The People of El Valle is an important classic of Hispano literature. As it documents the settlement and cultural traditions of the early Hispano settlers of the American Southwest it is much more than just a history book. It is a testament to the courage, strength of character, and deep spirituality of Hispanos who settled in the Southwest. More than most history books, it gives the reader a deep understanding of who these early settlers were and what they felt was important in their life. This revised and expanded fourth edition of The People of El Valle is a valuable resource for both the reader with a casual interest in Southwestern Hispano history and the reader seeking a comprehensive historical and cultural introduction to one of the nation's oldest cultures. Olibama López-Tushar herself is a cultural heritage artist. Scholar, researcher, writer and educational pioneer, she is one of the wise elders of the Southwestern Hispano culture. Through her writings she passes on the profound legacy of cultural knowledge. Through her deep love of her culture and people she teaches the more important lesson of remembering and honoring those who have passed before us.

Olibama Lopez Tushar was born in Los Rincones, near Manassa, Colorado, on January 2, 1906, to Fernandez B. Lopez and Josefina Manzanares.  The Lopez and Manzanares families are descended from the first Spanish settlers of New Mexico who migrated north in 1849 to the San Luis Valley in southeastern Colorado and became the founders of the first towns, schools and churches in the state.

Olibama reviews the early history of the Southwest, with particular emphasis on the San Luis Valley. She describes the life of the early settlers including their homes, churches, schools, dress, occupations, holidays, weddings, leisure activities and includes a unique selection of Spanish folk tales (including her experience with La Llorona-the Weeping Woman), songs, proverbs and riddles.  She cites in depth recollections of her grandparent’s and parent’s experiences in La Plaza de los Manzanares (today known as Garcia). The front cover of this book shows the road that leads to this small village with the Ute Mountain, a San Luis Valley landmark, in the background. The picture image represents one of many pioneering families the author talks about in this book. Shown above is a picture of Mt. Blanca and the Sangre de Cristo Mountain Range, not only two more landmarks of the San Luis Valley, but examples of the Spanish language influence in the entire state.

The People of El Valle, Fourth Edition
ISBN: 0-9628974-6-9
Price: $21.95 plus tax and shipping.
288 pages, soft-cover

Shipping: $2.50 per book (may be less for larger orders).
Tax if you live in: Colorado - 3%, Pueblo, Colorado - 7.5%, Other - 0%.

Published by:

El Escritorio
P.O. Box 3357
Pueblo, CO  81005

elescritoriobooks@yahoo.com

A review of the first edition of "The People of El Valle" was done by Barron Beshoar in the the Sunday Denver Post on March 14th, 1976.

Beshoar begins by saying "Most books written by amateurs and published by amateurs are, sorry to say, scarcely worth the paper they are printed on. This little 155-page, paper-bound gem is a happy exception. Tushar, a descendant of the colonial settlers of Colorado's San Luis Valley, writes with intelligence and feeling about the hardy Spanish-Mexican peasantry who pioneered in New Mexico and southern Colorado, survived the harsh climate, the Indians and even the Anglos." He continues, "in her story of the transplantation of Old Spain to the San Luis Valley, Tushar covers the period of Spanish exploration from 1492 to 1776, the early settlements in Colorado and the land grants in a section devoted to historical background. Part II, centered in the valley, deals with homes, churches and schools, government, dress, occupations and La Plaza de los Manzanares, a village founded by her own family. Part III is concerned with games, children's games, social gathering, dances, wakes, folk songs and tales."

Beshoar explains that "the Spanish-Americans of New Mexico and Colorado, to use the term scorned by young activists, but still used by many older Spanish-surnamed, are as the author points out, a group apart. They came into the Southwest early when communications with the rest of the world were almost nonexistent. Most of them were sturdy, uneducated and unlettered agrarians. In their long isolation in the Southwest, they kept customs and language of the Spanish 16th century after the peoples of other Spanish-speaking countries had moved forward into the 17th, 18th and 19th centuries." Of special interest, Boshoar says, "they brought new ways to the Indians (including slavery) and at the same time adopted, by force of necessity, many of the ways of the original inhabitants. They ate much the same food, wore moccasins and buckskin clothing, tilled their beans, corn and squash, dried their meat and gathered wild fruit, berries and nuts much as the Indians did."

In regard to the content of the book, Boshoar continues, "one of the delights of the book is the copious use of fascinating tables and drawings, e.g. a list of all the Spanish explorations by years, muster rolls of the Spanish expeditions giving the names of the soldiers with their native homes in Spain or Mexico. There are songs, alabodos (hymns) and folk tales in Spanish and English as well as proverbs and riddles (in Spanish) used by early settlers in the valley."

Boshoar concludes "Her book, ...is a valuable contribution to a growing body of literature about and by the Spanish surnamed of the Southwest."