An Essay by Rick Hendricks The cries of the muleteers rent the hot, dry air of desolate El Paso. Heavily laden wagons lurched forward, propelled by yoked oxen to the accompaniment of the high‑pitched squeal and roaring undertone of wood‑on‑wood axles. Fighting men, Spaniard and Pueblo ally alike, went…
Doña Tomasa, the Witch Nurse Margarita was very sick and in pain enough to die. Her baby would not come. For two days Quiteria, the partera, had been wringing her hands and weeping. She had done all she knew to do. Narciso, Margarita’s husband, haggard and worried, stood by…
A. A. Carter WPA Writer In a dormer window on the east side of the oldest housed in Belen (Valencia County), owned and occupied by Honorable Ramon Baca y Chavez, Justice of the Peace and Police Judge for many years, is found a most unusual religious phenomena which takes…
Summertime in East Pecos, for George, Sadie, Trini and me was exciting and full of adventure. We were getting so good at choza building that I bet them all I would finish first. . Once we finished them we would pretend each one of…
By Estevan Rael-Galvez My dad is one of the hardest workers I have ever known. He has never been a religious man, but to know him is to recognize a deep spirituality, literally grounding his belief in the tangible world around him, combined with a type of faith that…
Every Sunday the men would gather on the back porch of Uncle Evan’s house known as El Retrace . They would take in the sun against an adobe wall as they spoke of starting the spring plowing. About three o’clock more men gathered with musical instruments and did a bit of…
The Prendorio "If you don’t mind telling me, I should like to hear about your engagement and wedding. For I think the old Spanish engagements were very romantic.” “You refer to the prendorio, or engagement announcement. I think we took marriage more seriously in the old days. As, no…
as told by Patricio Gallegos Stories of William Eckert and Juan Maria Gallegos, retold by J. P. Batchen Whenever men gathered along the old Santa Fe Trail and told of tales they had heard of New Mexico, there was repeated by someone, the legend of the old Montezuma Mine…
My cousin Doris was a beautiful baby and she had the sweetest smile a child could have. In our village, there were superstitions about giving the evil eye to babies such as Doris. Doris would not quit crying and she cried as though she were in great pain. Her…
4 10 1930 Upon reaching one’s 82nd birthday, most people might expect a cake, a few gifts and perhaps a visit from family and friends. On her 82nd birthday, native New Mexican Dolores Huerta learned that she would receive the Presidential Medal of Freedom. Of course, Ms. Huerta has…
