Feliz Navidad
Nasario García’s Christmases Past Giftable Books Holiday Take-Out
Wheelwright Museum
704 Camino Lejo, Santa Fe, NM 87505 • wheelwright.org
On exhibit through October 2020
Attributed to Mamie Deschillie, 1920–2010 (Navajo) Untitled (Toy Wagon), ca. 1975
On December 24th, starting at 5:00 pm
Starting at 5:30PM, continuous shuttle service between the South Capitol Rail Runner Station and New Mexico Visitor’s Center at Old Santa Fe Trail and Paseo de Peralta. The last shuttle will leave the New Mexico Visitor’s Center at 9:30 pm.
FOR MORE INFORMATION CALL 955-2001 www.takethetrails.com This free transit service is funded by the North Central Regional Transit District through the Regional Transit Gross Receipts Tax. 2019 Feliz Navidad 3
help feed northern new mexicans in need Donate
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Every dollar donated provides 4 meals THE FOO
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www.thefooddepot.org 1222 A Siler Rd 505-471-1633
New Book by Susan Topp Weber “I sat down and read my copy cover to cover as soon as it arrived. Every page is a treat.” “Thank you for documenting a fabulous Christmas collection – I can’t wait to return to your shop.” ~ A happy new customer Other Books by Susan Weber
Susan’s Christmas Shop
115 E. Palace Avenue, Santa Fe, NM 87501 • 505-983-2127 • www.susanschristmasshop.com 4 2019 Feliz Navidad
Recycle Right, Santa Fe! YES
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Food & Beverage Cartons (Empty & Replace Cap)
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Mixed Paper, Newspaper, Magazines, & Flattened Cardboard
Kitchen, Laundry, Bath: Bottles & Containers (Empty & Replace Cap)
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No Food or Liquid (empty all containers)
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ot sure if it belongs in your cart? Don’t be a “wishful recycler” - improperly recycled items can contaminate everything else in the cart! Contact us to be sure before you toss it in!
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www.santafenm.gov/ESD ESD@santafenm.gov (505) 955-2200
No Clothingg or Linen ns (use donation programs)
ESD 10/2019
Do o Not Bag Recyclab Recyclables
2019 Feliz Navidad 5
TURN OFF YOUR RINGER!
Pick PPi icckk YYour ic our PPleasure lea le easure
DROP YOUR LAPTOP!
Holiday Sale on Bikes & Equipment santa fe • new mexico
Coronado Center at St. Francis and Cordova (Near Trader Joe’s) 504 West Cordova • Santa Fe • 505.820.0809 • NMBikenSport.com
Gifts by Missoni • Libeco • Sferra • Scandia Home Treasures • Bella Notte DeVargas Center • 173 Paseo de Peralta | Santa Fe, NM 87501 (505) 982-3298 • 10-6 Mon-Sat • 12-5 Sun pandorasantafe.com 6 2019 Feliz Navidad
Francie Fillatti
25 Years Importing Treasures For Your Home
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222 Galisteo Street, Santa Fe, New Mexico 87501 %'%("#"($"&# 1 .-/+7-==5D+5!D7+@4-:(2BE 2019 Feliz Navidad 7
Warm Holiday Greetings and Gratitude toAll. Monica McLin â&#x20AC;˘ Shell Goldman
505-428-9055 â&#x20AC;˘ info@mclingrouprealty.com A global reach with a boutique experience. Your unique home is marketed to 175,000 agents worldwide. 140 countries, translated into 19 languages and 55 currencies. Call us today to introduce your property to the world. 505-983-5151 8 2019 Feliz Navidad
See us in the NewYear forAllYour Real Estate Needs.
Feliz Navidad PUB LISH ED N OVEM BER 2 2, 2 0 19
ON THE COVER Sam Connan plays Santa. He claims a dark green suit is more authentic than red. PHOTO Gene Peach
EDITORIAL creative & editorial director Deborah Villa dvilla@sfnewmexican.com deborahvilladesign.com
12
40
30 44
magazine editor Patricia West-Barker copy editor Peg Goldstein
ADVERTISING DEPARTMENT advertising sales manager Wendy Ortega classified sales manager Laura Harding
ADVERTISING SALES Chris Alexander Deb Meyers Dana Teton Clara Holiday Trina Thomas Lisa Vakharia Carleen Daum ADVERTISING ART DEPARTMENT designers Elspeth Hilbert, Joan Scholl, Rick Artiaga TECHNOLOGY technology director Michael Campbell
Inside 11
A calendar packed with festivities
14
Christmas lights on the Plaza
packaging coordinator Brenda Shaffer
16
Christmas is...Nasario García
DISTRIBUTION circulation director Michael Reichard
20 España o Española?
WEB digital enterprise editor Henry Lopez www.santafenewmexican.com
24 I have a little dreidel
PRODUCTION operations director Tim Cramer prepress manager Dan Gomez press coordinator George Gamboa
ADDRESS OFFICE: 202 E. Marcy Street HOURS: 8 a.m.-5 p.m. Monday-Friday ADVERTISING INFORMATION: 505-995-3852 DELIVERY: 505-986-3010, 800-873-3372 FOR COPIES OF THIS MAGAZINE:
26 The art of hospitality 32
Holiday take-out
36 The French connection
or email circulation@sfnewmexican.com
40 Bounding into winter
OWNER Robin Martin
44 Holiday celebrations for every taste
PUBLISHER Tom Cross
46 Books to give as gifts
call 505-986-3010
EDITOR Phill Casaus
48 Gift ideas from the farmers market
2019 Feliz Navidad 9
Feliz Navidad
Celebrate The Season Holiday Open House Saturday, Dec. 21 10 - 5 • Refreshments •
Bring this ad for 20% OFF 1 item 125 E. Palace Ave. Casa Sena Plaza 505.988.5635
Merry Christmas From Our Family to Yours. __________________________________________
At Riverside Funeral Home of Santa Fe, we believe that reflecting on the good times is an important part of celebrating life. This season, we are grateful for the community and families we serve. So, whether this year has been a season of loss or a season of joy, our thoughts and prayers are with you.
New Mexico Owned and Operated 10 2019 Feliz Navidad
“Affordable Dignity” 3232 Cerrillos Road ~ Santa Fe ~ 505-395-9150 www.RiversideFunerals.com
A CALENDAR PACKED WITH FESTIVITIES BY STEPHANIE NAKHLEH My children were born in Santa Fe, and though they are now away at school and haven’t lived here for years, they still make it a point to spend some of their winter break in the city. No place is more magical during the holidays. From Christmas at the Palace (a childhood favorite) to the downtown festivities of New Year’s Eve (a more recent choice), Santa Fe offers a holiday calendar packed with activities. One of the first festivities to kick off the holiday season is the Santa Fe Botanical Garden’s GLOW event. “The dates are expanded in 2019 to include Thanksgiving weekend,” said Lindsay Taylor, spokesperson for the garden. “The event runs on weekends and select weekdays through December, closing with a kids’ New Year’s Eve party. The countdown to midnight is at 7 p.m. with a flower-petal drop.” Children can enjoy visits with Santa at the garden through Dec. 23. The Railyard District of Santa Fe has plenty of holiday magic on offer as well, with a variety of indoor and outdoor markets where shoppers can find everything from big pieces of art to small handmade stocking stuffers. “Our agricultural producers bring craft products such as pottery, jewelry, holiday cards and other non-farm-derived products,” said Debbie Burns, general manager of Santa Fe Farmers Market. “So the markets are very festive at this time of year.” The Railyard Artisans Holiday Market takes place every Sunday in December from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. On Dec. 7, the AHA Festival of Progressive Arts hosts its own holiday shopping event, String of Lights, in the farmers market space. At this market, adults can sip alcoholic beverages while browsing market stalls and enjoying food and live music. For the younger set, the Rio Metro Regional Transit District has Santa’s Village in the Railyard on Dec. 14, featuring games, crafts, face-painting and photos with Santa. The Santa Fe Children’s Museum holds events throughout the holiday season, but its annual Parent’s Night Out is often Mom and Dad’s favorite. “Kids always have the best time watching movies and playing in the museum while parents get a well-deserved few hours of rest,” said Fran Narain, administrative assistant for the museum. This year, the event is on Dec. 6 from 5:30 to 9 p.m. The cost is $25 per child. Finally, downtown Santa Fe is packed with beloved traditional holiday activities, from the Christmas tree lighting on the Plaza on Nov. 30 to Christmas at the Palace on Dec. 13. It all wraps up with New Year’s Eve on the Plaza, which kicks off at 9 p.m. and includes fireworks, live music and hot cider. “In this day and age, with all that is happening in the world, there are so many things that divide us,” said event organizer Ray Sandoval. “It is really important to come together in person as a community to welcome and celebrate a new beginning.” Stephanie Nakhleh grew up in New Mexico. She has written for many local publications. When not writing, she can be found in the garden or on the trails. GLOW at the Santa Fe Botanical Garden
GABRIELA CAMPOS
2019 Feliz Navidad 11
HOLIDAY EVENT CALENDAR GLOW
11.29
5:30-7:30 p.m.
GLOW PREVIEW PARTY
Santa Fe Botanical Garden 715 Camino Lejo santafebotanicalgarden.org Just before the official opening night of GLOW, the community is invited to a sneak preview of Santa Fe Botanical Garden’s annual holiday light show. Stroll along the garden paths and enjoy live entertainment, food and drinks — including adult beverages. Tickets available online.
11.30
3:30 p.m.
CHRISTMAS TREE LIGHTING ON THE PLAZA
Santa Fe Plaza, newmexico.org Enjoy hot chocolate and caroling as the Plaza is bedecked for the season with lights and holiday decor. Festivities start at 3:30 p.m. with entertainment on the bandstand and Girl Scouts selling cookies and hot chocolate. Santa and Mrs. Claus arrive at 4 p.m. At 4:30 volunteers begin lighting a thousand farolitos, which illuminate the Plaza until the main event at 6 p.m., presided over by Mayor Alan Webber, city councilors and other dignitaries.
11.30
9 a.m.-2 p.m.
ARTISTS MARKET: SMALL BUSINESS SATURDAY
Santa Fe Railyard, santafeartistsmarket.com Shop for handmade fine arts and crafts at this outdoor market in the Railyard, just north of the water tower. In addition to the special Small Business Saturday event, the market takes place every Saturday from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. through the end of December.
11.30-12.9
10 a.m.-5 p.m.
MYSTICAL ARTS OF TIBET
Institute of American Indian Arts 83 Avan Nu Po Road, iaia.edu The monks of Drepung Loseling Monastery construct a mandala with millions of grains of
12 2019 Feliz Navidad
GABRIELA CAMPOS
colored sand over a period of nine days. The event is in the dance studio of the Performing Arts Fitness Center at the Institute of American Indian Arts.
11.30-12.31 5-8 p.m.
GLOW
Santa Fe Botanical Garden 715 Camino Lejo santafebotanicalgarden.org GLOW features thousands of lights shining throughout the garden. Bring the family and enjoy a hot beverage by the fire, listen to local bands and get some holiday shopping done in the gift shop. The event runs on weekends and select weekdays through December, closing with a kids’ New Year’s Eve party. Santa visits through Dec. 23. Every evening, a children’s activity tent offers fun, naturethemed arts and crafts. Tickets are available at the door or online; kids 12 and under get in free.
12.1, 12.8, 12.15, 12.22 and 12.29 10 a.m.-4 p.m.
RAILYARD ARTISANS HOLIDAY MARKET
Santa Fe Farmers Market Pavilion 1607 Paseo de Peralta, artmarketsantafe.com Find handcrafted gifts, such as ornaments, apparel, cosmetics, totes, aprons and jewelry, from more than 60 local vendors.
12.4
1-4 p.m.
LIBRARY OPEN HOUSE
New Mexico Museum of Art 107 W. Palace Ave., nmartmuseum.org Explore the Museum of Art’s collection of handmade holiday cards exchanged by artists in New Mexico. These delightful works show the creativity and relationships between artists such as Gustave Baumann, Will Shuster, Gerald Cassidy, Olive Rush, Jozef Bakos, Sheldon Parsons, Willard Nash, Walter Ufer, Willard Clark, Dorothy Dunn, Joseph Imhof and Agnes Sims. The event includes an informal opportunity to browse
2018 Christmas carols on the Plaza stage
books and artist files, ask questions, exchange recommendations with the librarian and see what’s new. Free.
12.6
5:30-9 p.m.
PARENT’S NIGHT OUT
Santa Fe Children’s Museum 1050 Old Pecos Trail santafechildrensmuseum.org Drop off your youngsters (ages 5 to 12) at the museum for an evening of facilitated fun while you go holiday shopping. $25.
12.7
4-9 p.m.
FAROLITOS AT LOS LUCEROS
Los Luceros Historic Site nmhistoricsites.org/los-luceros At this newly designated state historic site, 35 miles north of Santa Fe, enjoy holiday festivities, including farolitos, luminarias and other Northern New Mexico traditions. Free. Call 505-476-1165 for more information.
12.7 and 12.8 10 a.m.-4 p.m.
YOUNG NATIVE ARTISTS WINTER SHOW & SALE
Palace of the Governors 105 W. Palace Ave., museumfoundation.org Children and grandchildren of artists associated with the Palace of the Governors Portal Program demonstrate and sell their own arts and crafts in the New Mexico History Museum’s Meem Community Room. Free.
12.7 and 12.8
4 p.m. Saturday, 1 p.m. Sunday
BROADWAY ON ICE
Genoveva Chavez Community Center 3221 Rodeo Road, santafeskatingclub.org The 2019 theme of Santa Fe Skating Club’s annual holiday show is Heroes and Villains on Ice. More than 50 local skaters participate. Tickets: $10 ages 12 and up; $5 ages 2-11; free for those under 2. Purchase tickets online and at the door.
GABRIELA CAMPOS
12.7
5-9 p.m.
STRING OF LIGHTS: A HOLIDAY MARKET
Santa Fe Farmers Market 1607 Paseo de Peralta ahafestival.com/string-of-lights-a-holidaymarket The AHA Festival of Progressive Arts hosts the fourth annual String of Lights: A Holiday Market. Get your holiday shopping done while you sip adult beverages (for those 21 and over), mix with friends and listen to live music. The event features drinks from Tumbleroot, a holiday photo booth, food trucks and more than 60 local vendors selling a wide variety of unique holiday gifts. Admission is free.
12.8
1-3 p.m.
POLAR EXPRESS BOOK READING
Santa Fe Children’s Museum 1050 Old Pecos Trail santafechildrensmuseum.org Enjoy hot cocoa and cookies along with a reading of The Polar Express in both English and Spanish. Free with museum admission. See website for more details.
12.11
6:30 p.m.
OUR LADY OF GUADALUPE FEAST DAY
Santuario de Nuestra Señora de Guadalupe 100 S. Guadalupe St. The Santuario de Nuestra Señora de Guadalupe in Santa Fe is the oldest church in the United States dedicated to Our Lady of Guadalupe. Traditionally, the Virgin of Guadalupe’s feast day is held anytime from Sept. 8 to Dec. 12, the latest date on which she is said to have appeared to Juan Diego. As the story goes, he was a humble peasant who encountered the Virgin in Mexico on Tepeyac Hill, the site of a former Aztec temple. For more information, call 505-983-8868.
Matachines Dance, Ohkay Owingeh/San Juan Pueblo, Christmas Eve 2015
12.12
OUR LADY OF GUADALUPE FEAST DAY
Pojoaque Pueblo 30 Buffalo Thunder Trail, Pojoaque pojoaque.org The pueblo celebrates Our Lady of Guadalupe’s feast day every year on Dec. 12. Feast day dances begin in the morning and continue throughout the day on the kiva plaza area.
12.13
5:30-8 pm
CHRISTMAS AT THE PALACE
Palace of the Governors 105 W. Palace Ave. nmhistorymuseum.org This annual event brings the community together for an evening of hot cider, cookies, live music, a chance to operate an antique printing press, old-fashioned activities and a visit from Mr. and Mrs. Claus — all in the festive setting of the Palace of the Governors and its luminaria-bedecked courtyard. It is a free family event. Donations of nonperishable food are welcomed.
12.14
10 a.m.-3 p.m.
SANTA’S VILLAGE
Santa Fe Railyard 1607 Paseo de Peralta riometro.org The Rio Metro Regional Transit District hosts the seventh annual Santa’s Village at Santa Fe Railyard. This family-friendly event features games, crafts, interactive displays, mini-train rides, face-painting and pictures with Santa. Extra north- and southbound New Mexico Rail Runner Express trains accommodate passengers. Admission to the event is free. See the website for train ticket information.
GENE PEACH
2018 Farolito Walk on Canyon Road
12.14
12.20
LIGHT AMONG THE RUINS: A CHRISTMAS CELEBRATION
WINTER SOLSTICE CELEBRATION
5-9 p.m.
5:30-8 p.m.
LUIS SANCHEZ SATURNO
12.24
LOS MATACHINES DANCE AND PINE TORCH PROCESSION
Jemez Historic Site NM 4 at Jemez Springs nmhistoricsites.org The ruins of Gíusewa Pueblo and San José de los Jémez Mission are decorated with hundreds of farolitos. The evening’s program includes traditional American Indian flute music and Jemez Pueblo dancers performing between two bonfires. The historic site also hosts an arts and crafts fair and has food available for purchase.
Santa Fe Children’s Museum 1050 Old Pecos Trail santafechildrensmuseum.org Celebrate the solstice by roasting s’mores over a bonfire, walking through a farolito labyrinth and joining a drum circle. Tickets: $3 for members; $5 for nonmembers.
Ohkay Owingeh Pueblo indianpueblo.org Los Matachines Dances take place throughout the day. Please call at least two days in advance (505-852-4400) to confirm that the dances will take place, as events may be canceled due to bad weather or other situations.
12.22
12.29
12.14 and 12.15
HOLIDAY OPEN HOUSE
New Mexico Museum of Art 107 W. Palace Ave. nmartmuseum.org The holiday open house is a round-robin of puppet plays, art-making projects, photos with Santa Claus and other activities. Free.
CHANUKAH ON ICE
WINTER INDIAN MARKET
La Fonda on the Plaza 100 E. San Francisco St. swaia.org For holiday shoppers looking for unique gifts from Native artists, Winter Indian Market has everything from one-of-a-kind masterworks to affordable art pieces. The market features 150 artists selling jewelry, pottery, paintings, weavings and more. Enjoy live music and dance. A silent auction benefits SWAIA. Market hours are Saturday, Dec. 14, 9 a.m.-5 p.m., and Sunday, Dec. 15, 10 a.m.-3 p.m. Tickets: one-day pass $10; weekend pass $15; children 12 and under get in free. Tickets available online and at the door.
12-4 p.m.
12.22
3:30-5 p.m.
CHANUKAH ON THE PLAZA
Santa Fe Plaza santafejcc.com Chanukah on the Plaza celebrates the season with the annual lighting of the menorah on the Plaza. The event features live entertainment and dancing, fresh hot latkes, hot cocoa and Chanukah gelt. Free.
12.15
12.24
LAS POSADAS
FAROLITO WALK
5:30-7 p.m.
Santa Fe Plaza nmhistorymuseum.org The annual candlelit procession of Las Posadas travels around the Santa Fe Plaza and concludes in the Palace courtyard. This version of an old Hispanic tradition, celebrated around the world, re-creates Mary and Joseph’s search for a place to give birth to the baby Jesus — and includes devils who deny the Holy Family a place of rest. The public is invited to stay for carols, cookies and hot cider in the Palace courtyard. The History Museum and Palace close at 3 p.m. to prepare for this event. Free.
6-9 p.m.
Canyon Road farolitowalk.com For decades, people have flocked to Canyon Road for this Christmas Eve tradition, during which thousands of farolitos cast a glow on the gardens, courtyards and adobe walls of the centuries-old buildings. Luminarias also light up the road, keeping shoppers warm. Join in the caroling and stop by galleries for hot cider. Vehicular traffic is prohibited from 5:30 to 10 p.m. on Canyon Road, Acequia Madre and Delgado Street. This is a free event.
1 p.m.
Genoveva Chavez Community Center 3221 Rodeo Road santafejcc.com Glide around the rink to Chanukah music and play skating games. Enjoy latkes, doughnuts and Chanukah gelt. A Chanukah video and Chanukah-themed arts and crafts are available to non-skaters. Admission is free; there is a $3 skate-rental fee.
12.31
9 p.m.- 12:15 a.m.
NEW YEAR’S EVE ON THE PLAZA
Santa Fe Plaza santafe.org/NYE Say ¡adios! to 2019 and ring in the New Year with family and friends on the historic Santa Fe Plaza. Local musicians perform on the bandstand until the stroke of midnight, when a handcrafted Zia flag is raised against a backdrop of fireworks launched from the roof of La Fonda, Santa Fe’s oldest hotel. Bonfires around the Plaza provide warmth and the signature scent of piñon. Space heaters and a warming tent are set up for seniors and families with small children. The Kiwanis Club of Santa Fe provides hot chocolate and bizcochitos. Attendees are advised to dress warmly and reminded that no alcohol consumption is permitted on the Plaza. Free. — STEPHANIE NAKHLEH
2019 Feliz Navidad 13
14 2019 Feliz Navidad
Christmas lights on the Plaza Photos by Gene Peach
2019 Feliz Navidad 15
La Matanza: Teodoro García family. circa 1922-24. Photo courtesy of the author
BY KAY LOCKRIDGE
Christmas is . . .
Family, friends, faith, fun and food. What do these words, individually or together, mean to you? To renowned New Mexico historian, folklorist and storyteller Nasario García, they all mean Christmas — especially those holidays of his early childhood in the Rio Puerco Valley. García was a babe in arms in late 1936 when he and his parents left his maternal grandmother’s grr home in Bernalillo and moved to Ojo del Padre (aka Guadalupe) in the Rîo Puerco Valley southeast of Chaco Canyon. They went from a large adobe home to a smaller adobe casita built by his father, grr grandfather and a family friend. The casita had two tw w rooms: a kitchen, where folks spent their days, and a bedroom, where the family that came to number seven people spent their nights over the next nine years. The casita had no electricity or running water. Water had to be drawn from the nearby river, while a lantern and kerosene lamp provided light in the kitchen and bedroom, respectively. “In cold winter months, multiple blankets were the name of the game, García said, adding that some heat came into the bedroom from the woodstove in the kitchen. “The heat didn’t last too long after we went to bed,” he remembered ruefully. What they did have plenty of was cattle, hogs, goats, chickens and rabbits, and a garden providing vegetables for the table. “We were poor [in material things], but what a rich childhood and life we had,” García exclaimed. “Christmas in our community — one of four in the valley at the time — was unique and very special. For us, it meant family, friends, faith, fun and food … oh, the food.” And while there were no traditional decorations at Christmastime, García remembers that a year or so before they left Ojo del Padre, his mother purchased a tiny artificial tree, on top of which she placed a little white angel. The tree, with its angel, sat on her dresser in the bedroom, right next to a figu gure u of her favorite saint: Santo Niño de Atocha. “My first real memory of Christmas,” García said thoughtfully, “I was 4 or 5 years old. We went to midnight Mass on Christmas Eve — the Rooster’s Mass, so called because lore had it that a rooster crowed the night Christ was
16 2019 Feliz Navidad
Nasario'ss childhood home, 1943. Author's photo
born, and it was heard around the world. “We got home around 2 to 3 a.m. and ate posole. Afterwards, we went right to bed. At breakfast we had bizcochitos and special pastries. What better life could you have?” After breakfast, García’s mother brought in three packages, two tw w of which she gave to his father and one to him. In his package was a pair of gloves. One of the two tw w boxes his mother gave to his father actually contained his present to her, which she had selected. “That way,” García laughed, “she always got something that she wanted.” Christmas when he was 7 years old stands out because he spent it with his maternal grandmother in Bernalillo. That morning, after breakfast, his grandmother had him get dressed. She then handed him an old flour fll bag and off they went, stopping at every house on the street and collecting empanadas and other goodies from the neighbors. When he was 8, García got a hat and another pair of gloves. Gifts of clothing were a constant, because they were useful and colorful. “I was not very happy at Christmas when I was 9, because I wanted a Red Ryder BB gun. Instead I got a pilot’s hat [it had flaps fll and was meant to be worn
under a pilot’s helmet], which I liked, and another pair of gloves. I guess I must have gone through [the gloves] or lost one or both a lot when I was a child,” he noted. He added that he did not get the gun then or later because his father revered all living creatures, including birds. He would give thanks to God for the pigs, cattle, chickens and rabbits that provided meat for the family to eat, year-round and eespecially at Christmas, noting that the animals n were not wasted or w degraded. d For the holiday posole, a hog was p butchered in late b October or early O November, when the N weather cooled. The w ttiming was crucial because there was no b rrefrigeration in the vvalley. As described in García’s book Grandpa G Lolo’s Mantanza: A New L Mexico Tradition, at 6 M aa.m. the grandchildren would follow Grandpa w Lolo to the corral to L sselect a pig to butcher. After that, everyone A had a task, such as h making chicharrones m aand tortillas. At the end of the day, tthe leftovers were split up among the adults u ffor their families. A grandmother got the pig’s head, which provided meat for tamales. García remembered one Christmas when a pig’s head was hung up wearing a hat, suggesting, his grandmother said, that the pig was happy to provide meat for the tamales. García wrote about that Christmas in a book called Grandma Lale’s Tamales: A Christmas Story, published in 2014 in both Spanish and English, as is much of his work. In addition to the bizcochitos and posole made with pork, hominy grits and red chile, the family enjoyed empanadas with beef. “We got beef from tw two w kinds of cattle: steers and cows, the latter of which provided tongu gues u for the empanadas. The cattle would be butchered in the fall, and the cows’ tongu gues u would be saved for Christmas. You would peel the film covering the tongu gue, u leaving the meat, which then would be ground up. I helped grind the tongu gue; u each of the children had a job to do at Christmas in preparing the food. The raisins, shelled piñon nuts and cinnamon were mixed in, then rolled in dough and deep-fried in fat. I can taste those empanadas today.” While cow’s tongu gue u is a traditional ingredient, empanadas now are usually made with plain beef, García noted unhappily. Looking back at his childhood in New Mexico and writing about it are favorite pastimes for García. He didn’t think much about his heritage while earning degrees in Spanish (BA) and Portugu guese u (MA) at the University of New Mexico and a PhD in 19th-century Spanish literature at the University of Pittsburgh, or while teaching those subjects at universities in Pennsylvania and elsewhere. It wasn’t until 1968, when he interviewed his paternal grandparents about their experiences moving to Albuquerque in 1912 and to the Rio Puerco Valley in 1936, that García became intrigu gued u by that history. He was inspired to return to the valley and interview 45 people who had lived there during its heyday. (Like Nasario and his family, most residents moved to Albuquerque
Historian and folklorist Nasario García, who received the Historical Society of New Mexico’s Lifetime Achievement Award in 2012, is the author of about two dozen history, folklore and children’s books — but none has been as well received and widely praised as Hoe, Heaven and Hell: My Boyhood in Rural New Mexico, published in 2015 by University of New Mexico Press. A richly recalled and minutely detailed memoir of García’s early childhood in the tiny town of Ojo del Padre (later renamed Guadalupe), in the Rio Puerco Valley about 80 miles outside Santa Fe, the book won the 2016 International Latino Book Award for Best Autobiography (English); the 2016 Fabiola Cabeza de Baca Award from the Historical Society of New Mexico; and 2015 New Mexico-Arizona Book Awards for Biography (New Mexico subject) and Best Book on New Mexico. Although his family faced an unrelenting series of droughts and other natural disasters and moved to Albuquerque in 1945, when he was just 10, their rural ranching and farming lifestyle lived on in García’s head and heart. “I want readers to identify with my childhood by looking at it from the bottom up,” García writes in the book’s introduction, so “they can learn what life was actually like seventy years ago for a kid like me, whose richness stemmed more from a unified family and customs and traditions than it did from material goods. . . . It is the life of a child who grew up with dirt under his fingernails (but never at the dinner table, for Mom would not allow that), a trademark of hard work and determination to survive at times against seemingly insurmountable odds. But it is also the life of a happy child who grew up roaming the landscape on horseback, caring for animals — especially my rabbits and horses — and working in the cornfields.” Vividly reimagined details of everyday life — cooking (many chapters contain recipes and menus), sewing with his mother, making kites, caring for animals, the first day of school and his introduction to the English language, fetching firewood with his father, the rituals surrounding an uncle’s wedding, laundry and bath days, poems, superstitions (“Don’t leave hairs in the washbasin, or they’ll turn into snakes”) and lyrics to some of his beloved mother’s favorite songs — bring those long-vanished rural Hispanic traditions back to life with both honesty and affection. Hoe, Heaven and Hell: My Boyhood in Rural New Mexico (2015, 360 pages) by Nasario García is available in paperback and as an ebook ($24.95 for either format) from University of New Mexico Press (unmpress.com/books/). — PATRICIA WEST-BARKER
when drought dried up the river that ran through the valley.) At that point, García moved back to New Mexico and became a professional folklorist, sharing his research and recollections of his youth through books, poems and stories. Much of his work is for and about children, always focusing on the history and culture of Hispanos. When he’s not traveling or giving public presentations, García, a trim, handsome man of 83, runs the paths of Santa Fe’s Park Plazas 3 to 4 miles per day, three times a week. With his wife, Janice Marie Smith García, he raised two daughters, Raquel Lynne García-Morris and Michele Celeste García there. He works in a small, comfortable studio in the well-appointed home, with floor-to-ceiling fll shelves holding perhaps thousands of books, which his daughter Michele is cataloging “so they will not disappear and be forgotten.” Books and poems flow fll from García through his computer, which he also uses for research and correspondence. The folklorist is perhaps best known for his memoir Hoe, Heaven and Hell: My Boyhood in Rural New Mexico, published by University of New Mexico Press in 2015, which won numerous awards for nonfiction writing in the Southwest. “Hispanic old-timers have been my supporting cast,” García said, “with the landscape and communities providing the stage for me and this cast. The valley is a microcosm of the Hispanic culture, which needs to be preserved and appreciated.” To that end, he has collected hundreds of stories from the old-timers. By turning them into entertaining fantasies for young and old, Hispanic and Anglo, he is educating readers about that culture and history. “The child in me lives through those stories, which I hope bring out the child in all of us,” García said. The rest is history — and family, friends, faith, fun and food — oh, the food! Kay Lockridge decided to become a journalist at age 12 and is still going strong as a writer and editor 68 years later — proving the pursuit is not the “passing fancy” her mother thought it was!
2019 Feliz Navidad 17
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GABRIELA CAMPOS
Los Matachines de Alcalde dance every Dec. 28 in front of St. Anne’s Catholic Church. Originating in Spain in the 17th century, the Matachines Dance is virtually unheard of now in that country.
España o Española? HOLIDAY TRADITIONS FROM THE OLD AND NEW WORLDS
BY STEPHANIE NAKHLEH When our daughter’s fiancé, Juan Miguel, joined us for his first Christmas season in New Mexico, he was confused. “Where are the grapes at midnight?” he asked as we stood around the Plaza rubbing our chilly hands and listening to the mayor’s speech. Juanmi is Spanish, and in Spain people eat grapes at midnight on New Year’s Eve. “The most important food of the night is the 12 grapes, which are eaten with the last 12 rings of the bell before midnight,” he explained. “Eating the grapes can be difficult at times, because you have to chew extremely fast, and if you start laughing you might spit grapes on the person next to you.” It was fair enough for Juanmi to expect certain traditions from Spain to be replicated in Santa Fe: after all, Santa Fe is steeped in Spanish traditions. But the grape-less New Year’s Eve is only one of the many differences between the holiday traditions. As it turns out, most of Spain’s current Christmas traditions developed in the 19th century, whereas the Spanish traditions of Santa Fe date back much earlier, to the first arrivals from Spain centuries ago. “Our local tradition is the Matachines Dance,” said Cindy Lujan, a retired nurse whose family has lived in Alcalde for centuries. “The dancers are all men, they dress in slacks and a white shirt, and they wear a crown with a fringe over their eyes so you can’t see their faces. A little girl, called La Malinche, is the only female there.” La Malinche was Spanish conquistador Hernán Cortés’ translator and mistress. “Then there’s the abuelo, the grandfather: he goes around cracking a whip at the kids, but it’s all in fun.
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GABRIELA CAMPOS
Breanna Martinez, 9, peeks over the pew at St Anne’s Catholic Church in 2018, when she played the role of La Malinche, the only female in the Matachines Dance.
He never hurts anyone.” The dance ends with the symbolic death of the bull. This tradition in Alcalde dates back hundreds of years and is performed every Dec. 28 at St. Anne’s Catholic Church. While the Matachines Dance is primarily performed in the pueblos of New Mexico, “It is a Hispanic tradition. It’s from Spain,” Lujan said. It originated in Spain in the 17th century, and some historians tie it to the
COURTESY PHOTOS
At the end of November in Spain the zambombas start and people gather in the town center to sing Christmas carols, or villancicos. In Juarez, the villancicos are sung flamenco style.
Moros y Cristianos morality plays, which depict the conquest of the former (the Moors) by the latter (the Christians). However, the Matachines Dance is virtually unheard of now in Spain — at Christmas or any other time. Instead, the heartbeat of the holiday spirit in Spain is firmly centered on Epiphany, Jan. 6, the day on the Christian calendar when the Three Kings, Los Reyes Magos, brought gifts to the baby Jesus. “The main celebration is the evening of January 5 — every city has a parade,” said Antonio Granjero, director of dance at Santa Fe’s Entreflamenco school. Granjero is from Jerez de la Frontera in Spain’s Andalucía region but has lived in Santa Fe long enough to compare the traditions. “Reyes Magos is similar to the marching bands here. The idea is to get the kids good and tired at the parade, so they will fall asleep as soon as they get home and the parents can put out their gifts as if the Three Kings had come.” The next day, Epiphany, is the traditional gift-giving day in Spain and what most Spanish children look forward to. “At the parade, the kings have helpers,” said Anna Llobet, a scientist at Los Alamos National Laboratory who is originally from Catalonia in the north of Spain. “The helpers call your name and ask if you’ve been a good kid, and after that’s done they go from house to house and distribute the gifts. You go to bed early, but you need to leave the kings some wine, some sweets and some water for the camels. You wake up early and your living room is packed with gifts.” In many rural villages, the kings’ helpers wear blackface, which has recently come under scrutiny as ideas about its acceptability have changed. Balthazar, one of the three kings, is also traditionally represented in blackface — although this is changing in the cities. Another unique and, to American sensibilities, bizarre Spanish holiday tradition is the caganer, or “pooping man.” Most nativity scenes, whether small ones in living rooms or life-size reenactments in the village center, include this figure, which is exactly what it sounds like. “The caganer is more important in Catalonia,” said Angel Ruiz, a guitarist with
People gather to sing villancicos in Andalusía in southern Spain in late November.
Entreflamenco. “But we have it in Andalucía as well. There, they take it seriously. In Andalucía it’s kind of a joke. The children look for it. They hide the figure under the tree or in different places so it’s more like hideand-seek.” The caganer, whose origins are mysterious but who appeared a few centuries ago, is also a tradition in the region of Valencia, where Juanmi is from. “In my house we would always set up a belén, or nativity scene,” he said. “This was always one of my favorite parts of Christmas, because my mom and I would always do it together, and we could take up a whole table creating an entire city. I always had a lot of fun putting the caganer in different parts of the city — sometimes in inappropriate places for a Catholic. I got scolded for this on various occasions.”
2019 Feliz Navidad 21
Santo Farolitos
by Santero Doug Nava
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22 2019 Feliz Navidad
It’s also typical in Spain for neighborhoods to throw open their doors on Christmas Eve and for children to run from house to house. A similar tradition happens in Alcalde, said Cindy Lujan. “When we’d wake up on Christmas morning, very early, we would do what we called pidiendo Christmas, which is similar to trick-or-treating. We would go to all our aunts’ and uncles’ houses and we’d yell ‘Mis Chreestmas!’ They would give you hard candy from a barrel, and an orange and peanuts. Everyone would treat the children. We had no fancy plastic bags. We would use a flower sack. Sometimes it would snow, and by the time you got home your bag was wet and your candy was stuck together, but it sure was good.” In spite of that profane addition to the holiday scene, most Spaniards I spoke to argued that Christmas in Spain is more religious than in the United States. “When we were kids, 99 percent of Spain was Catholic — Christmas and religion went hand in hand,” said Granjero. “Now it’s more Americanized, but a majority of Spaniards refuse to become commercialized and insist on Los Reyes Magos rather than Santa Claus because Reyes Magos is more traditional.” Jerez has another holiday tradition that is unique, Granjero said. “At the end of November, around the date of Thanksgiving, they decorate the streets in the town center and start the traditional zambombas. This is a meeting on a patio in the neighborhood where they’d all gather and sing Christmas carols, or villancicos. In the case of Jerez this is unique, because the villancicos are sung flamenco-style. We dance, we sing, we eat a lot of Christmas sweets.” He added that Santa Fe’s traditional Canyon Road walk on Christmas Eve reminds him a lot of the zambombas of Jerez. It’s also typical in Spain for neighborhoods to throw open their doors on Christmas Eve and for children to run from house to house. A similar tradition happens in Alcalde, said Lujan. “When we’d wake up on Christmas morning, very early, we would do what we called pidiendo Christmas, which is similar to trick-or-treating. We would go to all our aunts’ and uncles’ houses and we’d yell ‘Mis Chreestmas!’ They would give you hard candy from a barrel, and an orange and peanuts. Everyone would treat the children. We had no fancy plastic bags. We would use a flower sack. Sometimes it would snow, and by the time you got home your bag was wet and your candy was stuck together, but it sure was good.” Although traditions vary widely, everyone agreed that food is central to the holiday spirit — even if the foods themselves vary by region. In Spain, the centerpiece of Christmas dinner in the coastal regions is shrimp. (My daughter struggled with this when she had her first Spanish Christmas — literally struggled, as she’d never shelled a shrimp before and had some difficulty getting past the legs and eyes attached to the creatures.) Granjero and Ruiz said that turkeys were common on Christmas plates only during the Spanish Civil War, when they were the cheapest protein around; Spaniards reverted to shellfish after the crisis. In the north and central areas of Spain, it’s more common to find land animals on the plate — although jamón (ham) remains more popular than turkey. In the Santa Fe region, by contrast, Christmas is associated with posole, tamales and bizcochitos. “The Christmas meal always consists of red chile, tamales and chicos,” said Melissa Atencio, a stay-at-home mom in Española. Tamale-making parties are a central part of the holidays for many families, “and there are always bizcochitos for dessert.” Those anise-seed cookies, made with lard, do have a counterpart in Spain. Different regions have different names for them, but in Valencia they are called mantecados, or lard cookies. Whether in España or Española, there is firm agreement that one does not use butter. “I don’t care about the health aspect — I always use lard in my bizcochitos,” said Lujan, echoing the opinion of many a baker throughout New Mexico and Spain. As for the ancient debate over the definition of farolitos versus luminarias, the Spaniards cannot help settle it. Farolitos don’t exist in Spain, “and we just call the bonfires candelas,” Granjero said.
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2019 Feliz Navidad 23
‘I HAVE A LITTLE DREIDEL’ A toy that celebrates resistance to religious assimilation
BY CLAUDETTE E. SUTTON Consider the dreidel. That little four-sided top is one of the most recognizable symbols of the Jewish holiday of Chanukah. The Hebrew letters on each side provide not only instructions for playing the game (see box) but also a teaching tool for passing down the Chanukah story: the miraculous ancient victory of a small band of Jews over a powerful Syrian-Greek army that attempted to quash their right to practice their religion. As Jewish as you can get, right? Not quite. The dreidel’s origins aren’t entirely Jewish. Its history spans several centuries, countries, faiths and languages — a kind of cultural fusion embodied in a toy. According to Rabbi David Golinkin, in “The Surprising Origin of the Dreidel” on Myjewishlearning.com, the dreidel’s closest antecedent is a four-sided top known as a totum (from the Latin word for “all”), used in England and Ireland in the early 1500s, particularly at Christmastime. By the 1800s, it was called a teetotum, and a letter on each side corresponded to an English word, representing instructions for how to play: T for “take all,” H for “take half,” P for “put down one” and N for “do nothing.” When the top twirled over to continental Europe, the letters were changed to reflect local languages. In Germany, Yiddish-speaking Jews renamed the top a dreidel, from a German word meaning “to spin,” and replaced the four German letters with Hebrew counterparts. This came at a time when Jews in predominantly Christian regions were building up a relatively minor winter holiday into one that could provide some counterweight against Christmas. The spinning toy found a ready place in Chanukah festivities. Somewhere along the way, the Hebrew letters were given the additional significance of denoting the first letter of each word in the phrase “Nes gadol haya sham” — A great miracle happened there — referring to the victory of the Jews over the Syrian-Greeks and rededication of their temple. Here in New Mexico, the dreidel wasn’t found among the earliest Jewish settlers, known as the crypto-Jews, who came to the New World under the cloak of Christianity after the expulsion of Jews from Spain in 1492. The dreidel, by any name, was unknown to them back in pre-Inquisition Spain, and Chanukah itself hadn’t yet evolved as a significant holiday. The most similar toy in this region would have been the topo, or trompo, a Mexican spinning toy. The dreidel as we know it didn’t show up here until Ashkenazi Jews (of German and Russian descent) came to New Mexico Territory in the late 1800s and early 1900s as traders and merchants. Carved, four-sided wooden tops with a letter on each side seem to originate from this period in New Mexico. Ron Duncan Hart, a renowned Santa Fe author and historian, speculates that when crypto-Jewish New Mexicans who still maintained some memory of a Jewish heritage saw Ashkenazi Jews playing with a dreidel, they saw it as something similar to the topo but also significant in Jewish customs, and they adopted it.
24 2019 Feliz Navidad
How to play dreidel The eight-day celebration of Chanukah begins this year at sundown on Dec. 22. You’re likely to find dreidels for sale in the weeks before at Santa Fe Jewish Center-Chabad, Kaune’s, Pharmaca and Amazon. Here are the rules: • Any number of people can play. • Each player gets the same number of game pieces (10 to 15), consisting of nuts, chocolate coins, matchsticks, pennies or other small objects. • Each player puts one piece into the “pot.” • The first player spins the dreidel and takes the action indicated by the letter on the side that lands facing up. Some dreidels have a transliteration of each letter. If yours doesn’t, use this guide: = nun. The player does nothing. = gimel. The player gets everything in the pot. Everyone adds one piece back to the pot. = hay. The player takes half of what’s in the pot. = shin. The player has to share, or put one piece into the pot. • Once everyone has taken a turn, each player puts another piece into the pot. • When a player has no pieces left, they are out of the game. • When one person has all the pieces, the game is over. (Adapted from A Different Light: The Chanukah Book of Celebrations, published by the Shalom Hartman Institute and Devora Publishing.)
“The whole thing about the crypto-Jewish experience was that you had to be very subtle about it,” Hart said. “The traditions that survived were those observed in the shelter of the home, such as lighting candles on Friday night and not eating pork.” A dreidel might well have been incorporated into Jewish family life without raising suspicion. “It might even have been an identity marker,” Hart added, “a subtle way of identifying as Jewish to other Jews.” Even though New Mexico’s crypto-Jews didn’t celebrate Chanukah, there was apparently enough extant Jewish identity that the holiday emerged a few centuries later, once it became safe to be more open about Judaism. Now reconsider the dreidel. That unassuming toy, mass-produced in plastic or wood, emblematic of a holiday celebrating resistance to religious assimilation, is itself an amalgam of many cultures, languages and religions. Here in New Mexico, it is particularly illustrative of the ways Jewish identity has adapted, blended, been hidden, been forgotten, been rediscovered, been reinvented — and persevered. That’s a tall order for any toy. Claudette E. Sutton is the author of “Farewell, Aleppo: My Father, My People and Their Long Journey Home” and the editor of “Tumbleweeds,” Santa Fe’s family newspaper.
2019 Feliz Navidad 25
Stormy Canyon Tony Abeyta (Navajo)
THE ART OF
HOSPITALITY
LA FO NDA O N T HE PL AZ A B L EN DS H I S TO RY WI T H CRE AT I VI T Y
BY PATTI LASALLE-HOPKINS Art fills every corner and corridor, wall and window in La Fonda on the Plaza. From historic murals to modern glass sculptures, more than 1,050 individual works command attention. And you don’t have to be a paying guest to enjoy the hotel’s visual treasures. Since 2015 La Fonda has engaged 40 docents to lead free art and history La Fonda docents provide free art tours. Seventy-five percent of the hotel’s and history tours from 10:30-11:30 am interior, including the guest rooms, Wednesday through Saturday. Call contains original art. “The impetus 505-995-2333 for reservations. For for the docent program was to have more information, see lafondasantafe. knowledgeable folks inform guests and com/about/docent-tours. the general public about our rich history Through Feb. 29, La Fonda is among and amazing art,” said Jenny Kimball, several Santa Fe hotels and galleries chair of the La Fonda board of directors. participating in an artist in residence She is a tireless scout in seeking out art to program. Artists create their works collect and artists to support. “My goal is on-site, enabling visitors to see art to keep the collection moving forward by in progress that is also available to adding current artists and filling any gaps purchase. For days and times of in works by seminal artists whose art we demonstrations, see santafe.org/ do not have. I think art should be shared Santa_Fe_Artists_in_Residence/ as far and wide as possible.” Since its index.html. inception, the program has logged more than 6,000 tour-takers. In the lobby, paintings by Gerald Cassidy (1879-1934) reflect the hotel’s rich artistic history in promoting the West as a vacation destination. Some sort of lodging establishment has operated on its Plaza footprint since 1610. When the Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railway purchased La Fonda in 1925,
26 2019 Feliz Navidad
Painted windows, Ernest Martinez
it commissioned Cassidy to paint images of Native American ceremonial dancers, trappers, missionaries and other iconic figures of the West. The paintings were reproduced as 36-by-24-inch posters and placed in railroad stations throughout the country. In 1926 the railway leased the hotel to the Fred Harvey Company, which operated La Fonda for more than 40 years. The company made the hotel headquarters for its Indian Detours travel program, an example of how entrepreneurs of the day used art to commodify the cultures of the West, employing images of the exotic to entice the curious. Eleven Cassidy paintings are hung throughout the hotel, restored to erase years of damage from sun and smoke.
Artful lodgings Art throughout the hotel reveals the breadth of the La Fonda collection. A bulto of the Virgin Mary dating from 1820, one of La Fonda’s oldest
Untitled, mezzanine mural Vladan Stiha
pieces, shares lobby space with a newer acquisition, a wall-mounted glass sculpture etched with Native American symbols by artist Tammy Garcia of Santa Clara Pueblo. Across the room, a painting by Marla Allison of Laguna Pueblo illustrates the hotel’s desire not only to share historic art but also to showcase young artists whose works are redefining tradition. “Allison reflects her Indian heritage but has been inspired by artists such as Pablo Picasso and Gustav Klimt,” said docent Peta Stockdale, leading a tour group of 10 one day in October. Several observers commented on the dress worn by the elegant woman in the painting. The symbols on her shimmery gown of black, gold, silver and “a touch of blue” (the painting’s title) remind onlookers of Klimt’s famous Portrait of Adele Bloch-Bauer (commonly known as The Woman in Gold.) “La Fonda has continued the tradition of augmenting [its] collection, bringing in artists with fresh ways of interpreting a constantly changing community,” writes artist Tony Abeyta (Navajo) in La Fonda Then and Now (La Fonda Holdings, 2016). The collection also welcomes “a new wave of younger Native artists,” Abeyta said. They include Sheldon Harvey (Navajo), Nocona Burgess (Comanche), Ira Lujan (Taos/Ohkay Owingeh), and Jordan Ann Craig (Northern Cheyenne). Abeyta’s works are a prominent presence in the hotel. His dramatic Stormy Canyon, with stylized, bold strokes coloring the landscape, greets visitors near lobby elevators. His mixed-media masks appear in other locations. The hotel’s commitment to collect and display art dates from the Harvey years, promoted by architects John Gaw Meem and Mary Colter. Their extension of the hotel from 1926 to 1929 echoed the Spanish Pueblo revival style that Meem championed. Colter, lead architect and designer on the project, developed interiors reflecting the same vernacular. She even painted furniture, including blanket chests that can be found in several rooms today. The commitment to share art with the public gained momentum under the late Sam and Ethel Ballen, Dallas residents and frequent hotel guests. They purchased La Fonda in 1968 to keep it from being demolished and began to fill it with art they loved, especially works by Native American artists. The commitment has been embraced and energized by Kimball, who purchased the hotel in 2014 with her brother, Philip Wise; his firm, Cienda Partners; and other investors. They launched a new start for the inn at the end of the trail. “Over the years the Ballens kept purchasing art, traded with artists, commissioned pieces and frequented markets and auctions,” Kimball said. “When we redid the guest rooms in 2013, we called in a curator to look at what’s old and new, what’s original or what’s a reproduction. We decided to focus on displaying original pieces,” even in guest rooms.
The Eagle Dancer Gerald Cassidy
2019 Feliz Navidad 27
Untitled, mask Gregory Lomayesva (Hopi)
Art from within
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Today, the hotel is filled with wide-ranging works from established and emerging artists. But the collection also reveals a commitment to nurturing art from within. An example is the career of Ernest Martinez, who worked at La Fonda for 50 years. Hired in 1954 as a temporary worker to repair furniture, he was asked in the 1980s to touch up some windows painted by an unknown artist. He ended up painting 480 hotel windowpanes with flowers, chile ristras, plants and animals (not counted in the hotel’s grand total of art). The windows provide a festive setting around the hotel’s La Plazuela restaurant and also adorn hotel doorways. (According to Stockdale, only three of the glass panes contain the image of a person, and she challenges her tour groups to find them.) The art-filled windows alone are a legacy worth celebrating, but Martinez did not stop there. He added his floral flourishes throughout the hotel, decorating utilitarian objects such as laundry chutes and light switches, and even pillars in the parking garage. From his basement workshop, he also produced larger works of art: his oil painting of Monument Valley, 110 by 60 inches, fills a wall outside a first-level ballroom. “The whole hotel is my gallery,” he once said. For the Ballens, encouraging art from within also meant occasionally housing itinerant artists in exchange for their creations. One of them was Yugoslavian refugee Vladan Stiha. In return for lodging and gallery space, he painted a mural that stretches across two walls of the mezzanine. About 36 feet wide and 4 feet high, it depicts Native American life and ceremonies.
Playful art The collection also shows some successful collaborations, such as Rio Grande Pueblo Girl, a work of acrylic on wood by Allison, Mateo Romero (Cochiti) and Ryan Singer (Navajo). It consists of three paintings framed together, one by each artist, each showing a woman standing and balancing a pot on her head. It has 32 movable pieces attached by Velcro, which the artists sometimes move to achieve a new look. It’s a favorite, Stockdale said, “because it shows that art can be playful and approachable.” Art on unusual surfaces also finds its place in the collection. As a benefit for a nonprofit organization, La Fonda once supplied cowboy hats and invited artists to create “cowboy hat art,” which now fills a wall in a mezzanine stairwell. Coming next is art on skate decks, the flat platforms of skateboards. “We want our art to appeal to all ages,” Kimball said. La Fonda shows that the old and the new can coexist in creative ways. The joining of then and now enables the hotel to remain thoroughly modern while faithfully preserving its history. When a recent renovation called for new headboards to be placed in guest rooms, “the old ones were not discarded,” said Stockdale. “That’s not the way with La Fonda.” They were recycled as wall art, decorating the halls outside guest rooms. New ones were crafted in the same style, with painted wood and images inspired by folk art. Through such design decisions, the hotel pays homage to traditional motifs and materials, such as original punched-tin chandeliers, wall sconces, corbels, vigas, latillas, stained glass and massive fireplaces. All are preserved and protected, reminding the visitor that the past is ever-present as La Fonda goes about its everyday business of hospitality. The entire hotel, said one tourist, is “a living work of art.” Patti LaSalle-Hopkins has written for and edited magazines at American University and Georgetown University in Washington, D.C., and SMU in Dallas. Originally from Arizona, she now lives in Santa Fe.
28 2019 Feliz Navidad
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Christmas
WHERE TO FIND THE BEST TRADITIONAL NEW MEXICAN HOLIDAY FOODS — TO GO
BY MARIA MANUELA PHOTOS BY KITTY LEAKEN Nothing compares to the holiday season in the Land of Enchantment. The twinkly lights and farolitos brighten the darkness of winter. The air smells like piñon as fireplaces work to warm full living rooms. And, best of all, we get to indulge in holiday treats. New Mexican holiday foods are those we also tend to eat year-round, like green chile stew and tamales. These traditional dishes are perfectly suited for the holidays because they can feed a ton of hungry tummies and take the chill out of freezing temperatures. The holiday magic passes in a flurry, so here’s a list of the best take-out versions of festive foods, so you can just order, pick up and spend more time eating chile with the family.
Green Chile Stew This year-round savory favorite can be the hero of the season. The spicy, brothy stew can soothe a hangover after a rowdy night of tree dressing or warm you after the Canyon Road walk. A magic medley of meat, chile and potatoes, green chile stew can be easily made in bulk at home to feed the whole family — or purchased from the professionals when time and energy are tight.
Posa’s El Merendero Tamale Factory & Restaurant
1514 Rodeo Road, 505-820-7672, santafetamales.com
Green chile stew is the kind of dish that calls for seconds. So having extra (which can also be enjoyed the day after) is never a bad thing. The catering menu at Posa’s offers up to a gallon of the delicious pork-based stew, so you can stock up ($14.95 quart; $26 half gallon; $47 gallon).
La Choza Restaurant
905 Alarid St., 505-982-0909, lachozasf.com
Green Chile Stew from La Choza
take-out 32 2019 Feliz Navidad
Spanish for “the hut,” La Choza also makes its green chile stew with pork. Beware — it can be super-spicy. Eat it with a heap of La Choza’s famous garlic bread, which is toasty and perfect for dunking. The restaurant doesn’t offer catering, but it’s still a great take-out option if your holiday horde is on the smaller side ($5.75 cup; $8.75 bowl).
Bumble Bee’s Baja Grill
301 Jefferson St., 505-820-2862, bumblebeesbajagrill.com If you need to grab a few bowls of green chile stew on the fly during your holiday rush, Bumble Bee’s drive-through is your spot. They top their stew — which is available with chicken, pork, tofu or lamb — with cheese, pico de gallo, sour cream, cilantro and tortilla chips for crunch. It’s mildly spicy and oh so good ($10 per serving for pork, chicken or tofu; $14 per serving for lamb). The catering menu offers a quart of pork, chicken or tofu green chile stew for $12.50; a quart of lamb green chile stew is $18.50. To place an order, call Dago at 505820-2862 a few hours before you want to pick up.
Tamales from Posas’s
Tamales A New Mexican staple, classic versions of these delicious masa pockets are made with pork and red chile or chicken and green chile. You can also enjoy veggie versions made with corn or calabacitas. They’re great for parties because they don’t have to be served smothered, so it’s possible to unwrap and enjoy them handheld as you mingle. A plus: They look like little presents wrapped in corn husks and tied.
Atrisco Café & Bar
193 Paseo de Peralta (in the DeVargas Center), 505-983-7401, atriscocafe.com
The recipes in the Atrisco kitchen were handed down from owner George Gundry’s mother, father, aunts and uncles. The chile is savory and not killyou spicy, so the tamales here are likely to please the entire family. Tamales from the catering menu come smothered in red or green chile, topped with cheese. Call at least a day before you want to pick up ($32 for eight tamales; $78 for 20 tamales).
El Parasol
Santa Fe locations: 1833 Cerrillos Road, 505-995-8015; 298 Dinosaur Trail, 505-995-8226, elparasol.com
The Atencio family has been making and selling tamales since 1958, when Pedro and Lorenzo Atencio helped their mother, Frances, run a sort of drive-through near an umbrella on the main street of Española. As demand grew for the family’s food, their business expanded. Today El Parasol has six locations. (See the website for a complete list.) Call ahead to place your order and use the drive-through windows ($31.50 for 12 pork/red chile tamales; $34 for 12 chicken/green chile tamales).
Posa’s El Merendero Restaurant & Tamale Factory 1514 Rodeo Road, 505-820-7672, santafetamales.com
Posa’s may be the queen of New Mexico tamales. They are made the traditional way, by hand, and are offered in pork, chicken, cheese and vegan versions. You can order them singly or by the dozen or half dozen ($2.95 each; $14.75 per half dozen; $27.95 per dozen). If family or friends prefer their tamales smothered, try the tamale pie casserole ($38.50 for a half casserole that feeds eight; $70.95 for a full casserole that feeds 16).
Alicia’s Tortilleria
1314 Rufina Circle, Santa Fe, 438-9545 Alicia’s is a local favorite that truly serves the neighborhood — the kind of place you can go to buy a few corn tortillas or a taco on your lunch break. The tortilleria makes a variety of tamales, including pork with red or green chile, a veggie and a sweet version. Alicia's is super popular during the holidays, so place your order a few days ahead of your pick-up date ($15 for one dozen tamales).
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Posole These giant, stewed corn kernels are as traditionally New Mexican as it gets. If you are a local, this hearty precolonial dish is what your abuela feeds you when you’re sick. Posole can be prepared with pork, chicken or veggies. The best versions are slow-cooked with red chile pods for a deep, smoky flavor.
Tomasitas
500 S. Guadalupe St. 505-983-5721, tomasitas.com This family-owned restaurant has been a Santa Fe favorite for 40 years. Be sure to call two to three days in advance to place your order if you’re going the catering route. They close early on Christmas Eve, so pick up before 3 p.m. (or the day before your event) to retrieve your holiday meal ($4.50 per pint; $8 per quart; $13 per half gallon).
El Parasol
Santa Fe locations: 1833 Cerrillos Road 505-995-8015; 298 Dinosaur Trail 505-995-8226, elparasol.com A classic recipe, this posole is made with pork. Ask for red, green or Christmas chile when you place your order, which you can do up to a week in advance. The earlier you order the better at this most wonderful time of year ($40 per gallon; feeds 30 to 35).
Tortilla Flats
3139 Cerrillos Road, Santa Fe 505-471-8685, tortillaflats.net Tortilla Flats makes it beef posole fresh every day It's less soupy than other versions, but you can ask for extra broth when you order and choose red or green chile as an add-in. Call a day ahead if you want more than a gallon so the kitchen can have enough on hand ($10.50 per quart; $39.50 per gallon).
Posole from Tomasita’s
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Bizcochitos These traditional cookies are usually flavored with anise and cinnamon. Crisp and flaky, they leave a light kiss of sugar on your lips. As the official state cookie, they are certainly what Santa Claus expects to find during every delivery he makes in New Mexico.
Celina’s Biscochitos
404 Osuna Road N.W., Los Ranchos de Albuquerque 505-269-4997, celinasbischocitos.com Celina’s makes traditional anise cookies as well as lemon, red chile, green chile pecan and cocoa chocolate chip variations. Get a jump on your to-do list and order online or stop by the brick-and-mortar location. The gift box options make great hostess gifts, and you can mix and match flavors ($14 for two dozen traditional; $17 for two dozen in a gift box; $23.50 for three dozen in a gift box). Celina’s ships its bizcochitos. To ensure delivery before Christmas, place your order by Dec. 15.
Tesuque Village Market
138 Tesuque Village Road, 505-988-8848, tesuquevillagemarket.com Bizcochitos from Chocolate Maven
A girlfriend who recently relocated from Los Angeles buys a bag of bizcochitos for her family every time we meet for some famous TVM margs. These cookies are chunkier than other versions — kind of like the love child of a traditional bizcochito and a Mexican wedding cookie. Call ahead to make sure they haven’t sold out ($6 per bag of about 10 cookies).
El Parasol
Santa Fe locations: 1833 Cerrillos Road, 505-995-8015; 298 Dinosaur Trail 505-995-8226, elparasol.com Don’t forget to add a bag of bizcochitos to your order of tamales and posole. The cookies at El Parasol are super-traditional. Bring a bag to a party and be everyone’s favorite guest ($12 for one dozen).
Natillas A Spanish vanilla custard, this desert is creamy, fluffy and sweet — similar to crème anglaise. In New Mexico, it’s usually topped with cinnamon. If you see natillas on the menu at a restaurant, you know you’ve found a truly traditional spot.
Atrisco Café & Bar
193 Paseo de Peralta (in the DeVargas Center) 505-983-7401, atriscocafe.com This is the best place for natillas if you have a huge crew — or if you just really, really like natillas and want to treat yourself to a lot of it ($7 per pint; $11 per quart; $24 for a half gallon).
El Paragua
603 Santa Cruz Road, Española, 505-753-3211, elparagua.com The Atencio family opened El Paragua in their tack room in 1966. This historic restaurant serves both traditional dishes and unique recipes like Enchiladas Atencio, made with mushrooms and chicken. They do not offer catering portions, but their natillas is made with an old family recipe, and visiting this institution to pick up your take-out is a treat in itself ($8 per serving). Please note that prices quoted are subject to change. Natillas from Atrisco
Maria Manuela is a writer based in Santa Fe, where she was born and raised. She focuses on highlighting locals, with an emphasis on women doing creative work. Newly married, she lives with her husband and two French bulldogs.
2019 Feliz Navidad 35
PHOTO COURTESY GABRIELLA MARKS
COURTESY PHOTO
Sofian Himeur and Laurent Gruet
THE FRENCH CONNECTION Gruet marks 30 years in New Mexico
BY LAUREL GLADDEN On the wall of Gruet Winery’s Santa Fe tasting room, a mural traces — in a whimsical, slightly cartoonish fashion — the family’s journey from France in 1952 to their newfound home in New Mexico in 1984. It’s an homage to Gruet’s roots and illustrates the enduring link that both the family and their wine have with their homeland of France. In the 1950s, paterfamilias Gilbert Gruet began planting chardonnay grapes and producing champagne in the village of Bethon; in 1967 he founded the Gruet et Fils cooperative. In the early 1980s, while traveling across the Southwest with his family, he met other European winemakers who had put down roots and begun experimenting with winemaking in New Mexico. In addition to being relatively cheap, especially when compared to the perennially popular wine-growing regions of California, land in New Mexico, with its sandy soil and growing season marked by hot days and very cool nights, was in many ways ideal for growing grapes for sparkling wine. So it was that in 1984, the Gruets purchased a vineyard in Engle, some 160 miles south of Albuquerque, where history had it that vineyards had been planted as early as the 1600s. Shortly thereafter, Gilbert’s son Laurent; daughter Nathalie; Nathalie husband, Farid Himeur; and Nathalie and Farid’s son Sofian embarked on an adventure to expand the family’s empire in the Land of Enchantment. The Gruet family began pressing chardonnay and pinot noir grapes and opened their Albuquerque winery three years later. The first two Gruet sparkling wines — the 1987 Brut and Blanc de Noirs — were released 30 years ago, in 1989. In the production of wines, Gruet employs the three primary champagne grapes — chardonnay, pinot noir
36 2019 Feliz Navidad
and pinot meunier — and utilizes a process known as méthode champenoise (also called méthode traditionelle). Yeast and sugar — called dosage — are added to a still, low-alcohol wine, which causes a second fermentation to take place, creating and capturing carbon dioxide in each bottle. Today Gruet is one of the largest U.S. producers of sparkling wine made using this traditional method. The family is French, they hail from a champagne-producing region and their traditions are time honored. So why are Gruet’s wines not considered champagne? The difference between true champagne and sparkling wines is much like the distinction between a square and a rectangle: all champagnes are sparkling wines, but not all sparkling wines are champagnes. Only sparkling wine from the Champagne region of France — an area in the northeast of the country known for its mineral-rich soil — can use that exclusive moniker. Nomenclature and labeling issues aside, Gruet has been garnering awards since its first release. Many of its sparklers have earned “very good” and “outstanding” scores from Wine Spectator, and the non-vintage Blanc de Noirs earned a spot on that publication’s list of 100 Top Wines in 2011 (a rare feat for a sparkler with a sub-$20 price tag). Today Gruet sources grapes from three locations in New Mexico — the original vineyard, consisting of 75 acres east of Truth or Consequences and Elephant Butte; 300 acres at the Luna Rossa Winery in Deming, with which Gruet has a contract for sourcing; and the 30-acre Tamaya Vineyard on the Santa Ana Pueblo. Laurent is head winemaker, Nathalie serves as brand ambassador and Sofian works closely with his uncle as assistant winemaker. To commemorate the winery’s 30th anniversary, it is
GIFT & GOURMET Local Santa Fe Pottery Featured Local Food Products
PHOTO COURTESY GABRIELLA MARKS
Gruet’s Santa Fe Tasting Room 210 Don Gaspar Ave. (at Hotel St. Francis) 505-989-9463 Open 11 a.m.-7 p.m. Sundays-Wednesdays, 11 a.m.-9 p.m. Thursdays-Saturdays, noon-8 p.m. Sundays. Holiday hours: Closed Thanksgiving Day; closes at 4 p.m. Sunday, December 15; open noon-3 p.m. Christmas Eve; closed Christmas Day; open noon-3 p.m. New Year’s Eve; closed New Year’s Day.
Gruet’s Albuquerque Tasting Room 8400 Pan American Freeway N.E. 505-821-0055 Open 10 a.m.-7 p.m. Mondays-Wednesdays, 10 a.m.-9 p.m. Thursdays and Fridays, 11 a.m.-9 p.m. Saturdays, 11 a.m.-6 p.m. Sundays. Holiday hours: Closed Thanksgiving Day; closes at 4 p.m. Sunday, December 15; open noon-3 p.m. Christmas Eve; closed Christmas Day; open noon-3 p.m. New Year’s Eve; closed New Year’s Day.
offering two limited-edition sparkling wines. The barrel-aged Brut, made with chardonnay and pinot noir grapes and aged in oak barrels for six months, tastes of citrus, vanilla and brioche with mineral touches. The sparkling Pinot Meunier is made with grapes grown and hand-harvested at the Tamaya Vineyard. Boasting flavors of shortbread and pear, this well-balanced wine is made entirely with the grapes from which it takes its name, one of the three grapes most commonly used in the production of true French champagne. This special release recognizes one of the subtle bonds between the winery and the homeland of Grand-père Gruet, the man who started it all. Laurel Gladden is a writer and editor living in Eldorado. She is outdoorsy in that she likes drinking wine on patios.
200 East Water Street, Santa Fe, New Mexico 87501 505-982-5953 Hours: Open 10:00 am – 5:30 pm 2019 Feliz Navidad 37
Be a part of the Santa Fe New Mexicanâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s
Want to know where the BEST holiday displays are this year? SO DO WE!
Join the fun and post your favorite displays on our map at:
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The New Mexican will publish a special photo spread of the five best displays online and in the newspaper on Christmas Day Deadline to enter: December 1, 2019
*Santa Fe New Mexican employees not eligible for prizes. 38 2019 Feliz Navidad
Charlie Burk oil painting
Gilberto Romero bronze sculpture
Ka Karen a Bexfield glass sculpture
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701 Canyon Road 505.992.8878
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2019 Feliz Navidad 39
Bounding into winter Dance of the antelope
BY ROSEMARY DIAZ (SANTA CLARA) When Antelope appears as your spirit animal, it is time for watchfulness. Antelope as a totem animal belongs to the pure of heart. Invoke Antelope as your power animal when quick action is necessary. (Native American proverb) From the grass-covered expanses of the Great Plains to the sun-soaked deserts of the Southwest, from the warm sands of the coastal shores to the rocky slopes of mountains to the north, the songs, stories and oral histories of many Native American tribes include references to the antelope. The Apache, the Assiniboine, the Blackfeet, the Cree, the Hopi, the Kootenai, the Osage, the Paiute, the Sioux, the Tachi Yokut, and the Tewa, Tiwa and Towa are among those who share a deep reverence for the quick-minded, agile and resilient animal. Alert, curious, discerning and master of delicate maneuvers, the antelope symbolizes the ability to move quickly, adapt and survive; it is also associated with rain, harvest and abundance. The appearance of an antelope in a human settlement is believed to carry a message from the spirit world: We are reminded to be more observant of our surroundings, follow our instincts and keep moving forward. In the early 1970s, I lived at Kha Po’o Owingeh (Santa Clara Pueblo) with my grandparents. I sometimes stayed with my great-grandmother, Gia Kwijo, who lived on the eastern edge of the village where she was among the first to greet the sun each morning. In the evenings, while she brushed my hair in front of a piñon-fed fire, she told me stories about the history of the Pueblo people. One of my favorites, especially on cold, wintry nights, was the story about how the antelope dance, or t’ong shadé, came to be part of Pueblo culture. Gia Kwijo spoke in a low, hushed voice as she pulled the ancient story out of the past and into the fire-warmed room: Long ago, when the people were migrating from the north, a late winter storm set upon their camp. For three days the snow fell, leaving drifts so high they could not hunt or gather wood. They faced great hardship and their survival was uncertain. On the morning of the fourth day, a thin ray of sun broke through the thickness of the storm. As dawn began to fill the sky, a young antelope appeared from within the growing light. Separated from his herd during the storm, his survival was also uncertain. Weak with hunger and heartbroken with longing for his family, the antelope moved slowly toward the snow-covered camp; with the last of his energy he reached its west-facing border and bounded into its center. The people were awakened by the sound of his hooves hitting the snow and they gathered around him. They offered him dried berries they had gathered from now snowbound vines, and a small rock of salt, then placed him between two rabbit pelts. There he rested until he regained his strength and the warmth returned to his body. Then he stood and spoke to the people: “In return for your kindness and generosity, I shall lead you to your new home, where you will never know cold or hunger.” As the antelope began walking south, the people followed closely behind him. With each step the snow before them melted away to reveal a clear path. Along the edges of the path were many fallen branches that the antelope instructed the people to collect and tie to his back. For many days he led the people through the unfamiliar landscape. At dusk each evening they set camp until daybreak, warmed by the fallen branches they had tied to the antelope’s back. With his antlers he dug wild parsnip bulbs and pine shoots for the people to eat and showed them where to find springs of fresh water. But he knew they could not survive much longer without sustenance from the animal world. Soon they came upon P’o Songé (the Río Grande) and the antelope spoke again: “This is where you will live,” he said. ‘You will build your homes from the earth. It is a good place and you will have plentiful harvests and there will be great abundance
40 2019 Feliz Navidad
COURTESY OF ©HELEN K. TINDEL
Antelope Dancer (painting/drawing/print), circa 1940 Pablita Velarde (Tse Tsan), K\'apovi (Santa Clara Pueblo), 1918-2006
here.” He stretched his body across the river, forming a bridge so the people could reach its higher bank. “My home is with my family, on the open prairies,” he said. “But I shall remain here, for you will not survive until winter’s end without me.” The antelope offered himself to the people. From his body they regained their strength; from his hide they made clothing and moccasins; from his antlers they carved tools and small fetishes for ceremony. The people held their camp until spring, then built their homes near the river, just as the antelope had instructed them. They grew corn and squash and there was plenty of game to sustain them, just as he had promised. One winter morning many years later, a young man appeared in one of the northern villages. Weak with hunger and far from his home, he had many days of travel before him. The people offered him food and tobacco and a place to rest near the fire. In return for their kindness, he taught the men of the village the dance of the antelope, which was sacred to his people of the plains. He showed them how to move like the graceful animal, how to leap and steady again without making a sound. Late into the night they danced, stepping softly, quickly, to the sound of the drum. The next morning there was no sign of the young man. The thick hides laid out for him near the fire had not been slept in and the water gourd was full; there were no footprints in the fine dusting of snow left by the passing night. All that was revealed in the sunlight was a set of antelope tracks leading away from the village and toward the high meadows to the south. This is why some of the villages still have the Antelope Dance today, and why the people still speak of the young man who appeared that winter morning so long ago. With the last strokes of the hairbrush, Gia Kwijo’s story comes to an end. Sleep will soon follow, filled with dreams of the young antelope that led the people out of the storm. RoseMary Diaz is a freelance writer based in Santa Fe. Gia Kwijo (Christina Naranjo) was a world-renowned potter who lived in Santa Clara Pueblo from her birth in 1891 until her passing in 1980.
2019 Northern Pueblo winter dance calendar Dec. 11: Evening procession with vespers and various dances at Pojoaque Pueblo
SANTA FE’S PREMIER BABY STORE!
Dec. 12: Our Lady of Guadalupe Feast Day with Bow and Arrow, Buffalo and other dances at Pojoaque and Tesuque Pueblos; Matachines Dances at Jemez Pueblo Dec. 24: Procession of the Virgin with sundown vespers and Matachines Dances at Ohkay Owingeh, Picuris, Santa Ana and Taos Pueblos; Antelope, Buffalo and Deer Dances at Nambe Pueblo; bonfires at Taos Pueblo
Discover
Dec. 25: Christmas Day celebrations with Matachines Dances and other dances at Cochiti, Ohkay Owingeh, Picuris, San Ildefonso, Santa Ana, Santa Clara, Santo Domingo, Taos and Tesuque Pueblos
The
Treasures!
Dec. 26: Turtle Dance at Ohkay Owingeh Dec. 28: Holy Innocents Day with children’s dances at Picuris and Santa Clara Pueblos
For Children Up to Age 6!
Jan. 1: Transfer of Canes (symbolizing the transfer of authority to newly elected tribal officials) with various dances at most pueblos; Matachines Dances at Jemez Pueblo; Cloud or Basket Dance at Ohkay Owingeh; Turtle Dance at Taos Pueblo Jan. 6: King’s Day celebration (in honor of newly elected tribal officials) with dances at most pueblos; Antelope, Buffalo and Deer Dances at Nambe and Taos Pueblos; Deer or Elk Dances at Picuris Pueblo Jan. 22: Evening firelight dances at San Ildefonso Pueblo Jan. 23: St. Ildefonsus Feast Day with Buffalo, Comanche and Deer Dances at San Ildefonso Pueblo Jan. 25: St. Paul’s Feast Day with various dances at Ohkay Owingeh and Picuris Pueblos
THE DEVARGAS CENTER
TEL. 505-954-4000
Jan. 28: Holy Innocents Day with children’s dances at Picuris and Santa Clara Pueblos Feb. 2: Candelaria Day celebration with various dances at Picuris Pueblo First or second weekend in February: Deer Dances at Ohkay Owingeh For more information and to confirm dates and specifics for each pueblo, visitors are urged to call or visit the website before making the trip.
Northern Pueblo contact information Cochiti Pueblo: 505-465-2244; newmexico.org/places-to-go/native-culture/ cochiti-pueblo Jemez Pueblo: 575-834-7235; jemezpueblo.org Nambe Pueblo: 505-455-2036; nambepueblo.org
EST. 1968
Saturdays Year-Round
Ohkay Owingeh: 505-852-4400; newmexico.org/places-to-go/native-culture/ ohkay-owingeh-pueblo Picuris Pueblo: 575-587-2519; picurispueblo.org Pojoaque Pueblo: 505-455-2278 or 505-455-3460; newmexico.org/placesto-go/native-culture/pojoaque-pueblo San Ildefonso Pueblo: 505-455-2273 or 505-455-3549; sanipueblo.org Santa Ana Pueblo: 505-867-3301; santaana-nsn.gov Santa Clara Pueblo: 505-753-7326 or 505-753-7330; newmexico.org/placesto-go/native-culture/santa-clara-pueblo Santo Domingo Pueblo: 505-465-2214; santodomingotribe.com Taos Pueblo: 575-758-1028 or 575-758-9593; taospueblo.org Tesuque Pueblo: 505-983-2667; newmexico.org/places-to-go/native-culture/ tesuque-pueblo Additional details, including important tips on polite behavior to observe at dances, are available through the Indian Pueblo Cultural Center: 505-843-7270 or 800-766-4405; indianpueblo.org.
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Providing quality luggage to Santa Fe since 1987. 42 2019 Feliz Navidad
A Christmas Store
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Aspen Santa Fe Ballet's The Nutcracker
SHAREN BRADFORD
HOLIDAY CELEBRATIONS FOR EVERY TASTE! BY LINDA MARIANIELLO
T
he December holidays in Santa Fe are filled with the scent of piñon logs, the warming light of farolitos, good food and company, and the wonderful sounds of music throughout town. This year, Santa Feans and visitors from every corner of the globe can enjoy world-class performing arts events, including dance, Celtic and classical music, Christmas carols and other beloved works of the season. Many performances sell out quickly, so be sure to reserve your spots well in advance. Embrace the holiday spirit and the magic of Aspen Santa Fe Ballet’s The Nutcracker. Santa Fe audiences flock to this uplifting and humorous interpretation of the classic story. Featuring a cast of more than 60 performers, Aspen Santa Fe Ballet’s Nutcracker is a not-to-be-missed special family event. Brighten your holiday season with Coro de Cámara at the Santa Fe Botanical Garden on Dec. 14. Join them in the pavilion for GLOW — the garden’s annual winter lights event — and music of the season. On Thanksgiving weekend, the New Mexico Performing Arts Society presents its annual winter solstice concerts. The all-professional New Mexico Bach Chorale and Chamber Ensemble performs Johann Sebastian Bach’s Cantata BWV 62, “Nun komm, der Heiden Heiland,” Vivaldi’s Gloria and part 3 of Bach’s Christmas Oratorio. Artistic director Franz Vote, conductor emeritus of the Metropolitan Opera, leads the
44 2019 Feliz Navidad
ensemble in the intimate setting of Santa Fe’s Immaculate Heart of Mary Chapel. The Santa Fe concert takes place on Nov. 30. A second performance, on Dec. 1, takes place at St. Michael and All Angels Episcopal Church in Albuquerque. This holiday season, Performance Santa Fe presents the Canadian musical couple and fiddle virtuosos Natalie MacMaster and Donnell Leahy. Both award-winning artists were born into musical families and began to play fiddle at an early age. At A Celtic Family Christmas, MacMaster and Leahy perform holiday music with their children and other talented colleagues. Join them on Dec. 20 at the Lensic. Artistic director Joshua Habermann leads the all-professional Santa Fe Desert Chorale in Sacred Fire: The Celtic Tradition. In the darkness of midwinter, the 2019 Winter Festival program warms the hearth with traditional music from Ireland, Scotland, Wales and other Celtic lands. Audiences can celebrate the solstice with the Santa Fe Desert Chorale at one of 11 concerts in Los Alamos, Albuquerque and Santa Fe. Santa Fe Pro Musica presents a series of musical events to lift your spirit and warm your soul. From Dec. 19 to Dec. 24, the Pro Musica Baroque Ensemble presents A Baroque Christmas in the Loretto Chapel. The program opens with Telemann’s Burlesque de Don Quixote, followed by Leclair’s Sonata No. 8 for Flute and Viola and Handel’s Organ Concerto in F, The Cuckoo and the Nightingale. The centerpiece of
HOLIDAY PERFORMING ARTS CALENDAR Aspen Santa Fe Ballet The Nutcracker Saturday, Dec. 14, at 2 p.m. and 7:30 p.m. Sunday, Dec. 15, at 1 p.m. and 5 p.m. Lensic Performing Arts Center, 211 W. San Francisco St. Tickets: aspensantafeballet.com, 505-988-1234 or at the Lensic box office, 211 W. San Francisco St.
Coro de Cámara Saturday, Dec. 14, 5:15-7:45 p.m. Santa Fe Botanical Garden on Museum Hill, 715 Camino Lejo GLOW tickets and more information: santafebotanicalgarden.org/events/glow/
New Mexico Performing Arts Society
Pro Musica presents A Baroque Christmas in the Loretto Chapel.
Winter solstice concerts: Bach and Vivaldi Saturday, Nov. 30, at 7 p.m. Immaculate Heart of Mary Chapel, 50 Mount Carmel Road Sunday, Dec. 1, at 3 p.m. St. Michael and All Angels Episcopal Church, 601 Montaño Road N.W., Albuquerque Tickets and more information: nmpas.org or Hold My Ticket, 877-466-3404
Performance Santa Fe the program features soprano soloists on alternate evenings: Clara Rottsolk in Handel’s joyous Gloria and Marguerite Krull in Bach’s Cantata No. 209. The concert concludes with a set of rare Christmas carols. On Dec. 29 and 30, Thomas O’Connor conducts the Pro Musica Orchestra in all six of Bach’s Brandenburg Concertos, with Pro Musica artists serving as soloists and ensemble members. Brandenburg performances take place in the St. Francis Auditorium. Celebrate the holiday season with the Santa Fe Symphony Orchestra and Chorus. Home for the Holidays, a festive catered event with music by the symphony chamber ensemble, takes place on Dec. 2 at The Club at Las Campanas. Proceeds support the symphony's concerts and music education programs in Santa Fe Public Schools. The symphony’s Christmas Pops concert takes place in the Lensic Performing Arts Center on Dec. 8. A Carols & Choruses performance follows on Dec. 17 at the Cathedral Basilica of St. Francis of Assisi. The Mark O’Connor Band joins a full complement of symphony musicians in the Lensic on Christmas Eve for An Appalachian Christmas. Celebrating its 39th season, the Santa Fe Women’s Ensemble presents Carols and Blessings from Around the World. Violinists Carla Kountoupes and Christine Chen and pianist Bill Epstein join the ensemble in familiar carols and other inspirational works of the season. A choral masterpiece for women’s voices, two violins and keyboard, Edward Elgar’s The Snow also features the poetic genius of his wife, C. Alice Elgar. Hanukkah Blessings by Ron Jeffers is a mystical celebration of candle lighting for the Jewish festival of Hanukkah. Other featured works include the American masterpiece I Wonder as I Wander, the popular Cameroonian carol He Came Down and Z. Randall Stroope’s setting of the English poem “There Is No Rose.” The premiere of Linda Rice Beck’s latest composition, Christmas, with poetry by Raymond Raney, completes the program. Christmas, scored for women’s voices and two violins, expresses gratitude for the blessings of the season. Serenata of Santa Fe invites you to its Soiree Boheme on Dec. 6. This intimate event offers holiday warmth, delicious food and beverages, and timely chamber music. Violinist David Felberg, cellist Sally Guenther, tenor James Onstad and pianist Nathan Salazar perform music by Ravel, Puccini, Gabriel Kahane, Jake Heggie and Brahms. Tickets must be purchased in advance and seating is limited. Directions to the event will be provided to ticket holders. Linda Marianiello enjoys a 40-plus-year career as soloist, chamber musician and orchestral flutist and records for the Bavarian Radio, MSR Classics and Swineshead labels. As a recitalist, she has toured all of western Europe, much of the U.S. and parts of China. She has written about music for the Chicago Symphony Orchestra, the Wiener Symphoniker, the Gustav Mahler Jugendorchester, the National Flute Association and the “Boulder Daily Camera,” among others.
A Celtic Family Christmas Friday, Dec. 20, at 7:30 p.m. Lensic Performing Arts Center, 211 W. San Francisco St. Tickets: PerformanceSantaFe.org or 505-984-8759
Santa Fe Desert Chorale Sacred Fire: The Celtic Tradition Saturday, Dec. 14, at 4 p.m. United Church of Los Alamos, 2525 Canyon Road, Los Alamos Sunday, Dec. 15, at 4 p.m. Immanuel Presbyterian Church, 114 Carlisle Blvd., Albuquerque Tuesday and Wednesday, Dec. 17 and 18, at 8 p.m. Cristo Rey Church, 1120 Canyon Road Thursday-Saturday, Dec. 19-21, at 8 p.m. Cathedral Basilica of St. Francis of Assisi, 131 Cathedral Place Tickets and more information: desertchorale.org or 505-988-2282
Santa Fe Pro Musica A Baroque Christmas Thursday-Tuesday, Dec. 19-24, at 6 and 8 p.m. Loretto Chapel, 207 Old Santa Fe Trail Brandenburg Concertos Saturday, Dec. 28, at 10 a.m. (free; registration required) Sunday and Monday, Dec. 29-30, at 7 p.m. St. Francis Auditorium, 107 W. Palace Ave. Tickets: sfpromusica.org or 505-988-4640
Santa Fe Symphony Home for the Holidays Monday, Dec. 2, at 6 p.m. Club House at Las Campanas, 132 Clubhouse Dr. Christmas Treasures Sunday, Dec. 8, at 4 p.m. Lensic Performing Arts Center, 211 W. San Francisco St. Carols & Choruses Tuesday, Dec. 17, at 7 p.m. Cathedral Basilica of St. Francis of Assisi, 131 Cathedral Place An Appalachian Christmas Tuesday, Dec. 24, at 5 p.m. Lensic Performing Arts Center, 211 W. San Francisco St. Tickets and more information: santafesymphony.org or 505-983-1414
Santa Fe Women’s Ensemble Carols and Blessings from Around the World Friday, Dec. 6, Monday, Dec. 9, Wednesday, Dec. 11, and Friday, Dec. 13, at 6:30 p.m. Loretto Chapel, 207 Old Santa Fe Trail Saturday, Dec. 14, at 3 p.m. Immaculate Heart of Mary Chapel, 50 Mount Carmel Road Tickets: brownpapertickets.com and https://sfwe.org
2019 Feliz Navidad 45
Something old, something new Books to give or keep for yourself BY PATRICIA LENIHAN
Owl in a Straw Hat / El Tecolote del Sombrero de Paja by Rudolfo Anaya illustrations by Moises Salcedo
Dark, Sweet: New & Selected Poems by Linda Hogan Writer Linda Hogan (Chickasaw/ Oklahoma) often deals with environmental, Native, spiritual and feminist themes. In her poems about human nature and the natural world, the language is both spare and robust. This 416-page collection published by Coffee House Press (2014) includes poems from 1978 through 2014. Here’s the first stanza from a poem called “Crossings”: There is a place at the center of the earth where one ocean dissolves inside the other in a black and holy love; It’s why the whales of one sea know songs of the other, why one thing becomes something else and sand falls down the hourglass into another time.
This children’s book (ages 4-8) by the New Mexico storyteller is about a young owl who lives in an orchard in Northern New Mexico with his parents. A 40-page illustrated book published by Museum of New Mexico Press (2017), it’s particularly appealing for kids who are grappling a bit with reading. The characters and familiar landscape are brought to vivid life by muralist Moises Salcedo, or El Moises, in the style of Mexican American pop culture. The bilingual tale follows Ollie, who wants to read on his own, interacting with a young raven and crow who prefer video games to school, a disciplined roadrunner who drives a lowrider and a loving grandmother owl. A second book featuring Ollie Tecolote — No More Bullies! / ¡No Más Bullies: Owl in a Straw Hat 2 (2019) — offers lessons about bullying. Both books are available directly from Museum of New Mexico Press (mnmpress. org), Collected Works Bookstore, Garcia Street Books and elsewhere online.
Hogan’s fiction has earned a Pulitzer Prize nomination, and her poetry collections have garnered an American Book Award, a Colorado Book Award and a National Book Critics Circle Award nomination. Books available at Collected Works Bookstore and online.
Patricia Lenihan is a retired park ranger with an academic background in English literature.
46 2019 Feliz Navidad
A Rose for Mrs. Miniver: The Life of Greer Garson by Michael Troyan This celebrity biography tells the story of Greer Garson, who in addition to being a celebrated actor was a formidable philanthropist, especially in the areas of theater and education. In this 520-page biography published by the University Press of Kentucky (1998), Troyan covers interesting angles, such as Garson’s efforts to broaden her postwar roles, so they didn’t always refer back to her unrelentingly noble Academy Awardwinning character in Mrs. Miniver. If you or someone you know needs a break from the perky and/or snarky tone of social media celebrity gossip, begin here. The old-fashioned biography offers a fair portrayal of a multifaceted person with a local connection: Garson and her husband E.E. “Buddy” Fogelson owned the Forked Lightning Ranch in Pecos. The paperback book is available at the Pecos National Historical Park gift shop (505-757-7241) and at Collected Works Bookstore; paperback and hardcover editions are also available online.
Appetite for America: Fred Harvey and the Business of Civilizing the Wild West — One Meal at a Time by Stephen Fried Many things at once — biography, Southwest history, chronicle about trains, corporate primer, family tale, travelogue and cookbook (yes, there are recipes) — this book (518 pages; Bantam, 2011) tells the story of Fred Harvey, an Englishman who built essentially the first retail empire in America. He arrived in the United States in 1853 and began his career as a dishwasher at a New York restaurant. He was 40 by the time he saw a future in providing convenient yet elegant eateries for rail travelers. Harvey offered fresh, high-quality food and impeccable service by the well-trained and respected “Harvey girls” and paid close attention to the smallest details. In the 1880s, along with the Atchison, Topeka & Santa Fe Railway, he expanded his enterprise through the Southwest, especially in New Mexico and Arizona. Appetite for America is an engaging historical treatise that on almost every page may elicit from readers a murmur along the lines of, “Huh! Didn’t know that.” Available at the Spiegelberg Shop at the New Mexico History Museum, Garcia Street Books, Collected Works Bookstore and online.
Imagine the Possibilities
FUN FASHIONABLE EXOTIC
Without Reservations: The Cartoons of Ricardo Caté A lighthearted offering, published by Gibbs Smith (2012), is this 96-page collection of the witty, self-aware, unflinchingly honest but never mean regional comics that appear daily in the New Mexican and the Taos News. They provide many a shock of recognition to Native readers and laughter to everyone. Caté (Santo Domingo Pueblo) is the only Native cartoonist whose work appears in a daily mainstream newspaper, according to Shumakolowa Native Arts, the retail arm of the Indian Pueblo Cultural Center in Albuquerque, which also sells prints of his work. Available through the Museum of New Mexico Foundation Shops website (shop museum.org), the Shumakolowa Native Arts website (shumakolowa.com) and Collected Works Bookstore.
A Dictionary of New Mexico and Southern Colorado Spanish by Rubén Cobos If there is not already a copy on your bookshelves, consider picking up the 278-page revised and expanded edition of Cobos’ dictionary, published by Museum of New Mexico Press (2003). This edition of the authoritative reference on the archaic dialect of regional Spanish has 70 additional pages. The work has been continuously in print since 1983. Available from the Museum of New Mexico Press (mnmpress.org), Collected Works Bookstore and elsewhere online.
Spider Woman’s Children: Navajo Weavers Today by Lynda Teller Pete and Barbara Teller Ornelas; photography by Joe Coca New Mexico’s vibrant fiber arts culture is presented in a 144-page book published by Thrums Books (2018). Vivid photographs and a conversational tone provide insight into the story of Navajo weaving, not only in Northern New Mexico but also throughout the Four Corners. Written by two Navajo master weavers, the book offers thought-provoking insights about the origins and practices of contemporary weaving. Profiles of individual artists and photographs of landscapes, weavers and rugs made from wool dyed with sage, lichens, blue corn and rabbitbrush are juxtaposed in an engaging way. Also offered are compelling stories about trading post history, rug auctions, patterns and the geography and narratives of the Navajo people. Richly described experiences, such as selling a rug at Two Grey Hills Trading Post or walking through Canyon de Chelly, are balanced by striking photographs. Available online.
New West: Innovating at the Intersection by Wolfgang Wagener and Leslie Erganian This 320-page architecture survey from Hirmer Publishers (2019) renders the vibrant tones and linen finishes of midcentury postcards in a large format and also provides a quirky portrait of the modernizing of the American West. It draws from hundreds of postcard images to explore four waves of innovation — steam, steel, oil and information — that changed the landscape. The overall effect is one of seeing familiar scenery from an entirely new perspective. Available at the St. John’s College Bookstore, Collected Works Bookstore and online.
Metamorphosis
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2019 Feliz Navidad 47
Gifts from the heart Found at the Santa Fe Farmers Market
BY PATRICIA WEST-BARKER One of the joys of the holiday season is finding (or receiving!) just the right gift. While all gifts are welcome, some play a larger role in the community by also supporting local growers and ranchers. A quick search of offerings from longtime vendors at the Santa Fe Farmers Market — people who are there week after week, month after month — identified a number of gift bag goodies. These are some of our favorites: Steve Wall, proprietor of Buckin’ Bee Honey, manages hives on 15 different properties and has sold pollen and propolis tinctures, as well as beautiful jars of local honey, at the farmers market since 2001. His giftable beeswax candles smell as good as they look. Choose from small SANTA FE FARMERS MARKET PAVILION figures ranging from angels to 1607 Paseo de Peralta Buddhas, pinecones, Santas and 505-983-4098, santafefarmersmarket.com bears (priced from $6 to $12) Winter hours: 8 a.m. to 1 p.m. Saturdays and 10-inch tapers ($12 per pair) for the holiday table. More information at buckinbee.com. You’ll find many handcrafted wreaths, dried flower wall hangings and sage smudge sticks at the market, particularly in fall, but none have more vibrant colors or artful designs than those made by Rosa Maria Alcantar of Rocio Produce. The family has been at the market for more than 16 years, selling one-of-a-kind pieces ($8 to $40) made from the sage, flowers, peppers and berries found on their Chamita farm. Market vendors since 1998, Kristen Davenport and Avrum Katz and their two children farm at 8,200 feet in the Sangre de Cristo Mountains. Their certified organic Boxcar Farm specializes in potatoes, garlic, hard winter squashes and other root crops and greens. But it’s their growing selection of herbal and medicinal vinegars, bitters and salves (all $15) that are most giftable. Handsome bottles and stylish labels add to the appeal of Boxcar’s tonics, basil and wild rose vinegars, and mushroom and apple bitters (among others). Deb, Austin and Natalia Wood of Los Alamos-based Second Bloom Farm have been vending at the Santa Fe Farmers Market since 1998. Their all-natural, New Mexico-made bars of soap ($7 to $8) come from the milk of their Nigerian dwarf dairy goats in more than a dozen delicate scents, including lemon verbena, rose, cedar, lavender and mountain sage. The soaps make perfect stocking stuffers or small gifts for unexpected guests. Find more products and information at secondbloomfarmnm.com. Hand-dyed churro yarns ($22 per 4 ounce, 900-yard skein) in soft, rich colors reflecting the land, sky, flora and forests of Northern New Mexico will make any knitter or textile lover on your list sigh with pleasure. The yarn, along with wools suitable for weaving, woven blankets and washable lamb pelts, is a side product of Shepherd’s Lamb, one of the two remaining herded bands of sheep in New Mexico outside the Navajo reservation. Proprietors Antonio and Molly Manzanares have been vending at the market since 1990. Both were instrumental in the founding of Tierra Wools, a traditional weaving workshop and gallery in Los Ojos. Find additional information about Shepherd’s Lamb wools at organiclamb. com/hand-dyed-wool-yarn. Stanley and Rosemary Crawford began farming in Dixon in the late 1960s and began selling at the market in the 1970s. Stan is also the author of a number of fiction and nonfiction books, including A Garlic Testament and the award-winning Mayordomo, about the role of irrigation ditches in the daily life of rural Northern New Mexico. Their El Bosque Garlic Farm primarily sells shallots and garlic, loose or braided. The braids are both handsome and practical — a gift to hang now and use throughout the coming year. More information about Stan’s books is at stanleycrawford.net
48 2019 Feliz Navidad
GENE PEACH
From the Santa Fe Farmers Market website “Voted one of the ‘Top Ten Farmers’ Markets’ by Sunset Magazine, the Santa Fe Farmers’ Market is one of the oldest, largest, and most successful growers’ markets in the country. Serving more than 150 farmers and producers in 15 Northern New Mexico counties, the Market brings fresh food, education, and fun to our community and promotes small farms and sustainable agriculture in Northern New Mexico. Unlike most farmers’ markets in the US, the Santa Fe Farmers’ Market assures that all products sold by its vendors are always locally grown by the people selling them.”
Stanley Crawford is one of more than a dozen farmers profiled in Farm Fresh Journey: Santa Fe Farmers Market Cookbook, which features the luscious color photography of Douglas Merriam, farmer profiles and essays by Lesley S. King and more than 100 seasonal recipes. Merriam published the book as a give-back to the market community: A percentage of the income from every book sold goes to the Santa Fe Farmers Market. As at home on the coffee table as in the kitchen, it a perfect gift for friends and family who live in New Mexico — or wish they did. For more information about the book, and to order it online if you can’t get to the market, go to farmfreshjourney.com The Shops at the Farmers Market, located in the Santa Fe Farmers Market Pavilion, include a coffee shop/café, an outpost of Vivác Winery’s tasting room and a gift shop selling locally, regionally and globally sourced dish towels, baskets, pot holders, blankets, hats, cards and other large and small treasures. Items in the gift shops are fair trade and/or have minimal environmental impact, and all sales help underwrite the market’s operating costs. You’ll find fun gifts for children here: furry hand puppets ($20 to $35) include a very large owl, a striking raven, a plush rabbit and other critters. Artisanal felted children’s slippers in jewel tones will keep tiny toes warm all winter. For more information about the market, its programs and its vendors, go to santafefarmersmarket.com. A former food editor of the “Santa Fe New Mexican”, now a freelance writer and editor, Patricia West-Barker is a longtime supporter of the Santa Fe Farmers Market.
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