The People of El Valle
A History of the Spanish Colonials
in the San Luis Valley
by
Olibama Lopez-Tushar
Published by:
El Escritorio
P. O. Box 3357
Pueblo, CO 81005
Lopez-Tushar, Olibama
The People of El Valle - third edition, revised,1997
Includes bibliographical references
1. Colorado - History
2. Southwest, New - Ethnic relations -
Historiography
3. Mexican-American Border Region -
Historiography
ISBN: 0-9628974-4-2
Library of Congress Catalogue Card Number: 95-060251
All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced,
stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any
means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise
without the prior permission of El Escritorio
Publishing Editor, Charlene García Simms, El Escritorio. Book
Design and Graphics, Eduard Terrones Simms, El Escritorio.
Photographs copyright El Escritorio except as otherwise noted.
1 Historical Background 1
2 Early Expeditions in Colorado 14 3 Early Settlements in Colorado 21
4 Las Mercedes - Land Grants 27
5 The San Luis Valley 48
The Settlers
6 Early Settlers Homes 52
7 Churches and Schools 56
8 Government 62
9 Dress 64 10 Occupations 66
11 La Plaza de los Manzanares 76
Folklore
12 Holidays 97
13 Weddings 115 14 Leisure Activities 119
15 The Folk Song 131
16 The Folk Tale 150
17 The Proverb - El Refrán 176
18 The Riddle 186
Dedicated to my Mother and Father and Brother, Moses
Foreword
Third Edition
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 third 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.
The People of El Valle is a book to hold close to your heart. It will
teach you as well as guide you to a better understanding of the Hispano
people of the American Southwest.
Angel Vigil
Author and Cuentista (Storyteller)
and Chairman of the Fine & Performing Arts
It is a long, long way from Spain to El Valle de San Luis, situated in
the south central part of Colorado. Many communities there were settled
by the descendants of the conquistadores and seventeenth century
Spanish Colonists; and it is our purpose here to describe their efforts
at colonization and their daily activities, as well as their
traditions, idealisms, and folkways.
These settlers retained their Spanish traditions, folkways, and
religious beliefs; and they were preserved because the early settlers
were almost completely isolated — both from Mexico and the Anglo, and
even from parts of New Mexico; except for the occasional visits of
relatives, and the infrequent trading expeditions to Santa Fe, and less
often to Chihuahua. Thus, since they read no newspapers from Mexico,
and only occasionally one from New Mexico, they did not keep up with
new ideas in Spain or Mexico, nor did they learn new words as did those
in Mexico and other Latin American countries.
Therefore, the language remained basically that of the Golden Age of
Spain because it was the language spoken by the conquistadores. The
original settlers spoke a rural Castillian mixed with the speech of the
Andalusians, Asturians, Basques, Galicians, and even that of the
Gypsies. The educated people — public officials, the clergy, and crown
representatives — although they knew the language used by the common
people, used formal Spanish in their official documents. The common
people, on the other hand, were virtually isolated and had no contact
with officials, except priests, so continued to use archaic 16th and
17th century Spanish, and do so even to this day. We still hear such
words as: mesmo for mismo, truje for traje, vide for vi, etc.; and such
names for articles as: alverjon for peas, camalta for bed, nervos for
muscles, avispa for bee, culantro for cilantro (coriander), jervir for
hervir (boil), etc.
However, as the years passed, and they had little contact with Spanish
speakers, they started introducing anglicisms into their Spanish. These
archaisms, anglicisms, and a potpourri of Indian and French words
combined to formulate what is known today as Colorado Spanish.
Examples of words adopted from the Indians, mostly the Nahuatl are:
jumate for dipper, nesha for yellowish - applied to the color of the
flour tortilla that turned yellowish because too much baking powder was
used - tazol for straw, zoquete for mud, cunque for coffee grounds, etc.
After New Mexico became a territory in 1850 and well into the 20th
century, the local people hispanicized many English words and
expressions for which they did not know the Spanish name, such as:
bisquete for biscuit, craques for crackers, lonche for lunch, nicle for
nickle, ingenio for engine, brecas for brakes; and such expressions as
tener buen tiempo (to have a good time) for divertirse; cambiar de
mente (to change one’s mind) for cambiar de idea, etc. As the older
generation dies out, and since the young people today do not speak
Spanish as frequently, the archaic Spanish may die out.
Indeed, the Spanish people in the Valley could have been considered, in
a sense, a people without a country for they had affiliations neither
with Mexico nor with Spain, and for many years their affiliation with
the United States was in name only. As a rule, their interests were
centered in their villages and small communities, and their main
concern was the welfare of their families. They looked upon the Anglos
who came in as intruders and their ways past understanding. The Anglos,
on the other hand, made no attempt to understand them and their
traditions, or to learn their language, looking down on them because
they were “different.”
George Northup speaks of a trait of Spanish character which he calls
“españolismo,” and defines as “a complaisant self-satisfaction
with everything Spanish, accompanied with a disdain for everything
foreign.”1 The Spanish settler of the New World carried this pride in
“everything Spanish” with him. The fact that he had but little
communication with the mother country, outside of governmental decrees,
kept this trait alive in his heart, which has persisted to this day.
This is true, particularly, of those who settled in New Mexico and
Colorado.
During World War I, the young men went out of their communities into
large cities and other countries for the first time. As they mingled
with others, they learned much and brought ba ck a different outlook
which they imparted to their children. The latter, too, brought back to
the home what they had learned in school, and with the advent of
newspapers - and there were some published in Spanish since the early
1900’s in the San Luis Valley - as well as the movies, radio and later
television, there was a gradual Americanization that affected even
those members of the older generation. The latter understood English,
but would not speak it for fear of ridicule (especially the women), and
those still alive retain much of their Spanish culture and traditions,
in spite of the changes that have taken place in the intervening years.
The Spanish settlements in the San Luis Valley had an almost primitive
social structure. These communities were characterized by the lack of
the warring elements and crime often found in the Anglo frontier towns.
The people had come for the purpose of establishing homes, and this
could be done only by cooperation. However, with the coming of the
Americans, there was bound to be dissension. One of the most notorious,
of course, is the story of the killing rampage in 1863 of the Espinosa
brothers, Vivían and José, who in retaliation for wrongs
done them by the Americanos, killed some thirty people before being
captured by Tom Tobin, who was sent by Colonel Samuel Tappan to capture
and “bring in their heads.” Tobin followed Vivían and a nephew
(José having been killed previously) to La Veta Pass, where he
killed and beheaded them, bringing in their heads to the Colonel.2
These settlers worked hard to establish homes in an unknown country,
and yet they have been called improvident and lazy. To be just, one
must understand the philosophical basis for this so-called laziness.
Havelock Ellis says: “The Spaniard prefers to limit his wants rather
than to work hard merely for the sake of creating artificial ones...
(he) is incapable of accepting the delusion that the best things in the
world may be bought with money, or that a man’s wealth consists in the
abundance of his possessions.”3 Thus, the early settler was content to
provide food and shelter for his family; to find entertainment for his
leisure by his own ingenuity; and to carry out the traditions of his
ancestors with no vision of a mechanical and scientifically ruled world
in which his descendants are trying to find a place for themselves
today.
Olibama López-Tushar
Denver, Colorado, December 1, 1997
My thanks go to those members of the “older generations” - many of whom
have passed away — with whom I talked and gleaned much of my
information; and in particular my father and mother whose tales of the
“old days” aroused my interest in the Spanish settlements in Colorado.
I wish to thank the following people who so kindly aided me in my
research: Mr. Lino Suazo of Alamosa, Colorado; Mr. Simón Ruybal
of Manassa; Mr. Samuel Gallegos of Conejos; Mr. George Romero of Los
Rincones; Mr. Melitón Velásquez of La Jara; Mr. Armand
Choury of San Luis; Mr. Luz Valdez of San Pablo, and Mr. Felix G.
García of García for information in regard to the history
and life of the people.
Mrs. Lucinda Márquez of Denver; Mrs. Ramona López of
Denver; Mrs. Sofia Chávez of Alamosa; Mr. & Mrs. J. D.
Trujillo of Capulin; Mr. Ramón Domínguez and Mr. Manuel
Martínez of Capulin; Mr. Gabriel López of Antonito; Mr.
and Mrs. Abedón Romero of Manassa; Mrs. Larry Martínez of
Trinidad; Mr. Manuel A. Manzanares, and Mr. and Mrs. Casimiro Esquivel
of San Pablo; Mr. Felix Esquivel also of San Pablo; Mr. M. Mares of
Denver; Mr. Abel Naranjo of Denver; Mrs. Gertrudes Manzanares of
Denver; Mrs. Joe Gallegos of Milpitas, California; Mrs. Ella
Gómez of Glendale, Calif.; also my mother Josefina López
and my father Fernández B. López for my collection of the
folk tales, folk songs, riddles, proverbs, and verses.
Barry Marston of Denver for writing down the music for the songs; Rose
Mary Marston of Denver for help in drawing the maps in the first
edition; Wayne Manzanares of Castle Rock for the music and verses of
the Alabado. Mr. Joseph Salazar of Denver for information on Los
Penitentes.
To my brother, Moses A. López, a special thanks for cover
concept, and assisting in research and editing of copy in the first
edition.
The second edition acknowledgments include Richard Montaño, for
the cover artwork. Second and Third Edition acknowledgments go to
Charlene García Simms for editing, to Eduard Terrones Simms for
providing photographs and designing graphics and maps, and cover for
the third edition. To Gilbert E. García for providing a list of
the people who lived in García in 1935 from his recollection. To
Charlene García Simms for providing a list of the people who
lived in García in the 1960’s and 1985 from her recollection. To
Patricia Manalo for providing the list of those that died in the
Villasur expedition. To Marge Martinez, Alfie Salazar and Juanita
Ulibarrí for helping to proofread. To Angel Vigil for his
encouragement.
The people on the cover of this book are Clorinda Manchego de Valdes
and her husband Ramón Valdes, both deceased. They were both life
long residents of el valle. She was the granddaughter of Florencio
Manchego listed in Chapter 11 who lived in La Plaza de los Manzanares
in 1885. He was the brother of Daniel Valdes who wrote the forward to
the first edition of this book.
The López Family
(circa 1912)
Moses, brother, Josefina, mother, Fernández, father, Olibama,
author
There was no successful colonization of Colorado until the middle of
the nineteenth century, although there seems to have been several
attempts in the late 1700’s.
After the Spaniards conquered Cuerno Verde, they tried to get the
Comanches to settle in permanent villages and raise stock and crops. In
1787 they constructed a Spanish village for those below the Greenhorn
at the mouth of the St. Charles River. This colony was named San Carlos
de los Jupes. In January of the following year a woman died there. The
Comanches would not live where a death had occurred and the settlement
was abandoned.
Some trading posts were built during the early 1800’s. The Bent
brothers Charles and William, together with Ceran St. Vrain as partner,
built Fort William in 1833. However, it is better known as Bent’s Fort
since the mountain men insisted on calling it by that name.1 In later
years it was also called Old Fort Bent to distinguish from the stone
fort William built downriver on the Arkansas after abandoning Old Fort
Bent in 1849.
Since the fort was built as an adobe compound measuring 142 feet by 123
feet everything was of adobe except for some support timbers and posts,
thus requiring 10,000 adobe bricks. To make and lay the adobe brick,
the Bent brothers recruited approximately 150 men from Taos, as well as
brought many wagon loads of cheap Mexican wool to be used as binding
for the mud instead of the straw traditionally used.2
In 1836, up north, Louis Vásquez built a post on the South
Platte, north of present day Denver. However, these forts were not
permanent settlements, although there were some Spanish people living
there. In the late 1830’s a town called El Pueblo de la Leche, near
present day La Junta was settled by some people from New Mexico, who
brought cattle, sheep and goats. They supplied Bent’s Fort with milk
and vegetables.
In 1842 El Pueblo was established about sixty miles upstream on the
Arkansas River from Bent’s Fort as a trading post by independent
traders and men who had been working at Bent’s Fort. They pooled their
money and formed partnerships. Some of these men were Mexican citizens
and had Mexican wives. Among them were: Robert Fisher married to
Rumalda Lopez, Matthew Kinkaid married to Teresita Sandoval Suaso,
George Simpson married to Juana Suaso, Joseph Doyle married to Cruz
Suaso (Juana and Cruz were Teresita’s daughters), and Alexander
Barclay.3
As with Bent’s Fort, El Pueblo was built by Mexican masons from Taos.
They made the adobe bricks, scattered them all around and dried them in
the sun. The others did the carpentry.4 “Women finished the wall with a
coat of adobe, spreading the mixture with the palms of their hands."5
This process was called enjarar.
However, since the Louisiana Purchase, people from New Mexico saw the
opportunities up north and tried settling on the Arkansas River after
1821. Among these was Marcelino Baca, who came as a trapper from Taos
in the early 1840’s. He later started farming on a large scale and in
1853 he built a log cabin for his family and adobe houses for his
workers on the north side of the Arkansas River just east of Fountain
Creek. For the time being, he settled there with his Pawnee wife,
Tomasa. By 1854 he owned fifty horses and 500 head of cattle.
In 1848, Alexander Hicklin, who later married the daughter of Charles
Bent, attempted to settle on the Arkansas River but abandoned the place
the next year. Another settler who came from Taos was Charles Autobees,
who settled the area in February 1853. Autobees was a Missourian of
French-Canadian descent. His wife was Serafina Avila. His plaza was
located where the Huerfano and Arkansas meet.
The Christmas Massacre
El Pueblo, later called Fort Pueblo, was established as a trading post
in 1842. It was located in what is now an area near downtown Pueblo. On
Christmas Eve, in 1854, some Utes and Apaches, led by the Ute Chief
Tierra Blanca (Blanco), attacked the people in the fort which resulted
in at least twelve deaths.
There would have been more people killed, but on December 23, Benito
Sandoval sent his son, Pedro, and two others, José López
and Juan Salazar, to Huerfano Village with two wagons , one with corn
and the other with the household goods. This is where Benito planned to
move his family. His wife, María Espinosa, was in New Mexico
spending Christmas with a married daughter, but Benito remained with
his two other sons, Felix, 12, and Juan Isidro.
Some of those killed were visitors who lived at Marcelino Baca’s place
east of Fountain. Others were residents of the fort and others were men
who had come from Taos and Mora to work for Joseph Doyle and George
Simpson, who themselves lived in Huerfano Village about twenty miles
south of the Fort.
There are several versions of this tragedy. In the early morning of
December 24, 1854, Benito (Guero) Pais, on his way to fetch some milk
at Marcelino Baca’s place, saw many Indians approaching and hurried to
Baca’s to give the alarm. One of Baca’s herders, nineteen year old
Felipe Cisneros, caught sight of them approaching and hid in the
bushes. The next person to spot them was the wise old man, José
Barela, who warned the others, including Marcelino Baca not to be
friendly with them. Baca ordered the house closed off and told the men
to get their guns. After a confrontation between Baca and Tierra Blanca
the Utes ran off Baca’s stock and then headed for the fort with Chief
Blanca riding Baca’s best mare.
As they approached the fort, Rumaldo Cordova, believing that the
Indians were friendly, convinced Benito to let them in, preventing him
from shooting Blanca. The Indians ran through the fort, killing
everyone, except the two boys, Felix and Juan Isidro, whom they took
captive. They also took Chepita Miera captive, but killed her soon
after. At least four Utes were also killed. Felix was delivered to the
Americans at Abiquiu eight months later. Juan Isidro was held captive
for five years and ten months. Three months after his capture he was
traded to the Navajos.6
From all accounts including, Cragin’s notebooks7 the following people
were killed:
Benito Sandoval (el comandante or principal man)
Guadalupe Vigil (killed on the road, he was referred to as a Navajo
Indian but also as a Mexican who had been for many years a captive with
the Comanches and later with Americans).
Rumaldo Cordova (a visitor from Marcelino Baca’s place, who died almost
a month after the massacre).
Juan Rafael Medina
Juan Shoco Aragon (His body was never found. It is believed to have
been swept away by the river.)
Joaquin Pacheco (no more than twenty years old)
Jose Francisco Mestas
Jose Ignacio Valencia (He was killed outside the fort.)
Manuel Trujeque Lucero
Juan Blas Martín (Chepita’s husband)
Tanislado de Luna (His body was never found and also believed to have
been swept away by the river.)
Chepita Miera, wife of Juan Blas Martín was captured and killed
about two weeks later. According to Felix, who witnessed the killing,
she was killed because she was “down-hearted and refused to be
comforted.”
In an interview with Victor Cisneros Padilla, (referred to in Cragin’s
notes as “a stage driver Watrous to Mora”) he indicated that three
other people were killed: Guadalupe Miranda, Juan de Dios Encinas and
Cristobal Sena. According to Pedro Sandoval, Benito’s son, these men
may have been Mexican soldiers who pursued the Utes in 1855. Since they
did not live at the fort they may not have been there that fateful
night. In an interview with Jose Dolores Cruz, he heard the son of Juan
Shoco Aragon say these three men were Mexican dragoons.
The massacre marked the end of early settlements in the Arkansas Valley
that may have been the first European settlements in Colorado. After
the massacre, superstitions of the Indians and Mexicans and the horror
of the massacre kept many travelers away from the fort and it was
abandoned shortly thereafter.
Settlements After The Massacre
The gold strike of 1858 brought many people into the area and the city
of Pueblo was established during the winter of 1859-1860. The first
houses were made from the adobes of El Pueblo.8
In 1858, approximately fifty miles south from the massacre sight, don
Miguel Antonio León and a family named Atencio settled on the
north side of the Cucharas River. The village was named La Plaza de los
Leones. This was later named Walsenburg to honor Fred Walsen, a German,
who had first settled in Fort Garland and worked for Ferdinand Meyer
there.
Between 1864 and 1869 others came and settled in the area, many of them
from the San Luis Valley. Among these were: Montés Vigil,
Evaristo Gonzáles, Antonio María Gonzáles, Gabriel
Vigil, Agapito Montoya, José Martínez, and Carmél
Martín.
In 1860 Pedro Valdez and Felipe Baca, while hauling flour from Mora,
New Mexico, to the Denver gold fields, traveled through the Purgatoire
Valley. They decided this would be a good place to settle, so they
brought back twelve families to the present site of Trinidad. Soon,
others came and founded towns in the area.
Another area settled by families from New Mexico in the middle to late
1800’s was the isolated valley at the extreme corner of Las Animas
County, on the south fork of the Purgatoire River, called El Valle de
los Rancheros. The Sangre de Cristo Mountain and the Culebra Peak are
visible from this area, which was part of the Maxwell Land Grant.9
Settlements In The San Luis Valley
Zebulon Pike wrote in his diary in 1807 that he found a road cut on the
western slope of present day Mosca. He said it seemed to have been
traveled a great deal. This might indicate that people had been living
in that area some years before.10
After the Louisiana Purchase, many American trappers and explorers came
into the Valley, but did not make any settlements, although they left
many trails and a wagon road. There was only one Spaniard among them,
Domingo Lamelas, who in 1827 was licensed to trap on the Colorado
River. He joined Simon Carat and Antoine Lerous, who trapped in the San
Luis Valley.
In 1829 three men: Miguel García and two Americans, Julian
Gordon and José Manuel Copas, both of whom had married Spanish
women, petitioned the Commission of Territorial Deputation to be
granted land on the Río de la Culebra. This was denied because
only Miguel García was a citizen of Mexico.11
In 1848 the first recorded settlement in the San Luis Valley was that
of George Gold (Gould), who brought a colony to Costilla, near the
present Colorado-New Mexico line. However, he was not permitted to
settle because he had not obtained permission from Carlos Beaubien, the
land grantee. Gold came from Scotland around 1832. He married
María Estefana Montoya and settled in New Mexico. In 1847 he was
a member of the Legislative Assembly, representing Taos County under
the American Military Government. From 1851 - 1854 he represented Taos
County on the council. His son, Miguel Gold, who married Quirina
María Juana Madrid about 1865, later lived in the San Luis
area.12
Some of the people who settled in the San Luis Valley from New Mexico
brought some Indians with them. In 1865 Major Lafayette Head listed 145
Indian captives in the Valley; eighty-eight in Conejos and fifty-seven
in Costilla, mostly Navajo. Major Head, himself, had two women slaves.
He gave them their freedom after the Civil War. In time, these Indian
women intermarried with the settlers.
Rumaldo Manzanares
One of the early settlers in the San Luis Valley
(the author’s Great-Grandfather)
Agriculture and stock raising were (and still are) the main industries
in the San Luis Valley. Since the Indian raids prevented the
establishment of stock raising on a large scale for many years, farming
was the mainstay of the early settlers as well as the chief occupation
of the men.
The land on these grants was allotted in a manner entirely different
from the homestead system used by the United States government, as can
be seen in the old Spanish document describing the method by which land
was allocated in the Guadalupe Grant.
By measuring off to them the plowing lots from the plateau bend, there
fell to each one of the settlers two hundred varas (each vara
approximately two feet) in a straight line from the San Antonio River
and its adjoining hills and its margins, to La Jara River inclusive.
There being eighty-four families, the surplus in their proportion,
toward the canyon of said river, remaining for settlement of others. By
notifying the colonists that pastures and watering places remain in
common, and roads for entering and leaving the towns shall remain open
and free without anyone being authorized to obstruct them.1
By this system each family was given river frontage or water rights,
tillable land, and their own lumber. Other conditions imposed upon the
settler were: that he cultivate and never abandon his tract, for if he
did not cultivate it or reside on it within twelve years, he would lose
it; and that he must keep himself equipped with firearms and bows and
arrows.
A similar method of allocation was followed in Costilla, since the
government in making these grants was following certain rules for
colonization which the mother country had set up for this purpose.2
However, as far as could be ascertained, in Costilla each family was
given from fifty to five hundred varas, according to its ability to
cultivate it.3 The common pasturage sections are still in use in
Costilla County.
Cultivation of the virgin soil was extremely difficult for they had
only a few implements, and these were of the most primitive kind. A
plow was a handmade affair of pine with a plowshare of oak, or in a few
cases, of iron, shaped by the local blacksmith and lashed in place with
leather thongs. Handmade wooden hoes and spades were in general use
because those of steel were very scarce and quite expensive. Oxen were
the draft animals used for the farm work and for hauling with the only
vehicles they had - the crudely fashioned, handmade, two-wheeled carts.
The squeaks of these carts when heavily loaded were loud and shrill,
and to silence them, the leaves of the nopal were stuffed between the
axle and the roughly shaped cross sections of pine that served as
wheels. With the use of horses in later years, came the task of making
the harness from the hides of cattle and buffalo which the men tanned.
With such primitive equipment and much labor, they broke the soil, dug
the ditches for the system of irrigation which they introduced, and
which is still in general use throughout the State; and raised their
little crops of corn, wheat, oats, and barley, as well as beans, peas,
lentils, pumpkins and other vegetables. As in Biblical times, the grain
was harvested with a scythe and hand rake, and threshed by running the
stock around and around on the piled-up grain.
This was arid land and they were dependent on irrigation, but rain and
snow were a very welcome addition to their water supply. Since there
was no weather bureau to forecast the weather, they devised a unique
method of forecasting called Las Cabañuelas, which was based on
close observation and folklore. It worked in this manner:
The weather from January 1 to 12 indicated the weather for the twelve
months of that year. Then beginning with the 13th day, each day
represented the weather for each month in reverse; i.e. January 13th
represented December; the 14th, November, etc.
Then to double check, from the 25th to the 31st, each half day
represented the weather for each month in succession; and the first
twelve daylight hours of January 31, also indicated the weather for the
entire year. The average of all these observations was the weather
forecast for the entire year.
Other methods of forecasting were also used, and people swore by their
accuracy. Thus:
1. If horses and cows were prancing about in the evening, it would rain
the next day.
2. If the rooster crowed as night was falling, the weather would change.
3. If there were rings around the moon, there would be a storm the next
day.
4. If there were light clouds that resembled a flock of sheep “nubes
emborregadas”, it would rain or snow the next day.
5. If fresh milk went sour, it would rain.
Since water was essential for growing their crops, the people dug
canals to divert water from the streams as they had done in Spain.
These canals were called acequias. In Costilla they were held in common
until the U. S. government required them to be recorded. Everyone who
wanted water had to help dig the ditch and help to keep it clean.
On April 10, 1852 the first ditch was recorded in Costilla called the
San Luis People’s Ditch. At about the same time the ditch at San Pedro
was being dug, and was recorded the same month, 1852. This was called
the San Pedro ditch.
The third ditch was called the Costilla Creek Ditch, recorded in
Ferdinand Meyer’s name in 1853. Two others were dug the same year, one
at Río Seco called the Montez Ditch, and the Vallejos Ditch on
Vallejos Creek.
Another ditch was approportioned on June 1853 under the names of
Antonio Manzanares, José Policarpio López, Noberto
Marques, and Camilo Du Cheneaux. In 1854 the Manzanares Ditch was
recorded in the names of: Ferdinand Meyer, José Manuel
Manzanares, Antonio Manzanares, Erineo García, Germán
Manzanares and Julían Manzanares.
The following year the Madril Ditch was recorded in the names of
José Policarpio López, Ferdinand Meyer, María de
la Luz Cordova and Rosario López.
Besides the duties necessary in establishing and maintaining the farm
itself, were the tasks of making the adobes and erecting the buildings,
as well as the hauling of wood and lumber for the fire and other
purposes.
In the fall, a number of men would go buffalo hunting on the plains,
generally coming as far as La Ceja. Other men were freighters or
traders. They journeyed to Chihuahua, to Santa Fe and later to Denver
and Kansas City for merchandise.
My grandfather José P. López came several times to Denver
on such trading missions. The first time that he came, he drove some
sheep to sell. There were only a few cabins along Cherry Creek, and he
was quite disappointed because he had to return home without some of
the items he had come to get.
It was during one of these expeditions that he heard rumors of gold
being found in the Pikes Peak area, and he joined the gold seekers. He
didn’t find gold, of course, but became involved with an unscrupulous
prospector and grandfather helped him salt some mines. He left the area
as poor as ever with the sheriff close on his heels and never learned
the fate of his partner.
There was also extensive trading with the Indians, even with those in
Wyoming, and in later years many of the men went to Wyoming to herd
sheep.
It was the men, too, who wove the sarapes on looms of their own
manufacture. The designs of these sarapes were simple, often no more
than alternate bands of black and white. However, there were those who
were artistic enough to make their own designs which were unusual. They
also wove the sabanilla for dresses and shirts, as well as for
mattresses. Some also wove the woolen tapalos.
My mother’s grandfather, Rumaldo Manzanares, was the weaver in La Plaza
de los Manzanares. Some men might be called tailors and shoemakers, for
it was the men who made the trousers and moccasins out of deer skins or
cowhide.
My father recalls that it was his uncle, Fernández Gallegos who
made his moccasins when he was a boy, and my father would pay him by
bringing him firewood and carrying water from the river for him.
There were also santeros or makers of santos (carved figures of saints
used in the ch urch or in the home).
My father does not recall anyone in particular who was a santero, but
he does remember a Mr. Santiago Gallegos who carved the figure of la
muerte for la carreta de la muerte for the penitentes of La Plaza de
los Manzanarez. The carreta was a wooden cart carrying the figure of
death with drawn bow and arrow, signifying the ever presence of death,
and was used in the ceremonies of the penitentes.
Two prominent santeros were known in the San Luis Valley. They were:
Modesto Vigil and Antonio Herrera. Antonio Herrera lived in San Acacio
where he made crosses inlaid with straw. In 1872 he hand carved a
crucifix for the San Acacio church, which may still be in that church.
There were two types of santos: retablos and bultos. The bultos are
images of Christ, Mary and the saints made in the round, mostly solid,
although sometimes they are made of pieces of cottonwood, pegged and
glued together and then painted. The retablos are images painted
with tempera (pigment and egg white) in red, orange, brown and black.
These vary in size. They are two-dimentional, painted on pine or
cottonwood boards that have been sized with gesso.
Since the poor had no silver for picture frames, they made frames by
creasing and puncturing the tin in the style derived from the Moors.
And as has been mentioned before, some of the men were engaged in
making the bows and arrows which they used in hunting and in battle,
particularly in the early years of settlement. Later, of course, there
were blacksmiths, carpenters and other artisans.
Remedies
Since there were no doctors, the people relied on the sobador (or
sobadora), who might be called a chiropractor since he or she knew how
to put a joint back in place, and how to relieve muscle pain by
massage; and on the curandero (also the curandera, or the médica
and the partera - midwife); as well as on the arbulario (arbolario),
who could remove spells and curses cast by a brujo or bruja (witch) by
the use of magic spells and certain herbs. He was also often called
upon to remove el mal de ojo (evil eye), or el susto (fright caused by
a spell from an evil person).
Of course, the curandero (also la médica) knew what teas and
herbs could cure all kinds of sickness. To name a few: for colds they
used poleo (spearmint) and yerba buena (peppermint); for a bad cough,
anís and piloncillo (brown sugar in pylon shaped cakes brought
from old Mexico); for stomach troubles, osha (root of wild celery),
manzanilla (chamomile), mariola (sage), cilantro and cafe con canela
(coffee with cinnamon); for infant colic, manzanilla and romero
(rosemary); for rheumatism, plumajillo (sneeze-weed), and té de
la abuela (grandmother’s tea); for ulcers, yerba de la negrita (bristly
mallow) and yerba de las golondrinas (spurge), altamisa (wormwood) and
capulín (chokecherry) both of which contain iron, and were given
as a tea to women after childbirth. For cuts and burns, they used
osha with lard; for sore throats they used rosa de castilla; for coughs
they used oregano with sugar and boiling water.
Then, too, every housewife knew a remedio for minor problems. For
instance; to stop a nosebleed, one should press a wet coin or metal
object - usually a key - on the sufferer’s forehead; to cure a
headache, slices of cold potato were placed on the forehead (replacing
the slices as they dried), or by placing pieces of the blue paper found
on tobacco sacks; to extract a splinter, they used trementina (pitch
from a pine tree) on the spot; and so on and on!
Occupations of the Women
To the women fell the inevitable task of feeding and clothing the
family under conditions which proved their courage and adaptability.
The preparation of a simple meal involved not only the act of cooking,
but a great deal of previous work. Wheat was not very plentiful at
first, and my grandmother recalled that bread and tortillas made of
wheat were served only on Sundays and on festive occasions. Before the
housewife could make the tortillas, the atole, or the chaqüegue,
she had to grind the blue corn on the metate. After mills were
constructed, which in Guadalupe occurred in 1855, this was not
necessary, except on occasions when it was impossible to go to the
mill. However, she still had to prepare the corn to be ground since the
process was different for each dish. For the tortilla she boiled the
corn with cal (lime) until the hard outer skin of the grain loosened,
then she washed it several times and dried it thoroughly in the sun
before sending it to the mill to be ground into nistamal. For the atole
and the chaqüegue she roasted the ripened corn in the outdoor oven.
The bread, the bollitos (rolls), the biscochos (cookies), and the
semitas (rolls made with pumpkin), the capirotada (a layer bread
pudding) and the panocha (a pudding made of wheat which has been
allowed to sprout) were all cooked in the outdoor oven. A good fire was
built and kept burning in the oven until it was thoroughly hot; then
the coals were removed, and the oven swept out and cleaned with a damp
cloth. To test the temperature, a fluff of wool placed on a wooden
shovel was inserted in the oven, and when it turned the proper shade of
brown, the bread was brought from the house on wooden trays.
Each loaf was carefully transferred from the tray to the oven on the
small wooden shovel. When the last loaf was in place the opening was
closed and the bread was left to bake for two or three hours. For
festive occasions they made sopapillas and buñuelos (made with
sweetened egg batter, cinnamon and cloves), both of which had come from
Spain.
Since the process of canning was unknown, the housewife dried all
vegetables that could be dried. From the versatile corn she made two
other dishes: hominy, made by soaking the corn in alum until the hard
outer skin could be easily peeled off; and the chicos. To prepare the
latter, she would dampen unhusked ears of corn, pile them inside the
heated out-door oven and leave them overnight. She then husked the
roasted, dried corn and put it away to be cooked with meat in winter.
Later in order to have fresh vegetables, and sometimes fruit, they
built almárcigos or soterranos. These were made by digging a
trench - usually three or four feet - near the back of the house. They
made a frame from cottonwood poles which they covered with a foot or so
of dirt to insulate it from the cold.
Butchering brought additional duties to the housewife. The more
perishable parts of meat had to be cooked immediately. Liberal portions
were carried to the neighbors, who in turn shared with her when they
butchered. Beef, lamb or goat meat for future use had to be dried.
However, since pork could not be dried successfully because it became
rancid due to the fat content, they made carne adobada instead, by
soaking the pork ribs and loins for a week or ten days in a marinade
called adobo, and then hung out to dry. The dried beef was very tough
and to tenderize it, she would pound it on a metate until large
segments would become paper thin. The children would sense when she was
about to do this, and, together with the cat and dog, would form a
circle, each hoping to catch the small pieces that were bound to fall.
Almost in unison, they would chant: !pégele rieso!
!pégele rieso, mamá! (Hit it hard, hit it hard, mama!)
The fats also had to be separated for soap. This was made in huge
kettles out-of-doors by heating the fats with potash which the women
leeched from the ashes of the green cottonwood trees. This soap was
used for all toilet and kitchen purpose, but seldom for washing. For
this, women used amole, the root of the yucca, which was especially
fine for woolens, and also for shampooing their hair.
Nearly all the cloth used was of wool which the housewife processed.
The spinning and weaving of wool was usually done by each woman in her
home, although on occasion there would be gatherings for this purpose,
comparable to the Anglo pioneers’ quilting bees. While making the
cloth, they would exchange their choice items of gossip and the latest
news, or relate the newest witch story, and teach each other the latest
songs. Of course, as mentioned before, the men wove the sarapes,
sabanilla, and tapalos, usually for those who could afford to pay;
while the women wove for the use of their own families.
Of course, before cloth could be woven, either by the men or women, the
wool had to be processed. First, it had to be cleaned of dirt, and
traditionally this was done by the men by beating it with sticks. Then
it was carded between brushes to straighten the fibers, which were then
spun on a spindle called a malacate. Once this was done, it was washed
in soap and water to clean it of dirt and lanolin, and to shrink it. It
was never washed before spinning it bec ause it would form knots and
lumps. Now it was ready to be dyed. When the yarn dried, it was rolled
into balls.
They had also learned to make dyes from vegetables and plants from the
people in New Mexico, who evidently learned the secret from the
Indians. They had indigo from the earliest days, but now they learned
to make other colors, for instance: yellow from chamiso (sage brush -
also known as rabbit brush, or golden rod), and from grey stone
lichens, which gave a yellow orange. They made purple from wild cherry
roots, reddish purple from wild plum roots, light brown or tan from
juniper, as well as other colors from other plants and roots. To set
the colors, they used fermented urine.
Cooking and weaving were not the woman’s only tasks. To her was left
the work of plastering the walls of the home inside and out when it was
built, and frequently thereafter, usually once or twice a year. To make
the plaster, which she spread on the wall with her bare hands, she
mixed the mud and straw with water until it was a very thin smooth
paste. Hers also was the task of white-washing the inside walls every
spring with a thin gruel-like mixture of paste (made out of white
flour) and tierra blanca or yeso (gypsum) brought from New Mexico -
which she applied with a piece of sheep’s pelt. When the mixture was
properly made, it did not rub off. Sometimes a bit of finely powdered
red or yellow rock was added to the mixture to give the walls a little
color instead of the usually dead-white of the tierra blanca.
She was also constantly patching the dirt floors, particularly in the
kitchen around the fireplace, as well as the interior of the fireplace
itself. To sweep these floors and her rugs, she used a home-made broom
which was merely a bundle of long-stemmed wild grass held together by a
cord tied around the upper end. These were called escobas de popote.
Dirt, dust and pieces of dried mud, constantly filtering through, or
dropping down from between the unevenly spaced laths in the roof, added
to the difficulty of keeping the house clean. Thus, when muslin became
reasonably priced, the housewife eagerly bought it and stretched it
tightly across from wall to wall just under the beams to form a
ceiling, which served not only to keep the dirt and dust from falling,
but also to hide the rough, ugly beams and laths. Even though, after a
very heavy rain, these muslin ceilings would have to be taken down,
washed and replaced, they became very popular.
Every spring too, she washed the rugs, the wool blankets and the
mattresses and pillows. Since water usually had to be carried a great
distance, she washed on the banks of a river or stream in large wooden
troughs made for that purpose. Early in the morning of “washday,” her
husband would take the huge copper kettle down to the river. He would
build a fire, fill the kettle and place it over three rocks. By the
time the woman came, the water would be hot, and she would fill the
wooden trough and wash the clothes which she would then rinse in the
river. The mattresses and pillows made of sabanilla were filled with
wool, and this wool was washed with amole, put into willow baskets to
drain, and then transferred to the grass, or old rugs to dry in the
sun. When the wool was dry, the women beat it with two willow sticks to
fluff it out and replaced it in the mattress cover.
As if these tasks were not enough to keep her busy, the woman
cultivated her vegetable garden, and also helped with the harvesting or
other necessary work. And with it all, she still had time to train her
children to be courteous and respectful, as well as to work. She
assigned a task to each child, even the youngest, and each was expected
to do it to the best of his or her ability. The boys had to carry
water, chop and bring in the wood, water the livestock, help with the
planting, harvesting, and other similar tasks; while the girls had to
learn to knit, and had to help in the carding of the wool, as well as
in the kitchen and garden. In the fall the mother would gather the
children to deshojar (husk the corn), and to keep them from getting
bored, she would tell them cuentos (tales), or teach them songs and
verses. And in the evenings, while she herself performed some task,
such as knitting, she would teach the children the catechism or
prayers. Yet she still found time to go to help out a neighbor who was
sick or unable to do her own work.
Every village had its medica, a woman who knew the healing properties
of many herbs and plants. Since there were no doctors, her services
were always in demand, and it was to her ministrations that many owed
their lives. Her brews and teas of herbs were usually efficacious
in abating fevers, headaches, and pains. If the occasion demanded
it, she tried her hand at simple surgery, and many were the splints she
made to set broken bones. Indeed, she might be regarded as the village
physician, since as a midwife, she assisted at all births, and as a
doctor, administered to the dying. There were no hospitals, of course,
but in 1882 the Sisters of Loretto founded a hospital in Durango.
Unfortunately, the superstitions of the villagers made life miserable
for some women suspected of being brujas (witches). A woman suspected
of being in league with the “Evil One” had to be avoided or placated
lest she cast a spell upon anyone in the family against whom she had a
grudge. Any unusual malady was attributed to her malignant powers. The
only persons who could approach her would be any man named Juan who
were immune to her spells as long as they wore their coats inside out
when they went looking for her to revoke whatever spell they had placed
on someone. There were also the arbolarios or arbolarias (persons with
special powers) who could remove the spells cast by the brujas, but
only if their instructions were followed to the letter.
El Abito (Habito)
When the ministrations of the medica failed, the people called upon the
saints to get them well. Since they considered the saints almost one of
them. they relied on them to perform miracles. Thus, when a child
became ill, the parents would call upon a near relative or friend to
act as witness and godparent. This person had to make an Abito, a shirt
in the colors of the garments worn by the patron saint in that
particular locality. The child would wear it until he was well, and the
parents then would fulfill whatever promise they had made to the saint.
Since during the summer and early fall everyone worked early and late,
there was little opportunity for leisure activities. However, during
the winter, men, outside of a few chores, had but little to do. It was
not surprising then that the older men gathered daily somewhere to chat
and recount old acts of prowess; while the younger men amused
themselves with horse races, foot races, wrestling, cockfights and
games.
Games
La Pelota
The most popular of these games was la pelota, which was similar to
field hockey, but it was played on the ground rather than on the ice.
Their sticks were made of the green branches of the encino (scrub-oak),
which they shaped by soaking one end overnight, then heating one side
until it was pliable enough to bend. Their ball, which was about the
size of a baseball, was made of wool covered with hide. The goal could
be half a mile, or a mile, depending on the mood of the players, or the
whim of the challengers. More often than not, the penalty of the
loosing side was to give a dance for the community. As a rule, the
different placitas had their own teams which kept challenging each
other to a series of games.
Las Cazuelejas
Las Cazuelejas, or Las Iglesias (literally, “The Churches”), as this
game was also called, was similar to baseball. There were three bases
and home plate called iglesias, but there were no basemen, though all
members of the opposing team acted as outfielders. Since the players
had to bat the ball with their bare hands, the ball was usually made of
rags torn in strips, sewed together and wound into a sphere. The object
of the game was to catch the ball and throw it at the running batter,
who, if he was touched, was quemado (burned up) and his side was out.
However, if he caught the ball before it touched him or the ground, he
could throw it at any of his opponents who would then be quemados, and
his side would remain at bat. The unique feature of this game was the
fact that women sometimes played it on festive occasions.
Tejas
Tejas was much like horseshoe pitching. A teja was a round stone which
was cast from a distance of about fifteen yards into a hole in the
ground. Twelve points was game.
Pitarilla
According to Ernesto Jiron, Pitarilla is a game that challenges the
mind in a strategic geometrical fashion. There are two players and it
consists of three rectangles, one inside the other, Bisecting lines
were drawn from the four sides of the smallest, across the middle, to
the outer rectangle.
The game also requires twelve objects of equal size and color which
could be pebbles, dried corn, dried beans, small buttons, piñon
or match sticks.
“The game starts by having each player take turns placing a piece in
the corners. The object of the game is to place all the pieces on the
board, each player concentrating on placing three pieces in a straight
line, similar to tic tac toe. If a player manages to make a pitarria,
he can cancel one of his opponents pieces. If neither of the players
make a piterria, and the board is covered with all twenty-four pieces,
then the player that took the first turn has to eliminate one of his
own pieces to create a move for his opponents.
When moving a piece, a player is not permitted to jump his own piece.
He must move his piece on a straight line where lines bisect. The game
continues until a player is left with only two pieces.1
El Cañute
This was a gambling game which was very popular. Four ten-inch, hollow
wooden cañutes (cylinders) named: uno, dos, mulato and cinchado
were used. In one of the cylinders a small object such as a nail, was
hidden; and the purpose of the game was for each player to find the
correct cylinder in order to make points for his team. Any number could
belong to a team, and each team had its pile of sand and an escondedor
(the person who hid the object). They drew lots to see which side would
play first. The escondedor of the lucky team would bury the
cañutes in the pile of sand belonging to the opposite team. He
placed them in the order that he wished, leaving only the end bearing
the name visible to the players. If the player thought that the object
was hidden in any particular cañute, he touched the one to the
right, then the one to the left, or vice-versa, and lastly the one
which was his actual choice. If it contained the object, his team took
the cañutes to their particular pile of sand; if not, he lost so
many points and the cañute remained in the opponent’s sand. If
he touched the cañute that contained the object first, he lost
more points as a penalty
During all the time that the men were playing, there was someone
singing the popular songs of the day, or songs made up at the moment by
the poeta of the group, or the songs made up for the particular game.
Such is the following verse which is incomplete:
El mulato y el cinchado
se citaron a pelear.
El mulato está cansado
y el cinchado...
(The mulato and the cinchado have challenged each other. The mulato is
tired, the cinchado...)
When a player missed the right cañute, someone would recite;
Cinchado sí
Cinchado no.
Cántele bonito
Que ya le herró
(Cinchado yes, Cinchado no. Sing to him for he has missed.)
Hereupon, someone would sing a song, usually made up at the moment
using the player’s name.
Children’s Games
Quiebro Bolitas de Oro
(The first line of this game has been used by Mr. Aurelio Espinosa as
part of game 2, but as my parents remembered it, it was played as two
different games.)
The mother, la hija querida (the beloved daughter), and the other
children (who previously had been named for fruits, flowers or colors),
stand in line watching el cojo (the cripple) hopping on one foot,
chanting as he comes:
— Voy quebrando bolitas de oro,
Voy quebrando bolitas de oro.
(I am breaking golden balls.)
When he reaches the group, he addresses the mother:
— Dijo el rey que le diera una de sus hijas.
(The king asks for one of your daughters.)
To which she replies:
— Anda, díle al rey que no tengo hijas para dar.
(Go tell the king that I have none to give.)
El cojo departs, but before he has gone far, she calls to him;
— Vuelve, vuelve caballero,
No seas tan majadero.
(Come back sir, don’t be so peevish.)
She asks him what kind of fruit (flowers, or colors) he wants. He may
reply that he wants an apple. She gives him the child named for an
apple whom he takes to a designated place. He keeps returning for other
fruit until only la hija querida is left. The mother refuses to part
with her, but he, by some ruse or other, makes her turn around,
whereupon, he snatches her beloved child. When the mother turns and
finds her gone, she too starts running, for el cojo must try to catch
her also. If he succeeds, she is “it.”
Angel Bueno, Angel Malo
This game is very much like the first. The mother and her children hear
a knocking at the door:
— ¡Tan! ¡Tan!
— ¿Quien es?
— El Angel Bueno
— ¿Qué quiere el Angel Bueno?
— Quiere manzana ...
(knock knock! Who is it? The good angel. What does the good angel want?
He wants an apple.)
The mother gives him what he demands. Then comes el Angel Malo (the bad
angel) asking for another kind of fruit. She gives it to him. Thus,
they come alternately until only the beloved daughter is left. As in
the first game, el Angel Malo succeeds in taking her away. The mother
starts searching for her, and comes to the group el Angel Malo has
taken and says:
— ¡ María, María !
¿ No han visto a María por aqui ?
(Mary, Mary! Has no one seen María?)
The others reply:
— Allá iba pá (para) la ciénaga
con un pedazo de tortilla.
(There she goes to the marsh eating a tortilla.)
She goes next to the group of el Angel Bueno of whom she asks the same
question, and receives the same reply. She returns to the first group
who give her the same reply. She returns to the second group who give
her the same information. She then says:
— Pues, denme una lumbrita.
(Well, give me a little fire.)
Upon hearing this, María, who has been squatting behind the
line, thrusts forth her foot. The mother tries to pull her out, but the
others start chasing her. The one who catches her is the mother.
El Coyotito
This game as played in Colorado was very different from that described
by Mr. Espinosa, who says that the essentials of the game are similar
to those of the Spanish game El Lobito.The person who is “It” is the
coyotito. He squats while the mother and her children, each of whom
holds the shoulder of the child in front with his left hand, walk
around the coyotito pecking on his head with the right hand as they
chant:
— Vamos pepenando piñoncito,
Vamos pepenando piñoncito
para el pobre coyotito
(We are picking piñon nuts for the poor little coyote.)
Suddenly the beloved daughter says:
— ¡Mire, Madre, aquí tiene un pinito!
(Mother, see here is a little pine tree!)
The mother says:
— No hija, es un piojito.
(No daughter, it is a louse.)
All strike his head, presumably to kill the louse, and he jumps trying
to catch someone. The mother leads her children to a distance, and to
distract his attention says:
— Oye, manito Coyotito, ¿quieres carne?
— Sí
— Pues, cuando la pesques.
(Listen, little brother Coyote. Do you want some meat? Yes. You will
have it when you catch it.)
The coyotito draws near, but she continues:
— Mira, allá arriba viene una carreta llena de carne para
mí y para tí.
(Look up, there is a little cart filled with meat for you and me.)
He looks up to see it, and the mother says to her children:
— ¿Vuelta, mis hijos¡
(Turn my children.)
and swings the line of children, as we do in “Crack the Whip.” As the
line swings, the coyotito usually catches one or two who are out of the
game then. The mother keeps swinging the line until all are caught.
La Manita Ciega
The mother and her children watch a blindfolded child picking something
from the ground and asks her:
— Manita ciega, ¿qué andas buscando?
— Unos cunquitos.
— ¿Para quién?
— Para mis pollitos
— ¿Y me darás uno?
— Pues, ¿el que te dí?
— Se me pegó en una muela.
— No te doy más
— ¡Pues salta la vieja!
(Little blind sister, for what are you searching? For some coffee
grounds. For whom? For my chickens. Will you give me one? Where is the
one I gave you? It stuck to my tooth. I won’t give you another. Well,
let the old woman jump.)
This is the signal for the blindfolded child to start in pursuit of the
others. The first one she catches is “it.”
La Ponzoña
The children stand in a circle in the center of which is a stick, la
ponzoña (the poison). They try to get one another to step on
this stick and the unlucky one is then chased until caught.
La Cabra
The children gather in a circle, with one player outside and one inside
the circle. The latter is the goat. The player who stands without the
circle asks:
— ¿Dónde está mi cabra?
— ¿Qué cabra?
— La que te robates (robaste) de mi corral.
— Anda que te la dé el rey chaquegüe.
(Where is my goat? Which goat? The one you stole from my corral. Go ask
King Chaquegüe to give it to you.)
The “goat” tries to break through the circle. If he succeeds, the rest
have to chase him and the one who catches him is “it”.
Pipes y Gallos
The children sit on the floor in a circle and place their hands on the
floor. The person who is “it” pinches each hand as he asks.
— Pipes y gallos, ¿Con qué jugaremos?
— Con la mano cortada.
— ¿Quién la cortó?
— El rey y la reina.
— ¿Quése (que es de) el rey y la reina?
— Se fueron por agua.
— ¿Quése el agua?
— Se la bebieron las gallinitas.
— ¿Quése las gallinitas?
— Se fueron a poner huevitos.
— ¿Quése los huevitos?
— Se los comieron los frailecitos.
— ¿Quése los frailecitos?
— Se fueron a decir misitas.
— ¿Quése las misitas?
— Las envolvieron en un papelito y las tiraron pa’ el cielo.
(Peeps and Cocks, with what shall we play? With the hand that has been
cut off. Who cut it off? The king and queen. Where are the king and
queen? They went for water. Where is the water? The chickens drank it.
Where are the chickens? They went to lay eggs. Where are the eggs? The
priests ate them. Where are the priests? They went to say mass. Where
is mass? They wrapped it up and threw it up to the sky.)
The person who was “it” then said:
— Levánten las manos antes que les pique el gallo.
(Raise your hands before the cock pecks you.)
If he could touch anyone’s hand, he no longer was “it”, and the unlucky
one took his place.
Other Games
There were other games, but these were among the most unusual ones.
Little boys amused themselves with many things; spinning tops, sliding
on the frozen river (they had no skates), snowballing, or taking part
in the games of the older boys. Little girls, however, were allowed to
play the games described above, or at keeping house, or with their rag
dolls (there were no store bought dolls).
Other Amusements
After communication with New Mexico became easier, the monotony of
village life was relieved by the appearance of a troupe of maromeros
(tumblers), who held the audience enthralled with their gymnastic
feats. The payazo (clown), who always accompanied them, thrilled the
children with his antics and amused the adults with his jokes; while
the tricks of the slight-of-hand artist made them wonder if perhaps he
were not a brujo and therefore dangerous to watch.
Perhaps a group of performers presented titeres (puppet shows) whose
skits, bordering on slap-stick, for they resembled the “Punch and Judy”
shows, were a source of unending delight as some members of the
audience quickly memorized the cleverest parts and told them over and
over.
As an example for the type of slapstick, here is what my mother
remembered for the exchange between a mother and her smart aleck son:
— ¡Juan, Juanillo!
— ¿Qué quiere la vieja cabeza de molinillo?
(What do you want, you old bag?)
— ¿De cuáles borregas se llevó el coyote, de las
negras o de las blancas?
(Did the coyote kill the white or the black sheep?)
— De las azules y las coloradas como que tienes tantas.
(No, the blue and red ones since you have so many of those!)
— ¿Fuites (fuiste) a la misa, y qué dijo el Padre?
(Did you go to mass, and what did the priest say?)
— Unos a los negros, y otros a los blancos.
(Some black and some white.)
— Tu no fuites (fuiste) a la misa. Tu fuites a los gallos.
(You didn’t go to mass. You went to the cockfight.)
— No solo a los gallos, pero hasta las gallinas.
(Not only to the cockfight, but even to see the “chicks.”)
Los Matachines
Not infrequently the villagers themselves gave a performance of Los
Matachines, a “sword” dance, similar to the Morris Dance in England in
the Middle Ages.
Often my father would tell me the story of the dance and showed me some
of the dance steps.
This dance depicts the conquest of Mexico. The characters are: El
Monarca, representing Moctezuma; La Malinche, a historical person known
as Doña Marina who was with Cortés; El Torito,
representing evil, and El Abuelo, representing virtue. El Torito tries
to abduct Doña Marina, a young virtuous woman, but is foiled by
El Abuelo and the Matachines.
As my father recalled it, there were eight or more dance movements.
Each Matachín used a gourd in each hand, using a different
rhythm with each. He could not name each dance movement, but Campa3
states that they opened with a polka called la Carrera followed by la
Patada Grande, el Carasól, Cambio de Capitanes, la Toreada,
Brincada de Palmas, la Cruz, la India, and la Despedida.
Social Gatherings
For the most part, however, the only other amusements were the social
gatherings which were usually no more than a meeting of friends around
the open fireplace in some home during the long winter evenings. Here,
accompanied by the cracking of piñon nuts, they gossiped and
recounted their experiences - real or fancied. They related tales of
fabulous hidden treasures, of former campañas (campaigns)
against the Indians, of witches and goblins, spirits and demons, in
which they more than half believed. Here too, was read aloud that
classic beloved of all Spaniards, Don Quixote, as well as many of the
stories that excited that worthy’s imagination.
Or perhaps the gifted storyteller, which every community possessed held
his audience spellbound with a vivid account of the adventures of Pedro
de Urdemales.
Occasionally, the gathering would include a counterpart of the medieval
minstrel who sang and rhymed as fervently, if not as perfectly, as any
troubadour of old. Sometimes his supremacy as a rhymer would be
challenged by another, and there would follow an exchange of
“wisecracks,” pleasantries, and quips as each sought to top the other’s
verses. From these contests came the songs, the verses, proverbs,
stories and riddles which we regard as an important phase of the
folklore of a group.
Dances
Everybody loved to dance — from the youngest to the oldest - and a
dance ended every festive occasion. Sometimes a dance was given for no
particular reason except that someone thought it “would be fun” to have
one. Sometimes the older men would promise to give a dance if the boys
would help hoe the fields of corn, peas and beans. Of course, this was
a great inducement, and all the boys of the village would pitch in and
hoe all the fields, even though it took s everal days.
Every community had a musico (and sometimes two or three) who was
willing to play anywhere, at any time for very little pay. People had
very little money, but for a dance everyone could spare a few pennies,
and the musicians were glad to accept what they were paid.
Their only musical instruments were the guitar and violin, and on
occasion a drum. Though the musicians were self-taught, some were quite
talented. The popular dances of the period were: el vals redondo (the
round waltz), el vals despacio (slow waltz), el vals de las mascadas
(the silk scarf waltz), Las Cunas (The cradle dance), La Jota (as
Spanish dance), La Varsoviana, quadrilles and the polkas.
Since people were used to going to bed by 8 o’clock, and getting up
early, dances lasted only until 10:30 or 11:00 o’clock and only
occasionally until midnight, which was unusually late for them.
Velorios - Wakes
Then there were the wakes, which cannot be classed either as amusements
or leisure activities, but an account is included here because all the
people of a community, and from other villages, as well, came to a wake.
The wake took place in the evening. The body of the deceased lay in
state in the largest room in the house. During the evening, one member
led the prayers and the others joined in the response. The mourners sat
in another room to receive condolences. Neighbors and friends brought
food and prepared it in the mourner’s kitchen, serving it at midnight
to all attending the wake.
The funeral took place the following day, after which neighbors again
came to extend condolences.
The period of mourning lasted a year, and the women of the family wore
black for that period. When a child died, he was called an
angelito, as they believed he went straight to heaven, and for that
reason there was not much mourning for him. When they spoke of the
dead, they always added: — Díos lo tenga en la Gloria, (May his
soul be in Heaven), or — Que esté en paz, (May he rest in peace).
The people of El Valle are still with us, even though they are now
dispersed to all states of the Union. But the fact remains that their
heritage is such that they have acquired certain characteristics
because of this background that differentiates them somewhat from most
of the other Hispanos. They have some of the Old World culture — not
modern European, but that of the 16th and 17th centuries. Perhaps, it
is a bit out of style, but then again, when are basic courtesy, good
manners and honesty really out of style? This was lived and demanded by
that culture, and is still evident in the “People of El Valle.”
It is our hope that this account of the life and background of this
group of people, as well as the inclusion of the names of the settlers
(where known), answer the questions often asked by the young
descendants of the people of El Valle: i.e. Who are we? Where did we
come from? What do we call ourselves?
By the time Olibama López- Tushar graduated from High School in
Denver in 1924 she knew three languages and was an accomplished
pianist. She had experienced the horse and buggy of the San Luis
Valley, the train system across the country east to New Jersey and west
to Los Angeles and the trolley cars in Denver.
Olibama was born in Los Rincones, near Manassa, Colorado, on January 2,
1906, to Fernández B. López and Josefina Manzanares. The
López and Manzanares families were part of the first Spanish
settlers that came to Southern Colorado from New Mexico in 1849.
Olibama’s family moved to Zarephath, New Jersey, in 1912 where she
started school. Two years later her father contracted malaria and for
health reasons they all returned to the San Luis Valley in Colorado.
Her brother Moses and Olibama were sent to a private school in
Denver. They lived in Denver during the school year and returned home
to Mogote, near Antonito, during the summers. Later they moved to Los
Angeles for one year but the environment and an earthquake convinced
her father that they belonged in Colorado, and once again they
returned, this time to Denver.
Olibama graduated from Belleview High School in Denver in 1924 as
Valedictorian. In 1930 she received her BA and BE degree in Languages
from the University of Colorado in Boulder. In 1941 she completed her
Masters Degree at the University of Denver. Her written thesis was “The
Spanish Heritage in the San Luis Valley,” which she expanded into The
People of El Valle. She taught languages at Union High School at
Westminster and Spanish at Walsenburg, Colorado.
When World War II broke out she was drafted into government service as
a Deputy Acting Censor. When she was released in 1945 she worked for
different export companies as a translator. In 1951 she married
Frederick Tushar. They were married for thirty-seven years until his
death in 1988. During her career as a translator she was a member of
Phi Alpha Kappa, a businesswomen’s sorority whose mission was to help
women in business get some recognition. After her retirement in 1961,
she tutored individuals and groups in French, Spanish, and Latin and
through today, she still tutors people in Spanish.
Olibama has had many honors bestowed upon her. Among them: In 1990 she
was inducted into the International Biographical Center of Cambridge,
England; in 1993 she was the Colorado State Fair Fiesta Day Grand
Marshal; in 1994 she participated in “Viva Colorado,” a celebration of
Colorado heritage; in 1996 KRMA-TV-Denver, Channel Six, produced two
programs for the Rocky Mountain Legacy, Hispanics en El Valle, and La
Cultura. Olibama was interviewed for both videos and The People of El
Valle was used in the production of the documentary along with a
picture of her great-grandfather, Rumaldo Manzanares. Olibama is an
active member of the Genealogical Society of Hispanic America and in
1997 one of the chapters named their chapter after her, the
Olibama López-Tushar Hispanic Legacy Research Center located in
Denver. Olibama is a member of the Territorial Daughters of Colorado.
She continues to do research and write.
Postscript: Olibama passed away January 19th, 2004 at the age of
nintey-eight in Denver, Colorado.
