El Rancho de las Golondrinas: A Living Museum One of Santa Fe’s outstanding familyfun venues is also one of the most natural: El Rancho de las Golondrinas, in the rural village of La Cienega southwest of Santa Fe. It’s not digital and there’s no glitz. El Rancho de las Golondrinas—the ranch of the swallows—is built on the site of a genuine Spanish Colonial ranch and way station on El Camino Real, the Royal Road into the province of New Mexico from Mexico City. The ranch was founded 300 years ago and is now a “living museum.” Opened in 1972, it recreates 18th- and 19th-century Spanish colonial and Territorial life on a 200-acre site. Guides are dressed in period clothing and demonstrate how people lived with such activities as weaving, hide-tanning and blacksmithing. Its acequia system (irrigation ditch) is on the National Register of Historic Places. Some original colonial buildings on the site date from the early 1700s. In addition, historic buildings such as a flour mill from other parts of northern New Mexico have been reconstructed at Las Golondrinas. The museum is a working farm, with part of its acreage cultivated.
There’s often a special event at “Golondrinas,” as it is popularly called. There is an $8 admission charge for adults, but children ages 12 and under are always free. Your children can be immersed in the culture with hands-on activities and demonstrations as Golondrinas offers its visitors an in-depth look into the celebrations, music, dance and many other aspects of life in the Spanish, Mexican and Territorial periods of the Southwest. Special events include the Fiber Arts Festival, May 24-25; Spring Festival and Children’s Fair, June 7-8; Herb and Lavender Fair, June 21-22; Santa Fe Wine Festival, July 5-6; Viva Mexico! Celebration, July 19-20; Summer Festival and Territorial Law and Order, Aug. 2-3; Survival New Mexico, Aug. 16-17; Fiesta de los Niños, Aug. 30-31; Santa Fe Renaissance Fair, Sept. 20-21; and Harvest Festival, Oct. 4-5. Information can be found at golondrinas.org or 505-471-2261.
History tastes better fresh from the horno.
Santa Fe 505-471-2261 golondrinas.org Support provided by New Mexico Arts 28
www.travelnewmex.com | SUMMER • WINTER 2014