Unsung Heroes 2024 by The Taos News

HEROES UNSUNG

For 24 years, the Taos News and Taos Community Foundation have teamed up to celebrate ten outstanding people who go above and beyond to help their communities.

ORALIA

EVERY YEAR SINCE 2001 , The Taos News has told the stories of Northern New Mexico’s “Unsung Heroes” — stories about ordinary people who make a huge difference in all our lives. Until now, these individuals were “unsung” because they don’t do what they do for recognition, praise or accolades of any kind. (And, indeed, we had to do come convincing with many of this year’s recipients. Across the board, these folks are humble!)

Because it takes some effort to seek out individuals who aren’t looking for attention, as in previous years, this year’s award recipients were chosen by an Unsung Heroes Selection Committee. After offering many worthy nomina -

2024 UNSUNG HEROES SELECTION COMMITTEE

tions, they selected 10 individuals (or, in some cases, couples or families) who best exemplify the giving spirit.

None of the Taos News’ staff members were involved in selecting our Unsung Heroes and we

looked to the committee to nominate locals for Citizen of the Year. The newspaper’s management team was, however, responsible for the final selection of Citizen of the Year.

Wanda Lucero, our 2024 Citizen

of the Year, has given to Taos and surrounding communities for over 30 years. She is well-known for her business acumen, having helmed Wanda Lucero State Farm Insurance Agency for decades and for her warmhearted readiness to give.

Our nine Unsung Heroes — Ricky Cardenas, Mark Flores, Todd Gravelle, Kathleen Knoth, Colin Nicholls, Donna Storch, Gilbert Suazo Sr., Tommy Tafoya and Oralia Visarraga — all have contributed and continue to contribute to their communities in ways big and small. Their stories left us in awe. We hope you enjoy learning about our heroes as much as we did.

Taos is special in the way that everyday Taoseños show up — and step up — to address the challenges facing our community. We applaud the work of these Unsung Heroes and join you in celebrating their accomplishments.

Ellen Miller-Goins Magazine Editor

We want to thank our 2024 Unsung Heroes Selection Committee that nominated this year’s Unsung Heroes and Citizen of the Year (l-r): Larry Mapes, Ernestina Cordova, Ernie Ortega Kathleen Michaels, Joseph Quintana, Barb Wiard, Marylin Farrow and Elizabeth Crittenden Palacios.

24 YEARS OF HEROES x

Wanda Lucero

‘I’m a behind-the-scenes person. I believe in contributing to my community. I like helping the most vulnerable and young people.’

THE YEAR

WANDA LUCERO

A lifetime of giving, love... and gratitude

by Ellen Miller-Goins

Everywhere you look around Northern New Mexico, Wanda Lucero is there: She’s fearless when it comes to marketing her insurance business, no doubt, but Lucero is everywhere behind the scenes as well, quietly boosting the community she loves and the people therein.

“I’m a behind-the-scenes person,” Lucero said. “I believe in contributing to my community. I like helping the most vulnerable and young people.”

Like many of our Unsung Heroes, Lucero doesn’t contribute out of an expectation she’ll receive praise. Rather, she gives because it is in her nature to give.

Family indubitably made Wanda Lucero into the person she is today — compassionate, giving and joyful. A Taoseña for most of her life, Lucero said, “I truly am blessed to come from a large, loving, caring family. Besides my parents, growing up the biggest influences in my life were my grandparents. Love, support, strength, faith, unity: These words embody all of my grandparents and the examples my grandparents set forth for us.

“I didn’t grow up privileged in terms of financial status or owning things, but I was blessed to have the things that are important — the love, the support, the unity, the strength of the family. You don’t realize what impacts you ‘til much later.”

Lucero’s large extended family taught her to love unconditionally — a lesson she learned well. “I adore my children. We all need a ‘why?’ in our life and my family is my biggest priority in my life. My oldest daughter, Soledad, lives here in Taos. My son, Xavier [Kiley], is in the process of moving back to New Mexico, and my youngest daughter Ana-Alycia [Morgan Cunnyngham], lives here.”

Lucero remembers all her grandparents with affection, including Loren Anaya, namesake for Anaya Field. “Last September was the 50th anniversary of the naming of Anaya Field at Taos High School. My grandfather’s commitment to his craft, to his work, was amazing. We would ride with him to the high school field and run in the sprinklers as he

moved the watering pipes to water the entire field. He had to manually water the field.”

A grandparent to four, Lucero said one of her greatest joys is spending time with her four granddaughters Kinzley, 13; Zaria, 13; Cora, 10; and Luciana, 11 months. “I always tell grandparents that we think our grandchildren are a blessing. We don’t realize that we are a blessing to our grandchildren also.”

Her father, Alfonso Lucero De Godoi, now 83, owned his own plumbing business and later became a general contractor. “He’s still actively working,” Lucero said, adding her father, children and grandchildren help with many of her endeavors, as does her partner Jim Armijo. “He’s a tremendous supporter in anything that I want to do. I also couldn’t do what I do with out my incredible team: Rita Rodriguez, Linda Montoya, Nicole Duran, Erika Lester, Ana-Alycia Quintana, Estevan Montoya, and Brittany Romero.”

Born in Taos, Lucero said, “My father was active in the community as well. He was always willing to help other p eople, and my mother was right alongside him. My maternal grandmother was the center of that family and then my mother was as we were growing up.”

The family lived in Albu querque for a short time before a divorce left Wanda’s mother Rebecca “Becky” (Anaya) Lucero caring for four children on her own.

she first came back “another lifetime,” dismissing that period of her life with a simple, “We all had our dreams. Life didn’t work out as planned. I ended up going to work for CB Trujillo, who was a State Farm agent and former New Mexico State Senator.”

The mother of three by then, Lucero said this is when she found her calling, “I realized it wasn’t just selling [insurance], it was that I was able to help people. I really loved it and it became a passion of mine. And of course, CB was a tremendous mentor. He helped me grow professionally.”

Lucero eventually went on to become owner and CEO of the Wanda Lucero State Farm Insurance

“That was a difficult period of time in my life,” Lucero said. “My mother instilled a tremendous work ethic in me — from her work as a caregiver when we were young to her brave support of four children as a single mother during my teenage years.”

Lucero’s hard work led to a 40-plusyear career selling insurance, but not before she had pursued other dreams.

“Growing up, I always knew that I wanted to help others,” Lucero explained. “I ended up going to school to become a massage therapist, then I met someone from Taos and moved back.”

She smiled, recalling, “When I left Taos, I thought I would never be back. I was moving to the big city! That was my first lesson: Never say ‘never’ because you never know. I ended up back in Taos and I realized I really loved it.”

Lucero calls the years in which

Agency — a legacy she took on from Trujillo. As she has said before, Lucero noted, “My vocation is my occupation. I found that little sweet spot where what I love to do — what I’m good at — lets me help others. One of my values is doing the right thing for the right reasons. … I work hard, but I’ve been tremendously blessed to have found something that allows me to provide jobs, and it also gives me a little bit of means to help others in our community.”

Lucero currently serves on the board of directors for Girl Scouts of New Mexico Trails and is an advisor/member of Taos Community Foundation’s Women Give Taos, which every year awards one $30,000 grant to a nonprofit that serves women and children in Taos and Western Colfax Counties. She is also on the committee to build a new dedicated facility for St. James Episcopal Church’s Food Pantry and other outreach programs.

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To the Champions of Our Community

At Cid’s, we want to express our heartfelt gratitude to the incredible individuals who make our store more than just a place to shop. Many of our dedicated team members, some with us for decades and part of multi-generational Taos families, embody the spirit and strength of our community every day. We take pride in celebrating and supporting these extraordinary people who enrich our local culture. Your dedication and passion make Cid’s a cornerstone of our community.

the best heroes are the ones who work quietly behind the scenes and don’t seek the spotlight

Taos is a better place because of you congratulations Wanda!!!

In recent years she has slowed down — thanks in no small part to the pandemic.

“During COVID, I realized that time is precious, and I wanted to spend time with family. As the world has woken up, I’m slowly getting back as well.”

Her resume of public service is extensive beginning with serving on the board of directors for Trudy’s Discovery House, a daycare her daughter Soledad attended. Since then, Lucero has served on boards of directors for several nonprofit and business-oriented groups as well as the Taos Municipal School Board. She has supported entrepreneurs and other businesses at regular networking events and as a former board member of T.E.N. (Taos Entrepreneurial Network).

Lucero has supported the Taos community with everything from making sure athletes traveling for sports activities have food to eat to her “It’s a Cinch to Help” campaign, which delivers food and provisions in cinch-tied bags to families in need.

She is there to keep events like Taos Mountain Balloon Rally, Taos Plaza Live, the Lilac Festival, and “Trunk or Treat” happening year after year.

Lucero believes deeply in integrative medicine — a value she attributes to having been raised in a family whose roots go back many generations in Taos: Her great grandmother, Manuelita Anaya, was

a curandera (healer) and midwife who traveled and worked during the late 1800s/early 1900s with Dr. Thomas “Doc” Martin (Taos’ first practicing physician).

She helped when her “dear friend” Leslie Cronin proposed raising money to raise funds for a SANE (sexual assault nurse examiner) program in Taos.

Lucero also helped start For the Health of It walk, which raises funds for Taos Cancer Support Service. This, too, is a deeply personal cause: In addition to multiple family members who died, she herself had a cancer scare.

“I had pre-cancer. I suffered with fibroid tumors for 13 years, until it got to a point where I was not living. I was surviving. Every morning I would wake up and warm a hot pack to warm my body up to get through the day, and then I would drive to work. And at the end of the day, I would say a prayer that I had enough energy to get home. And then I would roll into bed and stay there till the next morning. The tumors were growing and multiplying.”

Seeing her football-player son reduced to tears spurred Lucero to action. “I realized that it was killing him; that I had to do something to take care of my health if I was going to be there for my family.”

She found her way to Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minnesota, where the team diagnosed severe anemia along with the tumors, which they removed. “As I recovered from the illness, I realized I was transforming from just surviving to living. The sun is shining, the sky is blue, the grass is green, the flowers are beautiful.”

Lucero said, “I wake up and the first thing I do is open my Bible app. There are daily verses that I read. It includes a verse, daily messages, time for prayer. Then the next thing I do is open my meditation app and I meditate. Then I open up my notes folder, where I list my things that I’m grateful for every day. It just helps me focus on the good things in life. … After I do that, I open my yoga app, which is what I’m focused on right now. I don’t do it every day, I try to on weekends, but I do skip some days.

“I’m a morning person. I used to be a night owl, and now I’m a morning person. I love the quiet solitude of the morning, right when the world is sleeping and it’s peaceful in your mind, you can think.”

Lucero’s small business, which specializes in home, auto, business, and life insurance as well as financial services, has received the Best of Taos award every year since its inception in 2013. In an earlier interview, she said, “Being successful will happen when we take the time to listen to our clients and uncover their needs. It’s all about focusing on our customers.”

“At some point in my life, someone asked me, ‘Why do you do everything that you do?’ And back then, I hadn’t thought about it because I was just doing, doing, doing, doing without any thought. And then I realized, well, I do because I can, because I’m alive, because I have the privilege of being alive and being able to help.” 1

DANIEL PEARSON/TAOS NEWS

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KATHLEEN KNOTH

SHAR ING INFORMATION — AND HELP — BECAME HER LIFE’S CALLING

by Laura Martin Baseman

LIBRARIES (AND LIBRARIANS) are the unsung heroes of the communities they serve. They house vast resources within their walls: not only books, but also computers, children’s programming and sp eaker series. They are also the keepers of our communities’ stories and histories. And they do so with small budgets and even smaller staff. It is unsurprising, therefore, that a woman who has dedicated herself to Taos’ libraries is an Unsung Hero for 2024.

Kathleen Knoth came to Taos in 1989 from the Bay Area. She received a bachelor’s degree in journalism from San Francisco State in 1986. Knoth worked in the field for a few years before realizing she enjoyed giving information even more than collecting it.

Luckily, she had a mentor at the Contra Costa Library, where she was working part time, who helped her realize this. Janet Hildebrand encouraged her to apply to the Master of Library Sciences program at San Jose State. During her last year

of the program, the Loma Prieta earthquake hit the Bay Area and Knoth decided it was time to move on. She found herself in Taos, a place she had visited many times but never lived. She had to have a flexible approach to her career in this small town.

“Here I was with a master’s in library science and no library jobs in Taos,” Knoth said. She worked multiple jobs until 1995 when Dr. Augustine Martinez reached out. As director of the Taos Education Center he wanted to provide more

DANIEL PEARSON/TAOS NEWS

Ryan and his aunt, Constancia Martinez-Archuleta, former co-owner of El Taoseño.

Ryan and his aunt, Dolores Trujillo, a long-time Taos educator (L), and his mother, Francina Martinez (R).

Ryan’s grandfather, Luis C. Martinez at his Texaco station across from the plaza.

››› support for the program’s students. This was before the center was an official branch of the University of New Mexico.

“I always joke they gave me a desk, a bookshelf and a computer and told me to start a library,” Knoth said with a smile, “and I did.”

What started out in one room is now the full-fledged academic library at UNM-Taos’ Klauer Campus. From the beginning, Knoth had a hunch the internet would be an important tool for students. She worked with La Plaza Telecommunity to teach Taos college students how to use the internet. Now the internet is a key part of library systems, hosting databases and allowing students access to information from all over the world.

For Knoth, physical books are still an essential part of libraries. Many of the students who find themselves at UNM-Taos are at a low reading level. “When you’re at a fifth grade reading level and you’re trying to catch up to a college reading level, you need to have books in your hand,” Knoth said.

Being a good listener is a key part of making sure the right books end up with the right people. “Being a librarian is like a bartender,” Knoth said, “a lot of times they’ll come up to me and say, ‘do you have any books on adobe houses?’... and all of a sudden you’re getting someone’s whole life story.”

Listening to someone’s story is essential to understanding exactly what they need. And by understanding her students’ stories, Knoth has been able to make sure they succeed in getting their degrees.

The greatest joy for Knoth has been to see the success of the students she has worked with over the years. Many of them still live in Taos and she gets to see their accomplishments daily. “I go to

“

I’ve gotten awards over the years, but I think what is more rewarding to me is the interactions with the students. In recent years I have been working with the children of students who have gotten college degrees and now their children are in college… that’s what’s rewarding to me.

the hospital and they’re my nurse,” Kathleen said, “and I just helped get them through nursing school.” Knoth’s love of libraries has extended to working with libraries across New Mexico. She has served on the Taos Public Library Advisory Board and held positions in the statewide New Mexico Library Association and the New Mexico Consortium for Academic Libraries. She also helped start the Taos Jewish Center Library and the Northern New Mexico Librarians’ Consortium.

Knoth retired from UNM-Taos this past spring, but it has not slowed down her community involvement. One nonprofit Knoth has recently been volunteering with is True Kids 1. She is on an advisory board for a National Endowment for the Humanities grant the program recently received. The money from the grant will help students interview elders in the Taos community about climate change and technology. She has enjoyed seeing a younger generation learn the importance of listening and collecting stories. Even though the interviews have just begun, Knoth has noticed how deeply appreciated Taos elders have felt throughout the process.

Mentorship has been important to Knoth her whole life. Knoth’s own mentor helped her find her true calling as a librarian. And being a mentor has made the long hours and funding shortages over her career worth it.

“I’ve gotten awards over the years, but I think what is more rewarding to me is the interactions with the students,” Knoth said, “In recent years I have been working with the children of students who have gotten college degrees and now their children are in college… that’s what’s rewarding to me. It’s the individual successes that have kept me going all these years.” 1

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The challenge of leadership is to be strong, but not rude; be kind, but not weak; be bold, but not bully; be thoughtful, but not lazy; be humble, but not timid; be proud, but not arrogant; have humor, but without folly.

~Jim Rohn

On behalf of a grateful community and your family of colleagues at the Town of Taos, Congratulations Mark Flores!

MARK FLORES

IN SERVICE TO FAMILY, COMMUNITY AND TRADITION

by Geoffrey Plant

MARK FLORES is one of those people about whom others tend to ask: “Where does he find the time to do it all?”

He’s president of the Taos Municipal Schools District board of education and works full time as the facilities director for the Town of Taos, also representing the town on the Rio Fernando de Taos Revitalization Collaborative. Last month, he was additionally named interim assistant town manager. It’s part of a career in public service that began

with his 7 in the New Mexico Army National Guard, which he joined upon graduating from Taos High School.

Upon his discharge from the military, he attended the Albuquerque Technical Vocational Institute (now Central New Mexico Community College), where he honed the utility and construction trade skills he’d developed in the service.

Expecting their first child, Flores and his wife Rosa decided it was time to move back to Taos, where he continued to work in the mechani-

cal trades for several years before landing the job of general services director with Taos County, where he was in charge of facilities for 10 years. He sits on the board of Alianza Agri-Cultura de Taos, a position he was asked to take on because of his dedication to the agricultural traditions of the Taos Valley, his willingness to help his neighbors and his reliance on sustainable methods of ranching and farming. Flores breeds a cross between Angus and Charolais beef cattle and

DANIEL PEARSON/TAOS NEWS

HONORING PRESIDENT FLORES AND ALL OUR HEROES IN EDUCATION

Gratitude to President Flores and our heroic educators, coaches, mentors and staff–and all the unsung heroes that contribute to our youth’s success.

You are the foundations of our family trees and the pillars of our communities.

Thank you for your continued service to our youth and communities.

— THE TAOS MUNICIPAL SCHOOL DISTRICT

Every country and community depends on agriculture for one thing or another. Being a good neighbor and helping those in need and less fortunate is essential to any community.

takes pride in his 20-head herd, for which he raises alfalfa and hay in a smattering of fields in the area, including what he proudly refers to as “grandfather’s field” right behind his mother’s home.

“Civilization began with agriculture,” Flores said. “Every country and community depends on agriculture for one thing or another. “Being a good neighbor and helping those in need and less fortunate is essential to any community.”

He’s a former mayordomo and current president of the Acequia en Medio/Hartt Acequia that feeds his property in La Cordillera — which once belonged to the titular Mr. Hartt — where Flores and his wife raised their two daughters. Pride illuminates his face when he mentions their daughters Natalia and Tatiana are both attending the University of New Mexico in Albuquerque. When his kids were younger, he spent a combined 10 years coaching little league, softball and youth soccer.

Flores attends San Francisco de Asís Catholic Mission Church in Ranchos, and his deep Catholic faith underpins everything he does. He quoted San Ysidro, patron saint of farmers and acequieros.

“One of his life practices is, ‘If you have your spiritual self in order, your Earthly commitments will fall into order,’” he said, holding a small retablo depicting the saint. “I am a man that believes in one’s commitment to family and service to one’s community.”

He successfully ran for a seat on the Taos Municipal Schools District board of education 11 years ago for just those reasons, taking inspiration from an uncle and a cousin who served terms as Santa Fe mayor and a grandfather who was a teacher. But he acknowledged the sacrifice the volunteer position has required. School board members put in arduous hours attending evening meetings that can occasionally be as contentious as they are long.

For generations, Taos Mayor Pascual Maestas’ family has farmed and ranched land adjacent to Flores’ ancestral home in Talpa. Maestas once served on the school board with Flores, where he said he admired his “humility” and “ability to make tough decisions.” Maestas said Flores’ work ethic as the town’s facilities manager also earned his immediate respect.

“In just a short amount of time, he’s really come in and done a lot” to

improve the state of the town’s facilities, including piloting several projects on Civic Plaza Drive, where crucial town buildings like the one in which the town council meets have suffered from a backlog of deferred maintenance, Maestas said. “I actually don’t know how he finds the time to be so productive at the town and take care of his herd and take care of his family.”

“Being the center of government for the town, you want to take pride in where decisions are made; you want to show that you care for your facilities,” Flores’ said, emphasizing that teamwork, collaboration and respect are fundamental to his work ethic. “You always want to surround yourself with smarter and more capable people, and not be afraid to not have all the answers.

“They say God gave us two ears and one mouth,” he added. “I’ve learned throughout my life that listening is one of the most important things.”

Flores attributes his sense of community and dedication to family, local culture, faith and tradition to his mother and his grandfather, who stood in for an absentee father.

“My mother is my real unsung hero,” Flores said. “I would not be who I am today without her guidance, her love and support. And I definitely wouldn’t be the person I am if it wasn’t for the love and support of my wife and my daughters, and my brothers and my aunts and uncles.” 2

PHOTOS BY DANIEL PEARSON/TAOS NEWS

RICKY CARDENAS

TH IS RESTAURATEUR IS AN EXTRAORDINARY FRIEND TO EVERYONE

by Arcenio J. Trujillo , for the Taos News

ONE DAY, NOT LONG AGO, a very determined man from Denver started out on a lengthy journey. With a small backpack — filled with a singular item — slung on his shoulders, the man exited his apartment, set off on foot through the city and headed south. His destination: a small orange and blue building in the heart of Taos. His motive: to deliver the package carefully tucked inside his backpack to the tenant of the orange building, Ricky Cardenas.

After walking several miles, he was eventually able to obtain a ride, and

arrived safely in Taos 24 hours later to fulfill his aim and hand-deliver his parcel. The item in question was a pristine photo album, filled with original black and white portraits of prominent NFL members of the Denver Broncos. Many were action shots of wellknown players and famous coaches — stars among longtime Bronco fans — with some of the pictures signed by the subjects. For Cardenas, who is a “super fan” of all things Denver, the album would become the crown jewel of his vast collection of Bronco memorabilia.

When asked why anyone would undertake such a trip to bring such a gift to a stranger, the answer Cardenas gave was simple. “I helped him when he was passing through Taos a while back.”

At first glance, the transaction might seem a bit lopsided, especially since the humble explanation Cardenas provided was so broad and ordinary. But, a deeper dive into what motivated this, exposes the extraordinary character of a man who serves others in so many different ways — and always looks out for ways to do more.

Cardenas, owner and main cook at Ricky’s Restaurant, hails from Arroyo Seco. His parents were Felix and Maria Cardenas. He was one of six siblings, and was raised primarily by his grandparents, Bersabe and Gabriel Marquez.

“My grandpa Gabriel was the one that taught me the value of hard work,” Cardenas said. “I have been all about work since I was seven years old when I used to help Mr. Pauly Burt sell his allocated bundle of the Taos News.”

Cardenas’ motivation to work pushed him to veer towards an unorthodox form of education, as he preferred to gain knowledge through firsthand experience instead of in a classroom. As the second oldest in his family, Cardenas blazed a very different path for himself when he set out to find work at a very young age.

As a teenager, Ricky joined a crew of ranch hands in Monte Vista, Colorado, where he learned the concept of hard, physical labor. A subsequent move to East Denver, coupled with many odd kitchen jobs, further cemented his independence and love of food preparation at an early age. More importantly, alluding to his many employers who put their trust in this young man and gave him gainful employment, it taught him how vital an extended hand is to someone who might be struggling a bit.

When Cardenas returned to Taos, he jumped right into the workforce and garnered his first cooking job with the late Mante Chacon, who owned the El Patio Restaurant at the time. Cardenas credits his flavor of success to Chacon, who later went on to build the Mante’s Chow Cart franchise. Cardenas’ resume included stints at Spivey’s Café (at the current Michael’s Kitchen location), Joe Mama’s Italian Restaurant (at the current Big 5 location) and a 15-year run as line cook at Michael’s Kitchen. Cardenas opened his first iteration of Ricky’s Restaurant on December 31, 1987.

Ricky’s restaurants have always been interesting places to eat. Along with the Northern New Mexican cuisine that chili lovers crave, and the Denver Broncos shrines inside each of his diners, other factors bring back repeat customers and draw in the regular rotation crowd. Random inquiries with local diners about why they like Ricky’s produced a variety of responses. Some enjoyed the familyfriendly atmosphere and kids’ menu, while others praised the cozy café setting. Moreover, they truly appreciate that Cardenas himself takes the time to chat with his patrons and ask if their meal was great.

Throughout the 37 years Ricky’s Restaurant has been around, it has resided in five different locations throughout the region. The first restaurant was in Ranchos de Taos before moving to a space inside the old Ramada Inn (now the Espresso Bar in the Taos Valley Lodge). For business reasons, Ricky’s moved to Questa, and remained open there for two years.

“We went to Questa because there were no spaces available here in Taos,” Cardenas said, harkening back to a time when there were many eatery options for people to choose from, and competition was stiff. “We still had lots of customers from Taos though, who would come to us all the time.”

Ricky’s returned to Taos when a small building across the street from Randall Lumber and Hardware — which housed the Daylight Donuts — was suddenly available. It was at this location where the longest business tenure occurred, and where many of Cardenas’ fondest memories were forged.

According to Cardenas, many famous celebrities patronized his little restaurant. Like most new customers visiting Taos, they were directed there by locals whose word-of-mouth recommendations were enough to prompt a visit.

“

My grandpa Gabriel was the one that taught me the value of hard work. I have been all about work since I was seven years old when I used to help Mr. Pauly Burt sell his allocated bundle of the Taos News.

“Probably the most famous person we’ve had come in was Geraldo Rivera,” Cardenas said, as he fondly remembered the mustachioed talkshow host from the ‘90s sending his compliments to the cooks and wanting to meet the owner. “This was when he was in his heyday.”

Cardenas, a self-proclaimed music lover — whose kitchens often rumble with the sound of rock ‘n’ roll tracks that spill into the dining area — was especially excited to share selfies of himself posing with a well-known musician from the ’60s and ’70s.

“I got the privilege of meeting Mark Lindsey from Paul Revere & the Raiders,” Cardenas said, who recalled visiting at length with the talented vocalist and saxophone player who had stopped by for lunch. “It was one of the really cool moments in my life.” Now, with Ricky’s Restaurant in its newest location in El Prado, not much has changed. The orange walls covered in one-of-a-kind mementos dedicated to his favorite team still hang, and Cardenas still makes the rounds after the morning slam. Customers near and far still choose to gather to get their fix of red or green.

For one particular customer, who was compelled to hitchhike nearly 300-miles to deliver a gift to someone he barely knew — save for the fact that on previous visits to Taos, and when in need — Cardenas treated him as a friend and offered shelter, company and a warm meal. Perhaps it wasn’t such a lopsided transaction after all. 2

PHOTOS

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TODD

DANIEL PEARSON/TAOS NEWS

ORALIA VISARRAGA

‘KINDNESS IS ALWAYS A STEP IN THE RIGHT DIRECTION’

by Geoffrey Plant

BORN IN LAS TRAMPAS IN 1936, Oralia Visarraga learned the meaning of service and selflessness as a child, helping parents Fernando and Ofelia Lopez in the family’s alfalfa fields, canning fruit, and fetching firewood while attending school in the oneroom escualita on the tiny community’s plaza.

There, she developed a deep-rooted sense of community that expresses itself through a lifelong dedication to helping others.

“She is a kind, gentle, loving person

who helps everybody she comes into contact with, especially kids,” said Ernie Ortega, senior judge for New Mexico’s 8th Judicial District. “Those people in Peñasco are very resilient. They’re strong people and she exemplifies that with a lot of kindness. Kindness is always a step in the right direction — that would be her motto.”

Except for a brief period when her father moved the family to Utah for work, Visarraga has lived in southern Taos County her entire life. When her father, a miner, was blinded on the job, the family returned to Trampas, where

she recalled how he used to help at the San Jose de Gracia Church. Folks from near and far still remember the blind man with the big iron key who would open the entrance to the centuries-old adobe church.

“I think I got it from him,” Visarraga said of her life of service. “He used to tell us you have to help everybody because that’s the only thing you’re going to take from this life; that when you die, you’re not taking nothing — but that friendship will never be taken away from you.

DANIEL PEARSON/TAOS NEWS

“Lleven se la bien con la gente, porque el dia que se mueran, no los llevamos mas que la buena amistad,”

she said, quoting her father, and adding it was a sentiment her late husband George Visarraga recalled out loud from time to time.

When major life events — marriage, significant anniversaries or birthdays, the death of a close relative or friend, or graduations, for example — happen, as they inevitably do, people sometimes discover they don’t know how to organize a wedding or funeral reception, plan a celebration or memorial.

Many Peñasco residents have called on Visarraga at such times — although she’s probably already on her way to offer help, especially when she knows an individual or family is grieving.

“You need help then; you need somebody to step in,” she said. “And that’s one thing about my family: They all step in.”

She takes great spiritual satisfaction in helping feed and shelter countless pelegrinos making their way to el Santuario de Chimayó during Holy Week each year, when tens of thousands of people make the pilgrimage, many of them along NM 518 from Las Vegas and Mora, and the High Road to Taos.

“You have to support them, because they’re walking and they get tired,

they have blisters, they have all kinds of things,” she said, explaining that assisting the pilgrims in their devotion allows her to express her own deep faith in God.

“And I’m so busy that I don’t recognize people when they’re here,” she added with a smile. “But they do recognize me wherever I’m going. They say, ‘Here comes Oralia.’”

To generations of people who grew up in Peñasco, where she has lived since marrying in the 1950s, Visarraga is known as the woman who drove the

school bus. For about 40 years, she woke up at 4:30 a.m. to pick up students within the Peñasco Independent School District, and also drove school sports teams to games around the region.

“I had a wonderful time with the kids,” Oralia recalled. “Some of them would come and tell me, ‘Come on, bus driver, tie my shoe, my mom’s still asleep’ — until this law that came out that you couldn’t hug them or do those things for them.

“I still did,” she added, laughing. At the same time, she and her

I think I got it from [my father.] He used to tell us you have to help everybody because that’s the only thing you’re going to take from this life; that when you die, you’re not taking nothing — but that friendship will never be taken away from you. “

husband, who passed away in 2006, ran a gas station for many decades in Peñasco. It was a successful business and afforded the Visarragas a comfortable life. Her own family’s relative good fortune drove her to give back to her under-served rural community all the more. As the poet Henry Wadsworth wrote, however, “Into each life some rain must fall.”

The Visarraga Self Serv sign still stands by the side of the highway today, but a tragic accident in the 1980s literally destroyed the business. As a truck driver was delivering fuel to the station, a spark set off a massive explosion.

Two of the Visarraga’s six boys were working at the station that day. One escaped with minor injuries, but the other, Michael Visarraga, was severely burned; he survived the accident, and like his mother drove a school bus in Peñasco for many years. He died of a heart attack last December at the age of 65. The truck driver succumbed to his injuries not long after the explosion.

“I gave him first aid right here in this room,” Visarraga said, sitting in the kitchen of the family home next door to the gas station. “It was rough. I went with him and my son Michael on the ambulance down to Embudo.”

“Then is when you know: You have to give in order to receive,” Visarraga said. “I got a lot of help cleaning the place — even just to talk to somebody helps. Things do happen and we have to have faith.” 1

PHOTOS BY DANIEL PEARSON/TAOS NEWS

Oralia Visarraga

“

I’m not a fan of analyzing whether a program is going to be effective or not. My philosophy is that there’s so much upside to providing opportunities for kids, and we should always strive to do more for them. I’m into materializing things.

TODD GRAVELLE

GRAVELLE

COACHING KIDS IMPACTS THEIR LIVES

by Arcenio J. Trujillo, for the Taos News

TODD GRAVELLE IS A TAOS ICON , but he doesn’t see it. His body of work parallels many Taoseños who have lived here most (if not all) their lives, have held many jobs, have pursued many career tracks and have garnered many friends along the way. Ultimately, these talented personalities, with an unapologetic “live-toserve-others” mantra, leave indelible marks on their respective communities as they endeavor to improve the lives of their neighbors. Throw in a little Taos turbulence, wrought with golden eras and gritty downswings, and a local hero with household-name status emerges.

Gravelle has spent his time, energy and creativity adding to Taos’ unique melting pot. His resume is long in timeline, and vast in category. And though he has held many titles and has championed many causes, his goals have always centered around building a vibrant and healthful community for children. Gravelle, who works at Guadalupe Credit Union as financial coach and outreach coordinator, currently serves as an alpine ski coach with the Taos Winter Ski Team (TWST) and as a levelfour youth hockey assistant coach. He is also a member of the DreamTree Project board of directors.

In many ways, Todd followed in the footsteps of his mother, Patricia A. Martinez, who devoted close to 30 years of her career helping people with recovery as director of Amigos Unidos, Inc. This multi-faceted service provider, which was founded in 1981, provided free youth and family counseling to Taos County residents and was a huge influence in Todd’s life and what he considered his calling. To this day, Gravelle finds tremendous satisfaction helping people overcome substance abuse issues and mentoring youth.

Todd’s personal “Taos shuffle” included additional stints in the private sector as principal business owner of Gravelle Mortgage Company; in the non-profit realm as president of the Rotary Club; in his church community as mayordomo at Our Lady of Guadalupe parish; and as author of a children’s self-help curriculum used by Taos Municipal Schools.

Since graduating from Taos High School in 1986, Gravelle has been a voice for children yearning to play games, see new places or test their abilities. An accomplished athlete himself, Gravelle keenly connected his participation — and eventual success — in team and individual sports to his own health and wellbeing. He was a gifted athlete who played varsity football with the Taos Tigers, and dabbled in other popular sports like basketball, tennis, soccer and softball. After graduating high school, he moved to Steamboat Springs, where he skied for Colorado Mountain College.

“I’ve enjoyed skiing since I was a child,” Gravelle said, indicating that he first put on skis as a 7-year-old, but really started to take the sport seriously at age 12. “In college, slalom and giant slalom were my events.”

Gravelle competed internationally, and now uses his skills to train the next generation of alpine athletes. One of the highlights as a downhill racer occurred during a competition in South America, where he finished fourth at the Chilean Nationals — nudged out of the third spot by a mere one-thousandth of a second.

In one of the lowest moments in Gravelle’s life, his older brother, Garrett, died in an avalanche in Telluride, Colorado, in 1987. Todd received the news of his brother’s passing shortly after he competed in his first college race. It severely

affecting his focus and commitment to the sport.

“I fell apart,” Gravelle said. “To get back on the slopes after all that was one of the hardest things I ever went through, but it did give me perspective and helped shape me.”

Gravelle credits his battle-hardened attitude, and ability to relate to the hardships some Taos kids experience to that very difficult time he had to overcome.

Todd would eventually find himself serving as recreation supervisor with the Town of Taos, where a level of brashness led to a robust litany of activities for Taos children. The list included organized basketball tournaments; volleyball leagues; weekly hikes; trips to various parks throughout Taos County; multi-age fishing trips; ski club, chess camps; and wrestling camps.

“I’m not a fan of analyzing whether a program is going to be effective or not,” Gravelle said, while reiterating his stance that recreation was his favorite form of alcohol, tobacco and drug prevention. “My philosophy is that there’s so much upside to providing opportunities for kids, and we should always strive to do more for them. I’m into materializing things.”

By trying to make positive changes in people’s lives, Gravelle always had kids’ best interest in mind. Even the adult recreation teams he formed, led and played on were committed to remaining alcohol-free for the sake of kids who might be watching games or hanging around afterwards.

“The culture around adult recreation leagues always seemed to include drinking lots of alcohol after games,” Gravelle noted. “It started to become a negating factor for folks who were participating in these healthy activities, so I came up with the concept to curtail the drinking in public.”

The constant attempts by Gravelle to change the paradigm around the consumption of alcohol and other substances was an intergenerational endeavor that included many unique strategies. In his efforts to reach children and get them to properly hear his messages on healthy living, Gravelle would make presentations to an unusual audience: seniors.

“I would put educational material, such as pamphlets and other handouts in the hands of regular attendees at the senior center,” Gravelle recalled. “My presentations involved helping those elders talk to their children and grandchildren about alcohol and drugs. I was like a broken record. I believed that sooner or later, the information you share, over and over, permeates in the minds of people and they can make smart decisions when it’s time to choose their path.

“Watching a kid improve, and seeing that sense of accomplishment in their eyes, was the most rewarding part of my job. When you see growth first-hand, it makes all the hard work worth it.”

When pressed about whether he thought of himself as a local icon, Gravelle had a very humble explanation for rebuffing such a title — instead reserving the designation for longtime residents who are best remembered for their unique and lasting contributions to the community.

“I don’t have one great legacy,” Gravelle insisted. “I’ve just been filling in the gaps here and there. But, as a result of someone in my position who is available to help where needed, I do feel blessed.” 2

PHOTO BY DANIEL PEARSON/TAOS NEWS

DR. COLIN NICHOLLS

PUSHING STUDENTS TO AIM — WHERE ELSE? — FOR THE STARS

by Emery Veilleux

IT’S CHARACTERISTIC OF THE profession: Every student can recall, wistfully or woefully, at least one teacher who shifted something inside — an impassioned English teacher, a wise history teacher or a committed calculus teacher who pushed them to recognize something true about themselves.

Dr. Colin Nicholls has one of those, too: Len Bowles, his quirky secondary school math teacher who sported multiple ties under sweater vests,

juggled, read Sherlock Holmes, held a degree in French and an inactive membership to the Communist Party, and whom Nicholls would spot climbing the gymnasium’s ropes for the heck of it in the wee hours of the school day.

“He was a wonderful character, complex, all sorts of aspects to him,” Nicholls recalled, and “more than just someone who tells you what to do.” Nicholls, too, is one of these enlivening teachers for countless students: Inventive, deeply caring, hard-working

and ever curious to learn. He shines by empowering each of his students to shine.

Since 2012, Nicholls has taught math, physics and astronomy full-time at UNM-Taos where he is department chair for math and science. His popular astronomy class is typically full — a testament to the environment he nurtures.

Larry Mapes, owner of Valverde Energy, who nominated Nicholls as an Unsung Hero, said, “To watch him

DANIEL PEARSON/TAOS NEWS

“The time is always right to do what is right.” – Martin Luther King

“I like the Shared Table because you might not think you need anything, but you just might!” -Taos 4th Grader

Join Pastor Steve Wiard and Associate Pastor Cheri Lyon for worship – Sundays at 11:00 am Pet Blessing, October 20th at 2:00pm

SHARED TABLE FOOD DISTRIBUTION

We are proudly celebrating our 30th Anniversary serving Northern New Mexico 2nd & 4th Wednesdays 8:30 am -11:00 am at El Pueblito Methodist Church 3:00 – 4:00pm at the Talpa Community Center

Steve Wiard, Taos News Unsung Hero, 2001Cheri Lyon, Taos News Unsung Hero, 2023

››› work with students and explain the distance of a planet is truly remarkable. With his skill set, he could teach anywhere in the world, and he chose Taos.”

Indeed, working in a small town is preferable for Nicholls. He’s able to nurture relationships with students, bump into them years later at Smith’s or watch them ascend to town council seats.

This, essentially, is the nub of Nicholls’ philosophy: empowering students in the classroom so they can “explore, look at things,” meet their edge of resilience or curiosity, then “move on to what it is that they really want to do.”

He wants students to chart their own course and aim — where else? — for the stars.

The physicist-teacher feels he was afforded “wonderful opportunities” in both education and the workforce. “I want to make sure that students get those opportunities, different opportunities — I don’t want them to shut down too early.”

For Nicholls, those wonderful opportunities included earning bachelor’s, master’s and PhD degrees in physics from Oxford University at a time when he estimates only 10–15 percent of the population attended any college. Born

to a factory-machine-operator father, Nicholls remains the only person in his birth family to attend college.

What inspired “a kid from Birmingham [England]” to shoot for one of the most prestigious institutes worldwide?

“It was a TV program, actually,” Nicholls recalled, with characteristic notes of curiosity and humility. Seeing Roger Moore in “The Persuaders!” Nicholls thought, “I saw that he played rugby, and I was like, ‘Well, I play rugby,’ and then I saw that he went to university, and I thought, ‘Well, that’s looks pretty cool.’”

And thus, a star was born. (Pardon the pun, as Nicholls would never call himself such).

After graduation, Nicholls garnered a robust, 20-year career as a working scientist for high-tech companies and research organizations in the U.K. and the U.S. He bears a pithy resume of patents and published scientific papers “on many weird and wonderful things,” as he says — measuring everything from the flow of oil and water through rock layers to the number of peanuts in a batch of M&Ms.

When he moved to Taos with his late wife, Cristina Sumners, a spunky Texan he met in the breakfast hall at Oxford, Nicholls began teaching, which he’d sought to do from his high school days.

At Taos High School, he characteristically pushed students to realize their capabilities — refusing to let students drop calculus, getting called a name or two, then seeing those same students earn science degrees from universities.

In complex topics, Nicholls leans on the venerable wisdom from “The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy,” reminding his students: “Don’t panic.”

In transitioning from Taos High to UNM-Taos, Nicholls noticed many students struggling with continued math education. Coming to their aid, Nicholls secured a National Science Foundation grant — a landmark for the university as well as the professor — to support foundational math learning in post-secondary education. The professor developed holistic curricula to help students navigate a tricky subject with organic, applicable lessons that often stemmed from story and real-world circumstances.

Deploying Edgar Allen Poe’s story “The Pit and the Pendulum,” for example, as a springboard — where the char-

acter mentally calculates he’s got six swings of the pendulum to figure out a solution — Nicholls helped his students work out math concepts like uncertainty, deviation, and what the heck a pendulum is.

In addition to hard STEM skills, students rounded out skills in critical thinking, communication, presentation, problem-solving, patience, curiosity — marks of a burgeoning scientist, politician, artist or forester alike.

For someone who spends so much time gazing at the stars, Nicholls is indelibly present with his students. He trusts inherently in the inner, unseen, mysterious machinations of learning that can often be just as mysterious as the cosmos.

To create an environment that is supportive of learning — true learning — Nicholls emphasizes experimentation, decentralized learning and realworld application, all while creating “a place where it’s safe to not understand but certainly encouraged to learn in your own ways.”

“To watch him work with students and explain the distance of a planet is truly remarkable. With his skill set, he could teach anywhere in the world, and he chose Taos.

Larry Mapes Owner, Valverde Energy

“The maxim that we often use in the biz is, ‘the guide on the side rather than the sage on the stage,’” Nicholls advised. He doesn’t want students to simply memorize solutions: He wants his mentees to truly make connections in their own way and their own time. That usually means respecting

different learning methods and slowly reforming production-line style education.

“Maybe you master geometry when you’re 14, maybe you don’t master it until 60” — to Nicholls, what matters is they kept at it, and learned something: geometry, yes, as well as curiosity, patience, resilience, and critical thinking.

Currently, the professor is working with another beloved teacher, Taos High School’s Francis Hahn, to develop an astronomy program for Flex Fridays. Daytime lessons and nighttime and stargazing will boost astronomy learning, while monthly student-led star parties hosted for parents and friends will bolster students’ soft skills in presentation, communication and community projects.

“Colin [is] a generous giver of his many talents and an inspiration to our community’s youth,” Mapes said.

Nicholl’s deep respect for each individual and their access to opportunity is mirrored in his work with Cielo Centro, UNM-Taos’ public observatory. He’s designing the observatory and building equipment to make night sky views accessible to people in wheelchairs and others unable to climb steps or ladders. Indeed, the scientist had already invented a periscope-like extension so folks with limited height or mobility can reach the telescope’s eyepiece.

He feels the opportunity for experience in New Mexico’s burgeoning space industry is “very significant,” and is working to establish a regional consortium to prepare and train students for employment in the space economy.

The night sky — the view of the Milky Way from his backyard — is a mystifying, motivating force for Nicholls.

“It’s a word I don’t use very often: It’s awesome” — it literally evokes awe. He recalls formative experiences as a kid in Birmingham that drew him to astronomy: watching the moon landing and the Leonid meteor shower, and learning from Patrick Moore, the newscaster Nicholls dubbed “the eccentric BBC astronomy guru.”

Cielo Centro, he feels, is an outstanding resource to engage students and visitors alike in protecting the night skies, work Nicholls pursues with El Valle Astronomers. The astronomy club hosts star parties from Dixon to Wild Rivers to Capulin Volcano to engage New Mexicans in “the wonder,” as Nicholls said, of dark, star-drenched skies. Ever the learner, and always inventive, Nicholls is currently enrolled in a 3D printing course and is working to develop a collapsible, portable telescope to bolster stargazing opportunities. He’s also soon to demonstrate his creative, inventive spirit at a 3D printing collaborative group installation at PASEO. Outside the classroom, Nicholls can be found woven into in the community, chiefly skiing in the winter and singing in the St. James choir alongside his longtime partner, musician and artist Julie Greer.

For Nicholl it’s a place where “woowoo lefties and read-meat right types come together” for a “common purpose” — another strength of life in a small town. The St. James food pantry also receives the benefits of one- or twostar parties each year, which Nicholls generously donates.

Does Nicholls feel he’s one of those eccentric characters shaping his students’ lives like those who inspired him? The professor laughed off the title. He doesn’t devote much time to thinking about it. What he does is devote his time to thinking about are pragmatic, grassroots efforts to improve the lives of community members: savvy technologies to make stargazing accessible to all; teaching practices to help a student stick it out in calculus; collaborative ventures to protect the Milky Way in Taos.

More accurately, perhaps, Dr. Colin Nicholls really is a star: each shines indubitably brightly in their own right, but mostly, stars move us for their relation to other stars — how they form the great sweep of constellations that have the power to move us and mystify us, spiraling far beyond themselves into something deeply worthy of awe. 2

PHOTOS BY DANIEL PEARSON/TAOS NEWS

Dr. Colin Nicholls

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GILBERT SUAZO

AN ELDER’S FOOTSTEPS THROUGH HISTORY

by Rick Romancito, for the Taos News

THE TAOS PUEBLO MOUNTAIN is a constant benevolent presence in the hearts and minds of the Native people at its base. Its massive, pyramidal shape has been a measure by which one marks the cycles in their spiritual lives. Through the middle of their ancient village flows the creek called Tuah Tah bah nah in Tiwa, the tribe’s Native language. This stream originates at Blue Lake, cradled like hands cupped in a prayer within those peaks. When Gilbert Suazo Sr. was a boy, he said he looked to the mountain for this reassurance, daily, and drank from the stream for its blessing of life, daily.

“I remember one time my father and I were having a conversation and he told me that the mountain was not our mountain anymore, that the federal government had taken it away. And I didn’t believe him.”

He asked his dad, “Well, how could that be? You know, I mean, it’s a mountain that we look at every day. How could it be that it’s not ours?”

His father, Alfred Suazo, who served as tribal secretary at that time, continued, saying, “It was taken away and it wasn’t just our land anymore.” As explained, the land taken encom-

passed thousands of acres east of the Pueblo, including Blue Lake. Gilbert Suazo said, “It was really a shock to me. When I think back, I feel that is when my personal fight for Blue Lake began.”

SEEDS OF DEDICATION

The almost 70-year battle to return Blue Lake to Taos Pueblo would shape much of his life onward. It started a fire in his heart to protect something his ancestors revered as part of their homeland since the beginning of their time in the world.

continues on 46

DANIEL PEARSON/TAOS NEWS

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HERO, TODD GRAVELLE

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In a draft of his memoir, Suazo, now 84, recalled how he “loved being in the mountains,” but he was deeply dismayed by “the restrictions and limitations [imposed by the U.S. Forest Service] on the Pueblo’s use of the area.”

When he moved back home in 1966 after graduating from Haskell Institute (now the Indian Nations University) in Kansas, he was well aware of the Blue Lake struggle and how it was escalating on a national level. It was an almost daily conversation among his father and elders who were tribal councilmen.

“The tribal council and its spokesman and officials were the leaders of the effort,” his memoir reads. “As a young tribal member [he] was not a part of the official effort but could not remain silent on the opposition and criticism the tribe was facing in the news media. So, Suazo began to respond as a tribal individual to the criticism in the news media. Further he talked with others of his generation who were also supporters for the tribe’s fight for its lands, but just as observers.”

Meanwhile, powerful politicians and many members of the public, including the editorial boards of influential newspapers, opposed returning the land to the people of this small, Indigenous village in Northern New Mexico because of the precedent it might set. “There were some people locally that just did not want the Pueblo to have any of our ancestral lands restored to us. Opposition was subtle, but also fierce,” Suazo said.

That’s when a small group of young Taos Pueblo men, led by Suazo, decided to be active in support of the tribal council efforts and called itself “The Youth of Taos Pueblo.” Suazo said he remembers Cesario “Jimmy” Lujan and Allen Martinez were core members of the group. Both later served, respectively, as tribal War Chief and Governor.

IMPORTANT NEW VOICE

In the late 1960s, the voice of the younger generation had never been heard before, but now it became an important force. “The community responded by actively participating in the group’s support activities including the signing of support petitions to be submitted to Washington. The community participation demonstrated the Blue Lake fight was a tribal-community wide effort,” Suazo’s memoir reads.

This effort led to Suazo being included in the Pueblo’s delegation as a representative of the younger generation to give testimony in the final congressional hearings on Blue Lake and to participate in the historic July 8, 1970 White House meeting.

No one could have predicted the plot twist in the final critical hours when

“

I remember one time my father and I were having a conversation and he told me that the mountain was not our mountain anymore, that the federal government had taken it away. [...] When I think back, I feel that is when my personal fight for Blue Lake began.

President Richard Nixon, who quietly held great reverence for Native people going back to his boyhood, decided to support the Pueblo in their effort to return Blue Lake.

In that meeting, the president, in conjunction with his pledge to support the Pueblo’s efforts, announced a new American Indian Policy. The restoration of Blue Lake to Taos Pueblo would be cornerstone of that policy that, to this day, benefits Native American people across the country. President Nixon then signed the historic Blue Lake legislation into law as P.L. 91-550.

Since then, Taos Pueblo has had celebrations to commemorate this important accomplishment. Suazo participated in the first Blue Lake victory celebration in 1971 and in subsequent Blue Lake Return Commemoration events. “We hold these periodic Blue Lake Commemorations to educate

each generation of Taos Pueblo youth about the great struggle our people went through to protect our rights and lands that we enjoy as will future generations,” Suazo said.

Suazo continues to give public presentations about the return of Blue Lake to Taos Pueblo in order to preserve its history. He said, “The true heroes for the return of Blue Lake are those decades of Taos Pueblo leaders who never gave up the fight since 1906 that enabled our generation to secure the return of the Blue Lake land.”

WATER IS LIFE

Even after Blue Lake was returned, Suazo would continue to work with the Pueblo in another fight for tribal rights. This one involved the complicated issues over water rights in the Taos Valley. Called the Abeyta Water Right Adjudication, it asserted Taos Pueblo’s claim of senior aboriginal water rights, Suazo said.

In 1991, Suazo had a lucrative career at Los Alamos National Laboratories. His work was in the technical fields doing design, fabrication, and testing of experimental devices for electronics and particle physics experiments at the University of Kansas and the Los Alamos National Laboratory. He also served as executive staff advisor and as leader for the Laboratory’s Tribal Relations Team.

Occasionally he would take a leave of absence when the Taos Pueblo tribal council would appoint him to various positions in its government. These included as Tribal and War Chief Secretary, as Lt. Governor, and as Governor in 2007 and 2018. He is also a lifetime Tribal Council member.

While working at LANL in 1991, he was assigned by the Tribal Council to the Pueblo’s Water Rights Task Force and, with Councilman Nelson Cordova, to serve as co-spokesman in the legali-

ties involving the Pueblo’s water rights, according to Suazo’s memoir.

In 2001, he retired from LANL to work full-time on the water rights protection efforts.

The Taos Pueblo Indian Water Rights Settlement Act is the result of a water adjudication case, aka, the “Abeyta case,” filed in 1969 by the State of New Mexico, Suazo explained.

SECOND CAREER

“I decided, after years of splitting my time and energy with others’ efforts, to devote my full energy to the important work regarding negotiating the settlement for Taos Pueblo’s water rights and implementation of that settlement,” he said. “Since I had one retirement behind me, I viewed my water rights work as an interesting second career, especially doing it right here among my people and with a life-long knowledge about my community.”

According to New Mexico’s Office of State Engineer’s Interstate Stream Commission, the Taos Pueblo Water Rights Settlement Agreement was developed through multi-party negotiations started in 1989. The groups involved were Taos Pueblo, the state of New Mexico, the Taos Valley Acequia Association (and its 55 member acequias), the Town of Taos, the El Prado Water and Sanitation District, and the 12 Taos-area Mutual Domestic Water Consumer Associations.

These groups gathered to negotiate on Taos Pueblo’s senior aboriginal water rights claims to the Rio Hondo and Rio Pueblo de Taos stream systems.

“In 2010, 41 years after the Abeyta Adjudication was filed and after 21 years of local negotiations, President Barack Obama signed the Pueblo’s water rights legislation into law,” Suazo said.

That was not the end, however. Suazo said the Adjudication Court still had to issue a decree and that finally happened in 2016. The Abeyta Settlement Agreement, “is essentially the master water-sharing agreement for the Taos Valley and its major water users and water rights holders,” the Taos News reported.

Suazo says, “Indian water rights settlements are very complicated technically and legally and one’s involvement is for the long-term.”

Suazo still serves “on-call” to the Water Rights Department and also serves on the Tribal Council Budget and Investment Team.

FAMILY EFFORT

Suazo’s family has been involved in other facets of work on behalf of the pueblo.

Suazo has been married to Martha Ann Suazo for almost 63 years, and together they have five children — Reva, Gilbert Jr., Daniel, Terrance and Alfred — nine grandchildren and seven greatgrandchildren.

Martha, up to three years ago, was involved for many years as a Taos Pueblo Guadalupana participating in and supporting the 100-mile pilgrimage for Catholic Vocations along with sons Gilbert Jr., Terrance and Alfred, and grandsons Julian and Allen. Suazo’s daughter, Reva Suazo, is the tribal realty officer. She “shares my interests in the Pueblo’s land base and the Blue Lake history,” Gilbert Suazo said. In addition, the tribe dedicated a new Water Administration Building Department office building and shop on Spider Rock Road. Its director is his son, Daniel Suazo.

For Gilbert Suazo Sr., finding himself in the middle of these important issues wasn’t to bring attention to himself. It was simply something that needed to be done for the people of Taos Pueblo and for their posterity. And, it is the reason he was chosen as one of this year’s Unsung Heroes of Taos.

When asked recently what was his reaction to being named an Unsung Hero, he said, “Well, it’s a surprise and an honor because there are so many people I think in the Taos area that do a lot of good things, but are not recognized. But, I appreciate somebody thought about my work.” 2

PHOTOS BY DANIEL PEARSON/TAOS NEWS

Gilbert

CONGRATULATIONS

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I love dogs and our family has always only had rescues. I do what I do only for the dogs — they’re what I care about.

DONNA STORCH

MAN’S BEST FRIENDS HAVE A FRIEND IN DONNA STORCH

by Lynne Robinson

DONNA STORCH came to Taos during the late ’70s, and continued working here as a field biologist, her profession for 36 years. The decades studying flora and fauna in their natural habitats and ecosystems while conducting field research clearly informed her understanding and love of animals — dogs in particular.

“You know, I’m basically a very private person, as anyone who knows me will tell you,” she said. “I love dogs and our family has always only had rescues. I do what I do only for the dogs — they’re what I care about,” the mother of two daughters said by way of introduction.

Storch believes it is in everyone’s DNA to be an animal lover, and since retiring she has become a fierce animal advocate, dedicating time to this cause for more than 35 years.

“I’ve lived full time in Taos since the late ’70s with a bit of part time before that,” she explained. “I moved around the country with different jobs as a wildlife and fish biologist. I retired from my biologist job here in Taos. My husband and I built our home and raised both our daughters here. As a family, we’ve always believed in being part of and supporting our local community. We know that the strength of a community is the sum of everyone doing and giving back what they are able.”

Storch says it was her love of dogs that led her to volunteer at our local community shelter. At the time, there were dogs who had spent up to seven years there, and they became her priority for walking and doing whatever she could to enrich a part of their daily lives. Not having a clue how to even start, she set a goal to get them out; to find a way to give each of them the opportunity to move on to the lives she felt they deserved.

“One by one I began creating partnerships with reputable shelters/rescues in state and out of state,” she explained.

She continues to work with all our local animal organizations. Her focus remains on helping the dogs, regardless of who they are with or any politics surrounding them.

“I care about the dogs, that’s it,” she said.

The work Storch is involved with entails a lot of back and forth in its process.

Transfer coordination is a tedious initiative, and Storch says transfer programs should really only be considered as supplemental to in-house adoptions, based on good adoption counseling and follow up. Unfortunately, she acknowledges that’s hardly ever a reality anymore: Shelters and rescues nationwide have been overcapacity for the last several years.

“I’m fortunate to have longstanding trusted partners who are still able to take in some dogs in need,” she said.

The ongoing process involves the support of a lot of people to make every transfer happen from start to finish, and Storch explained she acts as the broker, and everyone else has equally important roles. She coordinates with her partners on all the logistics of the transport itself, including medical requirements, paperwork, arrival schedule and drivers. Deb Neilson, a volunteer and friend, and Storch have worked together for years to make this happen in the best way possible for every dog and for partnering rescues and shelters.

“We advocate for any and all dogs: seniors, special needs, medical, nursing and pregnant moms, newborn pups. My partners know ... I’ll always ask,” Storch said.

Asked about Taos’ somewhat messy history with animals, dogs in particular, with people

going so far as to shoot and poison trespassing creatures, Storch acknowledged, “I can only observe that over the years I’ve been in Taos County, things have improved somewhat but we still have so far to go. The comparisons to other places that we take dogs to is striking [where] unplanned litters are low, few stray and abandoned dogs, physical abuse, not common, dog attacks, rare.”

Of course, she explained, these communities have strictly enforced ordinances in place, education outreach is extensive, and access to medical care and dog training/behavioral help groups is affordable and accessible. “And, people typically have more available income to care for their dogs as family members,” Storch added.

“It’s heartbreaking here to see people who love their dogs and there is not adequate help available to them when they are in need. The dogloving community all do what they can, but the needs are overwhelming.

“The brightest, boldest and most successful step forward for Taos County and the Pueblos has been the free spay/neuter/vaccine clinic established by Taos Feral Feline Friends under the direction and management of Donna Karr.”

As an animal advocate, Storch believes the best way for community members to get involved is to address the greatest needs of the moment, which she says are threefold.

Storch says Taos requires, at the very least, a fully functional and fiscally responsible community animal shelter; accountability by the town and county for response and enforcement of the existing ordinances by animal control; and, as part of the town and county’s responsibilities, handling the out-of-control stray dog and aggressive free roaming dog packs throughout the county.

“Without these being dealt with simultaneously, there is no way to begin to address the dire problem in this county. Everyone needs to sit down, put differences and egos aside and work together for the common goal of animal welfare.

“I would encourage everyone to support the local organizations that are currently working hard to make a difference trying to fill an unfillable gap. Look at their goals and accomplishments, their management teams and boards, go over their financials, find the organization that you feel a comfortable connection with.”

These include Four Corners Animal League, High Desert Hounds, Taos Hound Underground, Run Around Dog Town, Taos Feral Feline Friends, and Dixon Animal Protection Society. Interested parties can volunteer, donate food and materials, foster, contribute directly to medical needs at local veterinary clinics, become a board member, walk and socialize dogs, cuddle puppies, and make new friends.

“Raise your kids and encourage your family and friends to give back to this community and get involved,” Storch urged.

As Storch explained, there are many ways and ideas to make this happen. Taos has experienced a tremendous setback in animal welfare in a matter of a few years — it’s clearly time for a major overhaul, for the good of the animals and the staff who work hard to care for them at less than a living wage.

For Donna Storch, this is no mere pastime: It’s a way of life. Her compassionate service and caring for these helpless canines is deserving of all the accolades we can give this Unsung Hero in our midst. 1

DANIEL PEARSON/TAOS NEWS

F ROM BEHIND THE SCENES THIS QUIET CONVENER HELPS KEEP TALPA TOGETHER

by John Miller

IF A COMMUNITY EVENT is happening in Talpa, there’s a good chance Tommy Tafoya is behind it, but you might never know it.

And that’s just how he prefers it.

Tafoya likes to say that he does his best work “in the shadows,” so it was with some reluctance that he agreed to accept an Unsung Heroes award this year.

Sitting down at the end of August to talk about his life inside the sewing room at the Talpa Community Center —

of which he is president and a founder — Tafoya produced a handwritten list of the people he wished to thank before he could be asked about himself. The list was folded and slightly crinkled, like he’d been carrying it around a while. It was also too long to reprint here, but if you ask him, he’ll with enthusiasm rattle off name after name of the local residents, family members and public officials who have supported him long before uttering a word about himself. Of course, it’s just this communitycentric perspective that earned Tafoya

a nod from the 2024 Unsung Heroes nominating committee in the first place.

Nearly 30 years ago, he was one of a handful of Taos County residents who worked with local elected officials to create new community centers for residents of the region’s many small villages, which in the early ’90s needed larger spaces to host acequia meetings, holiday parties, markets, celebrations, quinceañeras, and funeral and wedding receptions — all the events central to life in Northern New Mexico.

DANIEL PEARSON/TAOS NEWS

TOMMY TAFOYA

At the time, the Taos school district was vacating old buildings as it consolidated schools to serve clusters of small communities once served by siloed schoolhouses. Talpa Elementary School, which Tafoya had attended as a child, was on the list of buildings to be shuttered. He and other Talpa residents, along with their counterparts from other villages with vacant buildings set to go to market, approached the county with a proposal to repurpose them.

“When we started the concept back then, we had to go to the school boards and tell them, ‘You know what? These buildings were donated by somebody in the community. These buildings should stay with the people,’” Tafoya said. “So we started working with the schools on getting the buildings. Then we went under the county as a fiscal agent.”

In 1992, the county reached an agreement with the school district to transfer the properties to the county, which in turn handed them off to village residents to refashion into new community centers. To fund renovations, the county was awarded a $900,000 federal grant, according to Tafoya.

He, his sons and many other Talpa locals volunteered their time to fix windows, walls and floors that had fallen into disrepair after decades of use by middle school students and

“[Talpa Community Market has] music, someone playing the guitar here, and everybody enjoying themselves. We’ve got people selling Indian tacos, tamales, trees — whatever. These events help the economy. They bring in people to sell their stuff. It’s a large event, and it’s going good.

staff. The building officially opened as the new Talpa Community Center in 1995.

Tafoya and his fellow founders eventually organized the center under a nonprofit, which has since been recognized as a model for sustaining the modest yet essential neighborhood programs Talpa residents rely upon — from quilting classes to a fully-stocked library to summer children’s programs to Talpa Community

Market, which opened for its first-ever season late this spring.

“You’ve got to come on Fridays,” Tafoya said of the market, which runs from late May through early October. “We have music, someone playing the guitar here, and everybody enjoying themselves. We’ve got people selling Indian tacos, tamales, trees — whatever. These events help the economy. They bring in people to sell their stuff. It’s a large event, and it’s going good.”

Tafoya also serves as commissioner of the Acequia Madre del Rio Chiquito. After speaking with the Taos News, he met with 40 or 50 parciantes at the community center to plan for a new mitigation well to be installed in the area to meet the terms of the Abeyta Water Settlement.

“Acequias is one of the oldest entities,” Tafoya said. “The acequias go back 400 years, and we have to protect them because the state and everybody’s always after our water, you know what I mean? And it doesn’t snow like it used to, but we still protect our acequias because that’s a vital thing for everybody around here. Water is life.”

Tafoya is just as passionate about another key component of Northern New Mexico’s Hispano culture: adobe. “That’s what I do: I’m a builder,” he said. As an enjarrado — someone who has mastered the art of building with earth, water and straw — Tafoya estimates he’s constructed around 200 adobe homes in the last 45 years. Every third week of June, Tafoya and fellow enjarrados erect scaffolding around the historic San Francisco de Asis Church in Ranchos de Taos to refresh the 200-year-old building’s mud plaster. For the church, Tafoya says they use a special dirt called tierra vadita, which is nearly white in color and can be found around nearby Llano Quemado.

Despite Tafoya’s best efforts to remain behind the scenes in his many community roles, his reputation as someone always willing to give back seems to precede him everywhere he goes. Recently, while picking up his granddaughter from EnSueños Y Los Angelitos Development Center, Tafoya was called on to join the nonprofit’s board. “I went to visit her, and by the time I walked out I was already being recruited,” Tafoya said with a smile.

“I don’t need another board, but they asked me to come join so I said sure.”

Joseph Quintana, a fellow Talpa resident and member of this year’s Unsung Heroes nominating committee, said of Tafoya: “I’ve been doing Unsung Heroes nominations for years now, and if anybody fits the description of an Unsung Hero, in my mind, it’s Tommy Tafoya. The work he does with the acequias, the work he does with the church, the work he does in the community for the lay people and the people that need help of any sort, any time — with no compensation — Tommy Tafoya is there to do it. I just believe that it’s people like Tommy Tafoya that deserve and need these recognitions. That’s why these programs are built, for people like that.” 2

To learn more about Talpa Community Center, visit talpacc.bravesites.com.

PHOTOS BY DANIEL PEARSON/TAOS NEWS

Tommy Tafoya

Thank you, to these Unsung Heroes, for their dedication and hard work.

Taos County is a better place to live and work because of your efforts. The Taos County Chamber of Commerce extends our gratitude for paying it forward to Taos County communities and beyond.

www.taoschamber.com TAOS COUNTY

5 Star Burgers

Becky Roh, Edward Jones

Chevron Environmental Management Company

Christus St. Vincent Regional Medical Center

Cid’s Food Market

Clean Taos

Coldwell Banker Mountain Properties

Community Against Violence

DeVargas Funeral Home of Taos

Dee Dee Miller

Edward Jones, Becky Roh

El Monte Sagrado

El Pueblito United Methodist Church

To the following advertisers for their generous support keeping the legacy of celebrating Taos heroes alive.

Guadalupe Credit Union

Golden Willow Retreat

Harwood Museum of Art

High Country Real Estate Services

Holy Cross Medical Center

King Mortgage

Kit Carson Electric

LOR Foundation

Nusenda Credit Union

Olguin’s Sawmill & Firewood

Phoenix Mechanical

Randall Lumber & Hardware

Red Willow Hospice

Ryan Trujillo, Berkshire Hathaway

HomeServices Taos Real Estate

Salon Marjorie

Senator Roberto “Bobby” Gonzales

St. James Episcopal Church

State Farm, Wanda Lucero

State Representative Kristina Ortez

Taos Community Foundation

Taos County

Taos County Chamber of Commerce

Taos County Democratic Party

Taos Elders & Neighbors Together

Taos Enchanted Village

Taos Healthcare

Taos Housing Partnership

Taos Lifestyle

Taos MainStreet

And a Special Thank You to our Sponsors

Taos Milagro Rotary Club

Taos Mountain Casino

Taos Municipal Schools

Taos Pueblo Tourism

Taos Ski Valley, Inc.

Taos Tennis

Taos Winter Sports Team

Tesuque Casino

The Shared Table

Town of Taos

UNM-Taos

UNM-Taos HIVE

Youth Development, Inc.

Zeke’s Auto Supply & Machine Shop

Photo: Geraint Smith

To visit Taos Pueblo is to walk in a sacred place where life continues from the earliest of human existence.

TAOS PUEBLO

OVER 1,000 YEARS OF TRADITION

Taos Pueblo, Taos Mountain Casino and Hail Creek Travel Center are proud to honor those who exemplify the best of the past and help us weave it into the future. These heroes are our own links in what continues to be an unbroken circle of tradition.

2024 Taos Pueblo Governor Fred L. Romero

Photo: Rick Romancito for the Taos News