YOUR CULTURAL GUIDE TO NORTHERN NEW MEXICO
Complimentary publication in collaboration with the Northern Río Grande National Heritage Area representing the counties of Santa Fe, Río Arriba and Taos
2021–2022
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Open Mon-Sat 10am - 7pm 623 B Paseo Del Pueblo Norte (Behind Cid’s Fod Market) 575.758.745
Death of a King Max Evans By Taylor Hood
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ell, I think I’m pretty much out of time to write another one.” Max Evans guffawed at the prospect of writing another book. At 95 years old, the prolific author and screenwriter had already penned 27 books and had a number of them adapted for the silver screen. Now, with the release of what would indeed be his final novel, The King of Taos, the Old-Hollywoodgone-Wild-West writer was ready to put down his pen. But as I sat across from him, interviewing him about his latest work, he looked anything but ready to call it quits. Despite the myriad of tubes and machinery that encircled his body as he sat in his favorite recliner, Max looked every bit the strapping, young artist whose voice captured the West for so many years.
At the time, I was working for another publication and enjoying the chance to speak with New Mexico legend (and close friend of director Sam Peckinpah) Max Evans about his novel and his history. I didn’t know that it would be his final interview. Before I sat down to speak with Max, I prepared for the interview, but I had never actually met Max. I was expecting an old cowboy; the strong, silent type. Plus, at his age, I have to admit, I was a little concerned about communication. Would he be able to hear my questions? Was he still the man with a wit as sharp and dry as the desert wind? Well, I was in for a surprise. Max was gregarious and friendly. He welcomed me and immediately cracked some jokes (all laced with his typical gallows humor) and we were off.
He told me about his time in Taos—that he never found a place as beautiful or magical— and his work with legendary filmmaker Sam Pekinpah, and of course, his latest novel. To Max, the King of Taos was the culmination of a career. It was a novel, so he told me, that he had been working on, on and off again for the better part of three decades. “Oh, I’d pull it out and plug away at it from time to time,” he said with an air of nostalgia. “Then, I decided it was time to finally finish it,” he added, implying with a wry grin that his time on this Earth was nearly at an end. Of course the name of his novel, The King of Taos, is a bit misleading. As much as I would love to bestow that title on Max, in this instance, he is referring to the main character of the novel, a fun-loving, alcoholic Taoseño who is based on an old friend of Max. I naturally asked, “Is your friend still around? I’d love to speak with him.” Max laughed. “No! He died about 30 years ago.” That was Max. There was a story in everything. There was humor in this life, as hard as it can be. There was always a new person to meet and a new tale to spin. He didn’t seem a man to mince words, but he also knew that nothing was worth taking too seriously. At the end of the relatively short half-hour interview (he had to get some rest—”I’m an old man for crying out loud'') I walked away with a completely different view of Max Evans. He was still the man who stormed the beach at Normandy, who smuggled gold and bat guano— enduring run-ins with pirates and police—who changed Hollywood’s vision of the Wild West forever, who got in barroom brawls, and who wrote some of the most popular prose about New Mexico ever penned. But now, he was also the man with his own running joke; with the infectious smile and mischievous eyes. He wasn’t larger-than-life, he was in love with life. As I walked back to my car, I couldn’t help but wonder, is this how everyone feels after speak-
Max Evans COURTESY PHOTO
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THE ACT OF HEALING By Renee Mondragon
Sana sana, colita de rana, si no sanas hoy, sanas mañana “Sana sana, colita de rana, si
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no sanas hoy, sanas mañana'' y father 's voice lullabied me as a young girl. The saying translates as, “Heal heal, little frog’s tail, if you don’t heal today, you will heal tomorrow”. When I would fall ill or injured, my father would recite these words to me in an effort to ease my pain. This is the first memory I have introducing me to the traditional ways of healing that took place amongst my family and a majority of Northern New Mexicans. This traditional healing system
is known as curanderismo, a centuries-old healing practice influenced by Iberic, Indigenous, and Aztec medicines. Curanderismo is still used today and practiced in San Miguel, Santa Fe, Rio Arriba, and Taos Counties. Curanderismo is practiced by individuals known as curanderos/as. Curanderismo translates as “the act of healing”. Curanderismo is a healing system that encompasses physical, mental, emotional, and spiritual wellness. Curandera/os were well known and trusted healers that used a variety of resources to bring healing and wellness to community members.Their healing abilities were entrust-
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The Shepherds of Northern New Mexico By Larry Torres
i
t is commonly said that anyone wanting to be considered for citizenship in this country should not list his chosen profession as doctor or lawyer because there is already a glut of them in the United States. If an applicant wants to attract the attention of the American immigration bureau though, he should try filing his special talent as ‘sheep herder’ and, there’s a better chance that he will be moved to the top of the list of those being considered. The United States is in dire need of sheep herders, especially in the Southwestern States from Texas to Wyoming. It is a skill which has declined steadily throughout last 26
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few decades and even more recently when everything is automated and digital. The sheep raising days tend to be long and solitary and if the herder does not own his own flock, the pay is not stellar. Yet, the ballads of this area attribute a certain beauty to working with passive flocks and following in the footsteps of the shepherd, King David. The long days often provide ample time for thinking, praying, composing or carving while taking in fresh air and eating organic produce and wild greens. However, something that began making such tranquil living difficult to maintain, was The
Taylor Act of 1934. It was a federal law meant to regulate overgrazing on public lands. It severely curtailed access of National Forests to sheep flocks and became the impetus which launched the infamous Raid at the Tierra Amarilla Courthouse of June 5, 1969, by Reies López Tijerina. Suddenly New Mexico ceased to be a land of sheepherders and became a place more suitable to tourists and cattle barons. Despite idealized versions of sheep raising in New Mexico, such as in Joseph Krumgold’s 1966 book titled, “And now, Miguel,” from the very onset, trying to raise sheep here, was rather difficult to maintain.
When Francisco Vásquez de Coronado drove his flocks on the hoof in front of his colonizers in his entrada of 1540, he hadn’t counted on the presence of alligators in the Río Samaniego which he needed to cross from northern Mexico into this territory. By the time Coronado’s horse wagons and oxen had reached the Río Samaniego, the sheep flocks were all but obliterated by the caiman population. With lack of mutton for food and wool stuffs to keep them warm, that first winter of 1541 by Arenales Pueblo near present-day Albuquerque,was very rough on the European settlers.
More churro sheep had to be brought in by subsequent European expeditions and raised locally. For decades, Taos County ranchers [above] On any given day, driving around Northern New Mexico and its environs, spotting a few sheep grazing in a random fenced backyard is not unusual. The off-white, rotund, coarsely curled critters almost look more like pets than agricultural property. PHOTO COURTESY OF NORTHERN RIO GRANDE NATIONAL HERITAGE AREA
[right] Shepherd caressing a baby lamb. COURTESY GERAINTSMITH.COM
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What’s Your Kind of Taos? Free summer camps for kids? Improved understanding and preservation of the acequia system? Forest thinning initiatives that provide jobs for leñeros, reduce fire risk, and raise money for community projects? A seed exchange program that helps locals grown their own food? All of these recent projects were created by the Taos community and supported by the LOR Foundation— and we want to help more. Reach out to community officer Sonya Struck, sonya@lorfoundation.org, with your ideas for how to make Taos even more special than it already is. lorfoundation.org
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YOUTH MOVEMENT |
1970
| TA O S P U E B L O
From ‘The Return of Blue Lake, 40-Year Commemoration Program’
T
he Youth of Taos Pueblo group was founded to demonstrate active support by the younger people and community of the Pueblo’s effort for the return of Blue Lake to the Pueblo.
Our tribal leadership, generally made up of tribal elders, was being ridiculed by outside opponents for wanting land back to support what the critics were referring to as a dying culture that its young people were not interested in. The youth movement reflecting the strong interest of the younger generation became a powerful factor that mobilized the community and gave its members, young and old, an opportunity to become actively involved to support the Pueblo and Council’s effort for the return of Blue Lake. The movement became an important part of the overall effort and our Tribal Council issued the following statement after the House Hearings in 1969:
“Taos Pueblo Youth Movement: The Youth of Taos Pueblo have formed their own committee to support passage of HR 471 (the Blue Lake Bill). The Taos Pueblo Tribal Council takes great pride in the accomplishment of these young people who prepared and submitted to the Congress an eloquent plea for the return of Blue Lake.” Two petition signings to support the Youth of Taos Pueblo statement of support took place, the first for submittal to the House Subcommittee Hearings on HR 471, the Blue Lake Bill, before the Subcommittee on Indian Affairs of the Committee on Interior and Insular Affairs on May 15 and 16, 1969. The second petition was submitted to the Senate Subcommittee on Indian Affairs of the Senate Interior and Insular Affairs Commit-
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tee Hearings on Blue Lake legislation on July 9, 1970. Hundreds of young people and community members signed the petitions. Gilbert Suazo, as a representative of the Youth of Taos Pueblo, provided the youth and community’s testimony in that hearing and participated in the historic meeting with President Richard Nixon on July 8, 1970 when the President endorsed the Pueblo’s Blue Lake Bill. In May 1969 U.S. Congressman Manuel Lujan Jr., following a meeting with Pueblo youth representatives, stated that he had decided to vote in favor of the Blue Lake bill because he believed that it would achieve “a settlement with which we can all live in the best of conscience” and that “your communication was very helpful to me in making this decision.” The Taos Pueblo community, young and old, came together in this great effort at a critical time to demonstrate their support for the return of Blue Lake. When victory was achieved with passage of the Pueblo’s Blue Lake legislation in the Senate and signing of the Blue Lake Act by President Nixon on December 15, 1970 the young people and community felt a sense of direct involvement, of helping to make a difference in the achievement of justice with the return of Blue Lake. The founders of the Youth of Taos Pueblo were Gilbert Suazo, Allen R. Martinez, and Cesario T. Lujan. Gilbert served as Governor in 2007, Allen, who is now deceased, served as Governor in 2003, and Cesario, who is now deceased, served as War Chief in 1996.
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A PLACE TO WORSHIP
Historical Churches of Rio Arriba County By Taylor Hood Photos by Nathan Burton
T
here are certain places in the world where history and spirituality run together. Places where those who are in tune with such things, can feel their faith manifested in the rocks and trees and sky all around them. These places carry weight in their names and power in their connections to people’s most deeply held beliefs. Many of these places are well known, like Mecca, or the Wailing Wall, or Vatican City. In New Mexico, we have such a place and it rests between the high peaks of Chama and the vast plateau of Taos. It is Rio Arriba County. The annual pilgrimage to Chimayó is the stuff of New Mexico legend. On Good Friday every year,
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thousands flock to El Santuario De Chimayó for a chance to worship at the famed church. Many travel for days, on foot, to this holy site. But the county is packed with historical places of worship. Some, like El Santuario De Chimayó, are very well known, especially to New Mexicans. Others sit vacant and alone, sentinels with white crosses, towering over the Rio Arriba plains, testaments to the faith and resilience of those who settled there. There is seemingly no end to the history that can be found when searching for these houses of the holy, and while we are sure there are many that we missed, here is a look at just some of the historical churches of Rio Arriba County.
The Mission Churches Though located in the heart of Rio Arriba County, there are a number of churches that aren’t technically a part of the county. That is because these old churches sit on Pueblo land. Many represent attempts to bring European religion to native peoples, though some were constructed decades after mass conversions to Christianity had gone out of style. THIS IS NOT YOUR ORDINARY CHURCH. Relative to the rest of this list, this neo-French style church is a new addition to the religious landscape of our state. However, it is included here because it is the home of San Juan Parish, the oldest Catholic Parish in the United States (according to the church’s website.) The first church was built on this site in 1589, and the spot has seen five total churches built in this spot.
San Juan Bautista
THOUGH RELATIVELY NEW, having been built in 1918, the church that stands on the Santa Clara Pueblo is packed with history. It is merely the latest in a long line of Catholic churches that have stood on this spot. The first was built in the 1750, but time and ill-advised “modernization” forced a total rebuild in the early 20th century. (Not pictured)
Santa Clara Mission
San Joaquin Church
BUILT: 1915 DENOMINATION: Catholic LOCATION: Ensenadas, New Mexico OPERATIONAL: Yes
BUILT: 1913 DENOMINATION: Catholic LOCATION: Ohkay Owingeh OPERATIONAL: Yes
BUILT: 1918 DENOMINATION: Catholic LOCATION: Santa Clara Pueblo OPERATIONAL: Yes
THE SAN JOAQUIN CHURCH is an historic church on State Road 162 in Ensenada, New Mexico. It was built in 1915 and added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1986. It is a stucco-covered adobe with a corrugated roof and shuttered gothic windows. (Not pictured)
La Iglesia de Santa Cruz
BUILT: 1733 DENOMINATION: Catholic LOCATION: Española, New Mexico OPERATIONAL: Yes
THE HOME OF HOLY CROSS Catholic Church, La Iglesia de Santa Cruz de la Cañada is the centerpiece of a parish that stretches across New Mexico. This church is the site of many of New Mexico’s most well-preserved religious artifacts. Fray Andrés García painted the altar screen between 1765 and 1768. The Santa Cruz de la Cañada Paris, under the guidance of the Sons of the Holy Family Priests restored the altar and the Church in 1979. p.62 60
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The Ride Of Your Life.
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"The Dance" Amy Córdova y Boone, Artist Jenny Ustick, Muralist
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