Errors” of 1864 condemned all secret cults that had not been expressly established by the institutional Catholic Church. Yet, the practices of the tribal church of the brotherhood persisted despite the arrival of Archbishop Lamy in Santa Fe. The archbishop showed Padre Martínez the Pope’s “Syllabus of Errors.” This served only to drive the Penitentes underground for over 100 years. It would be up to Archbishop Edwin V. Byrne to try to reconcile the Penitentes as a right arm of the Church of Santa Fe in 1962. According to files kept by the Martínez family, in an effort to try to convince the tribal churches to return to the institutional church, Archbishop Lamy stood on the steps of the Cathedral in Santa Fe at sunrise on Easter morning of 1856. He held up a piece of goat cheese proclaiming, “This is CONTINUES ON PAGE 22

WHAT WE [PRESERVE] CHANGES THE WORLD.

[

tradiciones /raices 2018

]

| 21

One Hermanos Penitentes ceremony is the dragging of crosses as shown in this circa 1896 photo taken by the Curio Photo Co. of Watrous, New Mexico. Courtesy Library of Congress

CONTINUES FROM PAGE 21

the Church of New Mexico.” Then, he hoisted a large knife stating, “This knife represents the Penitente Brotherhood led by Padre Martínez of Taos.” Records then say the archbishop slit the cheese in twain. He held up one portion proclaiming, “This half of the cheese represents the French church in New Mexico. See how good it is and fit for human consumption? Take this all of you and eat of it — hoc est enim corpus meum (this is my veritable body).” Then he took the second half of cheese and raising it high, he declared, “This is the Spanish church of New Mexico. See how it is vile and corrupt?” As he turned the cheese toward them, it turned black and crawled with worms. Then he laid both pieces on the steps of the Cathedral saying, “Choose, New Mexico! Will you follow the French church or the Spanish church of the Penitentes?” Although the first rule of the Penitente Brotherhood is allegiance and obedience to Archbishop Lamy and his successors, damage wrought upon the brotherhood forced them to continue to conduct faith practices underground.

The land for the morada of Our Lady of Guadalupe was donated by the people of Taos. It continues to be used by local devotees as a place for prayers. Taos News archive photo

History unearthed In 1997, some men were clearing away the rotted boards from the sanctuary of the Mother Church of La Santísima Trinidad in Arroyo Seco. As they pried a square column away from the right side of the sanctuary, they unearthed a metallic object buried just below the muddied surface. While inspecting the object, they discovered it was a medallion bearing the image of what they supposed was a saint. The men gave the medallion to the priest and told him where they found it. He immediately recognized the image stamped on it as the face of Pope Pius IX. It turned out to be a copper, gold-plated piece of history. Such artifacts were minted only during the reign of a particular Pope. The parish priest began to frame the local events within an historical context. He surmised that the parish priest of Taos had come to Arroyo Seco where La Santísima Trinidad was his mission church. Arroyo Seco had been a cornerstone of the Penitente movement. He reported that Padre Martínez had given the medallion a requiem Mass and buried Pope Pius IX in effigy face-down in the mud. A shadow box was crafted by a local parishioner and the papal medallion was encased within, then mounted on the eastern wall of the church sacristy.

#1 Real Estate Company in Taos BHHSTaosInfo@newmex.com Text BHHSNM303 to 87778 Since 1987

314A Paseo del Pueblo Norte, Taos, NM 87571 * BHHSTaosRealEstate.com * 575-758-1924 * 800-530-8899

Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices Taos Real Estate In Your Neighborhood... The sign you trust. Maintaining Top Quality Service with Award Winning Agents.

Joel K Schantz, Qualifying Broker Doug DeCoursey Diane Enright Cyndi Gonzalez A 1943 photo of the Morada of Taos taken by John Collier Jr.

Associate Brokers: Dawn Grainger John Johnston Kiva Harris Yvonne Lewis Liz Jamison Rick Reaves

It’s a sign.

Brandon Rose Rachel Singer Kristine Wood

Of knowledge. Of experience. Of confidence.

Library of Congress

Good to know. It’s Business with the Professionals Doing the Business. ™

Larry Torres is a local historian and foreign language coordinator at the University of New Mexico-Taos. In 2017, he was honored as a Tradiciones Unsung Hero.

©2018 BHH Affiliates, LLC. An independently owned and operated franchisee of BHH Affiliates, LLC. Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices and the Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices symbol are registered service marks of HomeServices of America, Inc.® Equal Housing Opportunity.

tradiciones /raices 2018

Modern-day penitentes — Los Hermanos de la Fraternidad Piadosa de Nuestro Padre Jesus Nazareno — pray at the stations of the cross enroute to the calvario near La Morada Nuestra Senora de Guadalupe in Taos. David Fernandez bows his head to the earth in front of the 12th station where Jesus died. Taos News archive photo

HELP TAOS COMMUNITY FOUNDATION GROW THEIR ROOTS, BY DONATING TO THE BUILDING FUND AT TAOSCF.ORG

tradiciones /raices 2018

| 23

“Be strong when you are weak. Be brave when you are scared. be humble when you are victorious.” - Ancient Indian Proverb

- Ancient Indian Proverb

Taos Pueblo War Chief Henry Samora Sr.

Taos Mountain Casino is proud to honor those who both exemplify the best of the past and who help us weave it into the future. These people are our own links in what continues to be an Taos Pueblo War Chief, Richard Archuleta unbroken circle of tradition at Taos Pueblo. 24

tradiciones /raices 2018