Manitos Community Memory Project Digital Archive · Items

The Hunt for Nicolás

This essay originally appeared on the Manitos Digital Resolana, a blog site meant to reconnect, recollect, record, and reflect on the shared cultural heritage of manitos, as people from rural northern New Mexico and southern Colorado call themselves. In this entry, Miguel Tórrez discusses a genealogy project he undertook in which he helped three friends with surnames Espinosa trace their family lineage. Using Y-DNA, Tórrez traced the Espinosa name back to the 1695 colonists Nicolás de Espinosa and Josefa de la Cruz, as well as the migration of the Espinoza family throughout the country.

Hipólito Espinosa and the Old Spanish Trail

This essay originally appeared on the Manitos Digital Resolana, a blog site meant to reconnect, recollect, record, and reflect on the shared cultural heritage of manitos, as people from rural northern New Mexico and southern Colorado call themselves. In this entry, Mary Anne Pentis and June Espinosa Rosales discuss the life of Hipólito Espinosa, their great great grandfather. Espinosa was one of the first colonists to arrive in Alta California from New Mexico via the Old Spanish Trail.

Recovering Ancestral DNA in Abiquiú

This essay originally appeared on the Manitos Digital Resolana, a blog site meant to reconnect, recollect, record, and reflect on the shared cultural heritage of manitos, as people from rural northern New Mexico and southern Colorado call themselves. In this entry, Miguel Tórrez, a genetic genealogist, details his time working with the Pueblo de Abiquiú on a project to offer insight into the historical and contemporary context of the genízaro using oral history and DNA.

Recovering Abiquiú's Lost Church Records

This essay originally appeared on the Manitos Digital Resolana, a blog site meant to reconnect, recollect, record, and reflect on the shared cultural heritage of manitos, as people from rural northern New Mexico and southern Colorado call themselves. In this entry, archivist Samuel Sisernos recalls how the baptismal, marriage and burial registers (1777-1861) from the Mission Church of Santo Tomás Apóstol de Abiquiú ended up at the Center for Southwest Research in Albuquerque and, following rehousing and documentation, then to the Archives of the Archdiocese of Santa Fe (AASF).

Let's Talk About Historic Taos : Tom Tarleton

Tom Tarleton discusses his life and family history.

Let's Talk About Historic Taos : Novella Lineberry

Novella Lineberry discusses the artwork of Duane Van Vechten, husband Edwin Lineberry, and their creation of the Van Vechten-Lineberry Taos Art Museum.

Let's Talk About Historic Taos : Jonathan Warm Day

Visual artist Jonathan Warm Day discusses his life, family, and teaching and making art in New Mexico.

Let's Talk About Historic Taos : John Nichols

Author, photographer, and environmentalist John Nichols discusses his life, work, and writing in New Mexico.

Let's Talk About Historic Taos : Hattie Trujillo

Musician Hattie Trujillo discusses her life and playing music, namely the mandolin, in New Mexico.

Let's Talk About Historic Taos : Dr. Victor Westphall

Author and historian Dr. Victor Westphall discusses his life, as well as the foundation of the Vietnam Veterans National Memorial in Angel Fire by him and his wife following their son's death in combat.

Let's Talk About Historic Taos : Corina Santisteven

Historian, writer, and long time educator Corina Santisteven discusses her life, the San Francisco de Asis church, and the history of Taos.

Let's Talk About Historic Taos : Barbara Waters

Author Barbara Waters discusses the work of her husband, Frank Waters, and their friendship with Mable Dodge Luhan.

Behind the Image: Recollections from Northern New Mexico

Beginning in 1935, the Farm Security Administration (FSA) provided help to poor farmers facing severe setbacks during the Great Depression. Young photographers were sent into every corner of rural America to tell stories of struggle and courage. The work of these FSA photographers, including Jack Delano, Russell Lee, and John Collier, Jr., became a powerful tool for social reform. John Collier, Jr is credited with creating the field of visual anthropology. This video tells the stories behind the photographs.

Manitos Personas - Mayordoma

Manitos Personas - Maestro

Manitos Personas - Curandera

Manitos Personas - Abuelos

Cafe y Atole, spanish

El Trovo del Atole y el Café/The Trovo of Atole and Café. There are two published versions of El Trovo del Atole y el Café, one by José de Jesús López and one by an unknown or anonymous author. The one here is a third version and is unpublished. It was written by Elva Vigil Valdez of Capulin, Colorado. In it, while Atole defeats Coffee, Atole invokes the sentiment of reconciliation and also leaves open the possibility of continuing the dialogue in the future. The bilingual graphics in comic book format were created in 2020 by Natasha Vasquez, design intern from New Mexico Highlands University. She envisioned a conversation between a grandmother and her grandson, which morphs into a dialogue between coffee and atole. The recorded performance is by David Garcia and Thelma Argüello. According to information provided by folklorist Enrique Lamadrid for Folk Music of Hispanic New Mexico: The John Donald Robb Collection, traditionally trovos are musical duels in improvised verse between two trovadores (troubadors). Originating in the courts of medieval Spain and Portugal where topics centered on such lofty themes as theological arguments, trovos migrated to the Canary Islands and were popularized in the Americas throughout parts of Mexico, the Caribbean, and beyond, including New Mexico and Colorado. They were often performed for travelers along the Camino Real and the Old Spanish Trail to California. According to information provided by Estevan Rael-Galvez, trovos are often a form of political protest, addressing contemporary issues creatively. El Trovo del Atole y el Café is one of the most interesting from nineteenth-century New Mexico -– a battle of wits between a cup of coffee and a cup of atole, a traditional Mexican hot beverage made from masa. One interpretation proposed by Dr. Lamadrid could be What are the virtues of coffee versus atole? What is more valuable, oil or water? But according to Dr. Rael-Galvez it could also be interpreted as a critique of capitalism and colonial imposition, juxtaposing coffee as elite, foreign, and urban with atole as Indigenous, rural, and of the people.

Cafe y Atole, english

El Trovo del Atole y el Café/The Trovo of Atole and Café. There are two published versions of El Trovo del Atole y el Café, one by José de Jesús López and one by an unknown or anonymous author. The one here is a third version and is unpublished. It was written by Elva Vigil Valdez of Capulin, Colorado. In it, while Atole defeats Coffee, Atole invokes the sentiment of reconciliation and also leaves open the possibility of continuing the dialogue in the future. The bilingual graphics in comic book format were created in 2020 by Natasha Vasquez, design intern from New Mexico Highlands University. She envisioned a conversation between a grandmother and her grandson, which morphs into a dialogue between coffee and atole. The recorded performance is by David Garcia and Thelma Argüello. According to information provided by folklorist Enrique Lamadrid for Folk Music of Hispanic New Mexico: The John Donald Robb Collection, traditionally trovos are musical duels in improvised verse between two trovadores (troubadors). Originating in the courts of medieval Spain and Portugal where topics centered on such lofty themes as theological arguments, trovos migrated to the Canary Islands and were popularized in the Americas throughout parts of Mexico, the Caribbean, and beyond, including New Mexico and Colorado. They were often performed for travelers along the Camino Real and the Old Spanish Trail to California. According to information provided by Estevan Rael-Galvez, trovos are often a form of political protest, addressing contemporary issues creatively. El Trovo del Atole y el Café is one of the most interesting from nineteenth-century New Mexico -– a battle of wits between a cup of coffee and a cup of atole, a traditional Mexican hot beverage made from masa. One interpretation proposed by Dr. Lamadrid could be What are the virtues of coffee versus atole? What is more valuable, oil or water? But according to Dr. Rael-Galvez it could also be interpreted as a critique of capitalism and colonial imposition, juxtaposing coffee as elite, foreign, and urban with atole as Indigenous, rural, and of the people.

Berkeley-Abiquiú Collaborative Archaeology, Project episode 1

Abiquiu Archaeology, episode 1 is the first in a series of short videos documenting the Berkeley-Abiquiú Collaborative Archaeology Project (BACA), a community archaeology field project conducted during the summer of 2014 on behalf of the the Merced del Pueblo Abiquiú Land Grant and el Pueblo de Abiquiú Library and Cultural Center by UC Berkeley Archaeologists led by Dr. Jun Sunseri. The overall goal of the BACA project was to illuminate the history of Abiquiú as a Genízaro place where indigenous people who were captured or sold into indentured servitude and their descendants were relocated and organized into Spanish Colonial communities. Episode 1 documents success in locating and excavating an historic well. The video was professionally produced by New Mexico Video Services of Española and features Jun Sunseri, student volunteer Daniel Reyes, and community historian David Lopez.

Abiquiu Archaeology, episode 2

Abiquiu Archaeology, episode 2 is the second in a series of short videos documenting the Berkeley-Abiquiú Collaborative Archaeology Project (BACA), a community archaeology field project conducted during the summer of 2014 on behalf of the the Merced del Pueblo Abiquiú Land Grant and el Pueblo de Abiquiú Library and Cultural Center by UC Berkeley Archaeologists led by Dr. Jun Sunseri. The overall goal of the BACA project was to illuminate the history of Abiquiú as a Genízaro place where indigenous people who were captured or sold into indentured servitude and their descendants were relocated and organized into Spanish Colonial communities. Episode 2 documents success in excavating an historic room block with a cooking area containing pottery artifacts and a second space containing tool making artifacts. The video was professionally produced by New Mexico Video Services of Española and features Jun Sunseri, student volunteer Daniel Reyes, and community historian David Lopez.

Abiquiú Archaeology, episode 3

Abiquiu Archaeology, episode 3 is the third in a series of short videos documenting the Berkeley-Abiquiú Collaborative Archaeology Project (BACA), a community archaeology field project conducted during the summer of 2014 on behalf of the the Merced del Pueblo de Abiquiú Land Grant and el Pueblo de Abiquiú Library and Cultural Center by UC Berkeley Archaeologists led by Dr. Jun Sunseri. The overall goal of the BACA project was to illuminate the history of Abiquiú as a Genízaro place where indigenous people who were captured or sold into indentured servitude and their descendants were relocated and organized into Spanish Colonial communities. Episode 3 documents the mapping of the archaeological site. The video was professionally produced by New Mexico Video Services of Española and features Dr. Heather Anderson and community historian David Lopez.

Abiquiú Archaeology, episode 5

Abiquiu Archaeology, episode 5 is the fifth in a series of short videos documenting the Berkeley-Abiquiú Collaborative Archaeology Project (BACA), a community archaeology field project conducted during the summer of 2014 on behalf of the the Merced del Pueblo de Abiquiú Land Grant and el Pueblo de Abiquiú Library and Cultural Center by UC Berkeley Archaeologists led by Dr. Jun Sunseri. The overall goal of the BACA project was to illuminate the history of Abiquiú as a Genízaro place where indigenous people who were captured or sold into indentured servitude and their descendants were relocated and organized into Spanish Colonial communities. Episode 5 documents sums up the significance of Abiquiú to American and New Mexican history, and the significance of the project to the community and those who participated. The video was professionally produced by New Mexico Video Services of Española and features Jun Sunseri, UC Berkeley student Shelby Medina, local student volunteer Dominich Reyes, and community historian David Lopez.

Abiquiú Forum

Abiquiú Forum is a video recording of the community meeting help at the culmination of the Berkeley-Abiquiú Collaborative Archaeology Project (BACA), a community archaeology field project conducted during the summer of 2014 on behalf of the the Merced del Pueblo de Abiquiú Land Grant and el Pueblo de Abiquiú Library and Cultural Center by UC Berkeley Archaeologists led by Dr. Jun Sunseri. The overall goal of the BACA project was to illuminate the history of Abiquiú as a Genízaro place where indigenous people who were captured or sold into indentured servitude and their descendants were relocated and organized into Spanish Colonial communities.

New Mexico History in 10 Minutes - Las Gorras Blancas! - episode 62

New Mexico State Historian Rob Martinez discusses Las Gorras Blancas of San Miguel County, New Mexico.