DOCSLIB.ORG

2 Historic Churches on the High Road to Taos

Total Page：16

File Type：pdf, Size：1020Kb

Download full-text PDF Read full-text

Load more

2 Historic Churches on the High Road to Taos his northbound tour includes churches between the Santuario de Chimayó (discussed in the previous chapter) and San Francisco T de Asís in Ranchos de Taos. Córdova, Truchas, Ojo Sarco, and Las Trampas are missions of Holy Family Parish in Chimayó; Chamisal, Llano, Picurís, Río Lucio, and Placita are missions of San Antonio de Padua parish in Peñasco; and San Francisco de Asís is the mother church and Talpa a mis- sion of the parish in Ranchos de Taos. San Antonio De Padua, Córdova Córdova was initially settled by 1750, but its adobe church, San Antonio, was not built until 1832. The retablos and many of the bultos in the church are works of one of New Mexico’s outstanding santeros, [José] Rafael Aragón. Aragón moved his family to Córdova—then called Pueblo Quemado— after his wife died in 1832. He was about thirty-six at the time, and shortly after, between 1834 and 1838, he was commissioned to oversee a redesign of the church interior and to paint the three altar screens that are still in San Antonio today. A later resident of the village, José Dolores López (1868–1937), pioneered the woodcarving style that is now associated with Córdova. The tradition continues among his descendants and others, and there are signs in the village for home- based workshops and galleries. Visits to San Antonio are generally limited to the exterior unless they coincide with Las Posadas, Holy Week, or the feast day, celebrated on the Saturday or Sunday closest to June 13. There are no regularly scheduled Historic Churches of New Mexico Today. Frank Graziano, Oxford University Press (2019). © Frank Graziano. DOI: 10.1093/oso/9780190663476.003.0002 masses. Córdova’s active penitente brotherhood leads services at the church on Good Friday, which is perhaps the best time to visit. The events that day begin in the morning with an encuentro, which reenacts the meeting of Jesus and his mother as represented in the fourth station of the cross. Later that night, after 10:00, the events conclude with tinieblas (known in English by the Latin word for darkness, “tenebrae”), which commemorates the suffering and death of Christ. Tenebrae services— held on Holy Thursday and Good Friday in Córdova— were once repeated for three days in Catholic churches but were discontinued after the reforms that culminated in the Second Vatican Council (Vatican II). Some Latin- mass parishes still adhere to the tradition. Angelo, who has been an hermano for some thirty years, since he was eleven, described these events. For the encuentro the hermanos bring Christ in procession from Córdova’s morada and the community brings Mary from the church, “and right in front of my grandma’s house is the center point where they meet.” Afterward the hermanos return to the morada and the community to the church for prayer, in the afternoon prayer continues at stations of the cross, and later at night the church goes dark for the tinieblas. “We leave thirteen candles on, twelve representative of the apostles and the thirteenth is the Christ candle,” in the center. Nuances of the ritual vary from morada to morada, but at Córdova the hermanos pray a four-verse alabado Photo by T. Harmon Parkhurst. Church at Córdova, New Mexico, circa 1925– 1945. Courtesy of the Palace of the Governors Photo Archives (NMHM/ DCA), negative number 009037. hiStoriC ChurCheS on the high road to taoS | 39 in call and response from two sides of the church, with the groups on each side doing half of the verse. “And after every complete verse we extinguish a candle, until we get to the Christ candle.” After the candles are extinguished prayers for the dead alternate with rep- resentation of the calamity at Christ’s death. “What we do is make a lot of noise, which represents when Christ dies and the earth shatters, the earth quakes, so we mimic that in terms of making noises. We use one device call the matraca [literally ‘ratchet’; percussion instruments on this principle have the same name], and we have homemade ones. We used to have this old paddle, it was a big one like one of those things that you would use to take out a pizza from the oven, something like that big around, and then on each side it would have six or seven pieces of wood— long pieces of wood— hanging by pieces of leather, and then you would shake it.” The hermanos also clap, bang on the pews, stomp, and use the mouthpiece of a flute as a whistle. When I arrived at San Antonio for tinieblas on Good Friday, 2018 the church was already half full. The doors had opened at 7:00 and families— grandparents, parents, a lot of children and teens— arrived gradually until the rosary began around 10:00. A few hermanos were on the altar, including Angelo’s uncle Danny, who is the celador (keeper of the rules) for the morada and also the church mayordomo. While we awaited the arrival of the procession he addressed the teens especially, describing his experience as an hermano, conveying his deep faith, and offering an in- formal catechism by asking questions regarding Christ’s crucifixion and resurrection. The church was overfull when the rest of the hermanos made a proces- sional entrance carrying saints and praying alabados. One hermano occa- sionally spun a ratchet. As they entered the church everyone stood up and on the strength of those alabados the emotion in the room seemed almost palpable, as though you could feel it coming off the voices and pressing against your body. Eventually the hermanos knelt on the altar and in song- prayer recited the rosary in Spanish. The room was dark and only their heads and an Aragón altar screen illuminated by candlelight were visible. The composite— the voices, the people, the ambience—was overwhelming if you let it in, and for me at least the effect was redoubled by the impossibility that this was happening at all, this survival of tradition and priestless deep reverence. Afterward the noisemaking accumulated gradually, and then when all of the candles were extinguished the dark room was suddenly overtaken by whistling, flashing lights, a chain dragged on the floor in the choir loft, and 40 | Historic Churches of New Mexico Today many bangings: on wood, on a garbage-can lid, on a brake drum. When the room quieted the hermanos and then the people in the pews began calling out the names of deceased relatives and friends, followed by por el amor de Dios (“for the love of God”; in this case a prayer for the dead). These remembrances were punctuated periodically by resumption of the noise- making. When everyone who wished to had called out the names of deceased loved ones, the alabados resumed and then the hermanos left the church and lined up in the atrium. People in the pews exited gradually, in a visiting line to greet the hermanos outside. The hermanos then returned in procession to the morada, and you could hear their alabados gradually fading as they turned the corner. Córdova is located in the Quemado Valley, just a minute from Route 76. The village is traditional and its ambience feels timeless. To enter Córdova, make a right onto Route 80. The downhill road levels to a nice drive under cottonwoods, and the same road loops back to Route 76 further northeast. To reach the church, pass Castillo Gallery and then bear right onto Route 0083 (before the gallery there is an earlier turn to Route 0083 that you will pass). The church is on your left a few moments later. Nuestra Señora del Sagrado Rosario, Truchas As you approach Truchas there is a penitente morada on your left, across from the road sign that says “Ojo Sarco, Peñasco, Taos.” The high- road route turns left after the morada to follow Route 76, but continuing straight onto Route 75 takes you into Truchas. Within a few moments you will see Tafoya’s Truchas General Store, now closed, on the right. Turn right immediately after the building and park. The back of Truchas’s church, Nuestra Señora del Sagrado Rosario, will be on your left. As you approach the church on foot there are expansive mountain views. Truchas residents were granted the license to build Nuestra Senora del Rosario in 1760, and the church may have been in use before 1796. Other historians date the church to 1805. A sign at the site has 1764. The church and its walled atrium are generally closed, but masses are celebrated on Sunday mornings during the summer months and on the October 7 feast day. Las Posadas events are held at Truchas’ newer church, Holy Family on Route 76, which was built in the 1950s. Father Roca, who was pastor in Truchas and later in Chimayó, was the inspiration behind that construction. He wrote that local volunteers made the adobes in “rosary batches,” one hundred fifty bricks at a time. hiStoriC ChurCheS on the high road to taoS | 41 Truchas also has an encuentro on Good Friday. This event entails a proces- sion of hermanos from the morada to Nuestra Señora del Sagrado Rosario, where Carmelitas (members of a female religious society) meet them in the atrium with an image of the Virgen Mary. The hermanos carry a Christ carved by Rafael Aragón, and en route they read biblical passages and pause periodically for prayer in Spanish. The church interior has two exquisite altar screens painted by Pedro Antonio Fresquís (1749–1831), who lived in Truchas.
Recommended publications
  • Saints and New Mexico Roland F

    Saints and New Mexico Roland F

    View metadata, citation and similar papers at core.ac.uk brought to you by CORE provided by University of New Mexico New Mexico Quarterly Volume 17 | Issue 3 Article 4 1947 Saints and New Mexico Roland F. Dickey Follow this and additional works at: https://digitalrepository.unm.edu/nmq Recommended Citation Dickey, Roland F.. "Saints and New Mexico." New Mexico Quarterly 17, 3 (1947). https://digitalrepository.unm.edu/nmq/vol17/iss3/ 4 This Contents is brought to you for free and open access by the University of New Mexico Press at UNM Digital Repository. It has been accepted for inclusion in New Mexico Quarterly by an authorized editor of UNM Digital Repository. For more information, please contact [email protected]. Dickey: Saints and New Mexico l­ I SAINTS AND NEW MEXICO* Roland. F. I!ickey EW MEXI.CAN CHILDREN write "J. M. J." on the corners of examina-_ N tion papers-"Jesus, Maria, Jose." ­ Here, as in every CatholIc country, the Holy Family and the saints are earnestly implored in every crisis. Each ,saint has his sphere of special efficacy, ,and the language is rich with deference to holy pe~sons. From the Guadalupe Moun~ins to the San Agustin Plains, from the San Juan River to·the Santa Rita copper mines, Southwestern geog­ raphy is an index of popular saints. Cities and towns, too, are com­ memorative, usually named from the saint's day of their founding. Children are baptized under the guardianship of the holy person­ . age on'whose festival day they are born; and no New Mexico family is without an almanac designating the Church fe!1Sts for each day of the I year.
  • General Vertical Files Anderson Reading Room Center for Southwest Research Zimmerman Library

    General Vertical Files Anderson Reading Room Center for Southwest Research Zimmerman Library

    “A” – biographical Abiquiu, NM GUIDE TO THE GENERAL VERTICAL FILES ANDERSON READING ROOM CENTER FOR SOUTHWEST RESEARCH ZIMMERMAN LIBRARY (See UNM Archives Vertical Files http://rmoa.unm.edu/docviewer.php?docId=nmuunmverticalfiles.xml) FOLDER HEADINGS “A” – biographical Alpha folders contain clippings about various misc. individuals, artists, writers, etc, whose names begin with “A.” Alpha folders exist for most letters of the alphabet. Abbey, Edward – author Abeita, Jim – artist – Navajo Abell, Bertha M. – first Anglo born near Albuquerque Abeyta / Abeita – biographical information of people with this surname Abeyta, Tony – painter - Navajo Abiquiu, NM – General – Catholic – Christ in the Desert Monastery – Dam and Reservoir Abo Pass - history. See also Salinas National Monument Abousleman – biographical information of people with this surname Afghanistan War – NM – See also Iraq War Abousleman – biographical information of people with this surname Abrams, Jonathan – art collector Abreu, Margaret Silva – author: Hispanic, folklore, foods Abruzzo, Ben – balloonist. See also Ballooning, Albuquerque Balloon Fiesta Acequias – ditches (canoas, ground wáter, surface wáter, puming, water rights (See also Land Grants; Rio Grande Valley; Water; and Santa Fe - Acequia Madre) Acequias – Albuquerque, map 2005-2006 – ditch system in city Acequias – Colorado (San Luis) Ackerman, Mae N. – Masonic leader Acoma Pueblo - Sky City. See also Indian gaming. See also Pueblos – General; and Onate, Juan de Acuff, Mark – newspaper editor – NM Independent and
  • Hacienda De Los Martinez Martinez Hacienda; Martinez House 1804–C

    Hacienda De Los Martinez Martinez Hacienda; Martinez House 1804–C

    Hacienda de los Martinez Martinez Hacienda; Martinez House 1804–c. 1820, Antonío Severino Martinez; 1827–1882 alterations; 1974–1983 restoration. 708 Hacienda Rd. (Lower Ranchitos Rd.). One of the best surviving and preserved Spanish Colonial houses in the American Southwest, the Martinez Hacienda documents life on the frontier of New Spain in the early nineteenth century. In 1804, Antonío Severino Martín and his wife, María del Carmel Santistévan, moved with three of eventually six children from their home in Abiquiú to Taos Valley. Severino traced his ancestry to two mestizo brothers of mixed Spanish and Indian blood who had accompanied Juan de Oñate to New Mexico in 1598 and attained sufficient status to rank as Spaniards. As the family grew in Taos, their name evolved from Martín into “los Martínes” and finally Martinez. Arriving shortly after the plaza of Fernández de Taos (modern Taos) was founded in 1796, the Martinez family came seeking economic opportunity in what was then a remote edge of the far-flung Spanish Empire. They settled Click large thumbnail at top to view full-scale uncropped image two miles south of Taos along the Rio del Pueblo (Taos River) in an area known as Los Ranchitos after the small ranches that Spanish colonists used seasonally to tend their LOCATION livestock while continuing to live closer to the protective enclosure of Taos Pueblo to the north. After the provincial governor, Juan Bautista de Anza, lessened the threat of Indian raids by concluding a treaty with the Comanche in 1786, they began to stay more permanently in places like Ranchitos.
  • The Pillars of Dominican Life

    The Pillars of Dominican Life

    Section: Two: Formation Programmes Australian Province (www.op.org.au/laity/manual/two.pdf) THE PILLARS OF DOMINICAN LIFE DOMINICAN SPIRITUALITY FOR THE LAITY PREFACE The following chapters are adaptations of conferences I gave to the members four San Francisco Chapter of Lay Dominicans. They were further adapted to serve as our formation programs for those who have asked to be received into the Order. They are a distillation of reflections, study and conclusions I have drawn over my fifty-four years as a Dominican. As Master of Students for the formation of our young Dominicans to the priesthood I had to reflect on these concepts more intensely than I would have ordinarily. They have been further modified for a wider audience with the hope that it will find them helpful in clarifying what it means to be a Dominican. It is a glorious vocation, a rich blessing and grace from God. Let us be grateful to him for it. Gregory Anderson, O.P. Chaplain to the San Francisco Chapter of Lay Dominicans 1 THE PILLARS OF DOMINICAN LIFE DOMINICAN SPIRITUALITY FOR THE LAITY INTRODUCTION Anyone who is at all familiar with spiritual literature knows that there are various schools of spirituality. We speak freely and easily of Benedictine Spirituality, Franciscan Spirituality, Carmelite Spirituality, and Ignatian Spirituality. We know also there a number of other subdivisions, such as Rhenish, French and so forth. We Dominicans may feel somewhat chagrined that Dominican Spirituality is not mentioned in the same context. We may wonder if there is such a thing as a peculiarly Dominican Spirituality, and if there is, why does it not get more publicity.
  • The Quarterly Publication of the Santa Fe Trail Association Volume 29 ♦ Number 2 February 2015

    The Quarterly Publication of the Santa Fe Trail Association Volume 29 ♦ Number 2 February 2015

    The Quarterly Publication of the Santa Fe Trail Association volume 29 ♦ number 2 February 2015 Photo by American Images Custom Aerial Photography® Marshfield, WI The Kanza in the Civil War ♦ page 10 Three Trails Conference Schedule and Registration ♦ page 15 Documenting the Santa Fe Trail in Kansas ♦ page 19 The American Invasion of New Mexico and Mexican Merchants ♦ page 23 On The Cover: French Frank’s Trail Segment This low-level oblique aerial photo was taken June 3, 2008, looking east at French Frank’s Trail Segment on the Santa Fe Trail (SFT) northwest of Lehigh, Kansas. Since the photo was taken, all the trees along the creek have been removed. The photographed area is 1/4 mile left-to-right in the foreground, and 1/2 mile from the bottom of the photo to the dark brown field in the middle distance. The curvilinear features running diagonally across the pasture are SFT swales. There are five or six sets of parallel swales, as dif- ferent locations were sought out over the years to cross French Creek. A DAR marker is located where the swales can be seen intersecting the road on the left margin of the photo. This Trail Segment is a National Park Service “Certified Site” and is on both the State and National Registers of Historic Places. This is the loca- tion of the Cottonwood Holes (some are visible just to the right of center of the photo) which were a source of water and provided a noon camping stop on the SFT. This was the first water on the SFT westward from Cot- tonwood Crossing, and the water appeared in depressions or holes both in and alongside the creek.
  • ABC-Clio-Flagellation.Pdf

    ABC-Clio-Flagellation.Pdf

    Bräunlein, Peter J. "Flagellation." Religions of the World, Second Edition: A Comprehensive Encyclopedia of Beliefs and Practices. Ed. Martin Baumann, J. Gordon Melton. Santa Barbara, CA: ABC-CLIO, 2010, 1120-1122 Flagellation Peter J. Bräunlein Flagellation is the act of whipping the human body by using flexible instruments such as the whip, the scourge, or cat-o’-nine-tails. Flagellation can be located in the context of law, religion, medicine, or sexual excitation. In many cases the juridical and religious aspects are indivisible, whereas sexual arousal by (self-) flagellation is a distinguished phenomenon of Western modernity. In two monotheistic traditions—Roman Catholicism and Shia Islam—self-flagellation plays a role until today. Flagellation in Antiquity The use of flogging instruments has been a long legal tradition of corporal punishment. The Latin word flagellum designates a multi-thong type scourge (whip, lash) with interlaced pieces of metal or bones that inflicts severe wounds on the body of the convict. The Roman law prescribed punishment by the flagellum either to extract a confession or as an overture to execution or as a distinct penalty. In the ancient Latin world flagellation was considered an extreme, gruesome penalty that caused not only tremendous pain but oftentimes grave mutilation and even death. Roman citizens were exempt from being sentenced to scourging whereas noncitizens were subject to it. Furthermore, the whipping of slaves was a common practice throughout the antique world. The ritualistic usage of the whip was practiced in various Greco-Roman and Egyptian cults, namely, the cult of Isis, the Dionysian cult, the Thargelia festival, or the Roman festival of Lupercalia.
  • The Culebra River Villages of Costilla County, Colorado

    The Culebra River Villages of Costilla County, Colorado

    NPS Form 10-900-b ,$$.»,- term/en «*, » ITO No. 1024-0018 (Revised March 1992) United States Department of the Interior National Park Service National Register of Historic Places Multiple Property Documentation Form This form is used for documenting multiple property groups relating to one or several historic contexts. See instructions in How to Complete the Multiple Property Documentation Form (National Register Bulletin 16B). Complete each item by entering the requested information. For additional space, use continuation sheets (Form 10-900-a). Use a typewriter, word processor, or computer, to complete all items. X New Submission Amended Submission A. Name of Multiple Property Listing The Culebra River Villages of Costilla County, Colorado B. Associated Historic Contexts (Name each associated historic context, identifying theme, geographical area, and chronological period for each.) The Culebra River Villages of Costilla County: Village Architecture and Its Historical Context, 1851-1964. C. Form Prepared by name/title Maria Mondragon-Valdez______________________________ organization Valdez & Associates date June 1. 2000 street & number Rt. 1 Box 3-A telephone 719-672-3678 city or town San Luis state Colorado zip code 81152_____ D. Certification As the designated authority under the National Historic Preservation Act of 1966,1 hereby certify that this documentation form meets the National Register documentation standards and sets forth requirements for listing of related properties consistent with the National Register criteria. This submission meets the procedural and professional requirements set forth in 36 CFR Part 60 and the Secretary of the Interior's Standards and Guidelines for Archaeology and Historic Preservation. (See continuation sheet for additional comments [ ].) t^^jL*^J^LJ/W4^G<^ <^V^l^'L£^ ZC^.
  • Redalyc.Art, Ritual, and Confraternities in Sixteenth-Century

    Redalyc.Art, Ritual, and Confraternities in Sixteenth-Century

    Anales del Instituto de Investigaciones Estéticas ISSN: 0185-1276 [email protected] Instituto de Investigaciones Estéticas México Verdi WEBSTER, Susan Art, Ritual, and Confraternities in Sixteenth-Century New Spain. Penitential Imagery at the Monastery of San Miguel, Huejotzingo Anales del Instituto de Investigaciones Estéticas, vol. XIX, núm. 70, primavera, 1997, pp. 5-43 Instituto de Investigaciones Estéticas Distrito Federal, México Available in: http://www.redalyc.org/articulo.oa?id=36907001 How to cite Complete issue Scientific Information System More information about this article Network of Scientific Journals from Latin America, the Caribbean, Spain and Portugal Journal's homepage in redalyc.org Non-profit academic project, developed under the open access initiative SUSAN VERDI WEBSTER university of saint thomas Art, Ritual, and Confraternities in Sixteenth-Century New Spain* Penitential Imagery at the Monastery of San Miguel, Huejotzingo** cholars of Spanish colonial history have often expressed astonish- ment at the remarkable speed with which the indigenous populations of New Spain were converted to Christianity, the huge numbers con- S 1524 verted, and the extent of the territory covered during the period from , when the first Franciscans arrived, to the end of the sixteenth century. While the depth of conversion is certainly open to debate, by the end of the cen- tury, a reportedly extensive number of indigenous people had been baptized, * Un breve adelanto de este trabajo fue publicado en Laboratorio de Arte (Sevilla), núm. 8, 1995, pp. 61-72 (N. de la R.). ** Earlier versions of parts of this study were presented at the International Congress on Medieval Studies in 1994 and at a symposium held at Virginia Polytechnic Institute, “Cultu- ral Transmission and Transformation in the Ibero-American World,” in 1995.
  • Visitor's Guide

    Visitor's Guide

    This guide is intended to give you our opinion about what to do and what to see. It is simply an opinion. MUSEUMS Millicent Rogers Museum has an interesting collection of early American Indian art and crafts, especially pottery, jewelry and Kachina dolls. It also has one of the most beautiful enclosed courtyards in Taos. The small but excellent collection of Kachina dolls and a fine collection of Maria Martinez pottery are well worth seeing. A portion of the museum is devoted to the history of the early Spanish and Native American peoples in the four corners region. The museum store is quite exceptional. (First in the “great ladies of Taos” tour). The Harwood Museum has a fine collection of paintings by early Taos painters, beautifully displayed. The Museum is within walking distance, on historic Ledoux Street (the Canyon Road of Taos, or so it would like to believe). The Museum also has one gallery devoted to traveling exhibits, another to early Hispanic furniture and tin work, and a third to the white-on-white paintings of Agnes Martin. The Taos Art Museum located as part of the Fechin Inn is a fascinating 1930’s adobe home with Russian overtones, built by Russian painter Nicholi Fechin. Watch for gorgeous carved wood doors and furniture. This is the guy who madly painted all day long and carved all night for six years, until his wife threw him out of the house. HISTORIC HOUSES The Mabel Dodge Luhan Estate is a very interesting old adobe home with beautiful grounds. The second story bathroom windows were painted by D.
  • Galloway's Alabado and the Musical Traditions of the Penitentes

    Galloway's Alabado and the Musical Traditions of the Penitentes

    JAMES (SANTA FE) GALLOWAY’S ALABADO AND THE MUSICAL TRADITIONS OF THE PENITENTES Rebecca Weidman-Winter, B. M., M. M. Dissertation Prepared for the Degree of DOCTOR OF MUSICAL ARTS UNIVERSITY OF NORTH TEXAS December 2011 APPROVED: Terri Sundberg, Major Professor Bernardo Illari, Committee Member Kathleen Reynolds, Committee Member John Holt, Chair of the Division of Instrumental Studies Lynn Eustis, Director of Graduate Studies in the College of Music James C. Scott, Dean of the College of Music James D. Meernik, Acting Dean of the Toulouse Graduate School Weidman-Winter, Rebecca. James (Santa Fe) Galloway’s Alabado and the Musical Traditions of the Penitentes. Doctor of Musical Arts (Performance), December 2011, 55 pp., 1 table, 37 musical examples, references, 39 titles. This dissertation explores the musical traditions of the Penitentes of New Mexico and how these traditions influenced James (Santa Fe) Galloway’s Alabado for soprano, alto flute, and piano. Due to geographical isolation and religious seclusion the music of the Penitential Brotherhood is not well known outside of these New Mexican communities. The focus of this study, as pertaining to the music of the Penitentes, is the alabado “Por el rastro de la cruz,” and the pito, a handmade wooden flute. Included in this paper are transcriptions of pito melodies performed by Vicente Padilla, Cleofes Vigil, Emilio Ortiz, and Reginald Fisher, which have been transcribed by John Donald Robb, William R. Fisher, Reginald Fisher, and Rebecca Weidman- Winter. Few resources are available on Galloway or Alabado, an unpublished work, yet the popularity of this piece is apparent from the regular performances at the National Flute Association Conventions and by flutists throughout the United States.
  • Holy Week Focus Film Highlights Spirituality of Valley Communities' Lives

    Holy Week Focus Film Highlights Spirituality of Valley Communities' Lives

    Holy Week focus Film highlights spirituality of Valley communities' lives By MARVIN READ THE PUEBLO CHIEFTAIN The religious piety and fervor that characterized Spain for centuries is alive and well --- perhaps nowhere as much as in Colorado's San Luis Valley. It draws from the sense of faith that came to the New World with the Franciscan and other missionaries in the 16th century. The spirit was refined and reshaped by the Indio-American cultures of Mexico and the Southwestern United States, and the living and display of that faith takes on an even deeper and richer character in the current Lenten season and climaxes during Holy Week. San Luis Valley native Rick Vigil has captured and recorded some of that faith in a 24-minute documentary, "Spirituality and Its People --- El Valle de San Luis." His film, shot between 2001 and 2005, features both religious leaders and laity from the communities of San Luis, Antonito, Capulin, Conejos, La Jara, San Antonio and San Francisco. Featured on the DVD are the Rev. Pat Valdez and Sister Rene Weeks, a member of the Dominican Sisters of Great Bend, Kan., who has worked in the Valley for 16 years. Valdez, a priest of the Theatine order, is a long-term pastor at Sangre de Cristo Parish in San Luis and an impressive --- some would say fabled --- motivator of his parishioners' energy and faith. Together, pastor and congregation visualized --- and then built --- an impressive, and not inexpensive Stations of the Cross on a mesa outside of town, with each of the stations, including a 15th Resurrection statue, cast by local sculptor Huberto Maestas.
  • United States National Museum

    United States National Museum

    Contributions from The Museum of History and Technology Paper 63 The Penitente Moradas of Abiquiu Richard E. Ahlborn Introduction Penitente Organization Origins of the Penitente Movement The History of Abiquiu The Architecture of the Moradas Interior Space and Artifacts Summary Smithsonian Institution Press Washington, D.C. 1968 347-895 : 1969 O - U. S. GOVERNMENT PRINTING OFFICE Documents. U.S. Qovernment Printing Office For sale by the Superintendent oJ Washington, D.C. 20402 - Price 75 cents Figure 26. Cross {ctuz). Size: 706.7 centimeters high, 73.6 wide. Date: First quarter of 20th century: Origin: .^biquiu: Onesimo Martinez. LocATior; South : morada, center room. Manufacture: Indigo blue designs (stencilled?). Richard E. Ahlborn THE PENITENTE MORADAS OF ABIQUIU By the early igth century, Spanish-speaking residents of vil- lages in northern New Mexico and southern Colorado felt the need for a brotherhood that would preserve their traditional social and religious beliefs. Known as "brothers of light," or penitentes, these Spanish-Americans centered their activities in a houselike building, or morada, especially equipped for Holy Week ceremonies. For the first time, two intact moradas have been fidly photo- graphed and described through the cooperation of the peni- tente brothers of Abiquiii, New Mexico. The Author: Richard E. Ahlborn is associate curator in the Division of Cultural History in the Smithsonian Institu- tion's Museum of History and Technology. Introduction This study describes two earthern buildings and Spain's former colonies—Mexico, Argentina, and the their special furnishings—humble but unique docu- Philippines—the penitentes in the mountainous region ments of Spanish-American culture. The two struc- that extends north of Albuquerque into southern Col- tures are located in Abiquiu, a rural, Spanish-speaking orado are remarkable for their persistence.