Exploring the center of old Santa Fe was today’s excursion. A very charming town with many art galleries and museums. It was a Spanish outpost, built on top of an earlier pueblo built by the indigenous natives as far back as 1000. The Spanish town was completed in 1610. It became the second oldest European town in America, with St. Augustine, Florida, being the oldest. The area went through several violent periods of conquest, a revolt by the pueblo people ousting the Spanish, followed by a reconquest by the Spanish. At the same time, both sides suffered raids by the Apache and Navajo tribes.
The Plaza – Center of town
The Plaza
The Speakeasy Jazz Cats performing in The Plaza
Today, The Plaza marks the center of town and activity. There is always some event or entertainment happening – today we listened to a New Orleans, street jazz group (The Speakeasy Jazz Cats) that was raising money by selling an unmarked CD of their own music, wrapped in a brown paper bag labeled by a green marking pen. We bought one, of course!
The Miraculous Stairway in the Loretto Chapel – 1873, built without the use of nails.
Cathedral Basilica of St. Francis of Assisi, near The Plaza
Inside the Cathedral Basilica
Statue of Kateri Tekakwitha (1656-1680) First Indian of North America to be promoted to Saint
The Palace of Governors, facing The Plaza, houses the Museum of New Mexico History. The museum was expanded in recent years with a new building that more than doubled the amount of display space. The museum offered up a good overview of the state’s history, and dedicated some space to more contemporary ‘fun’ stuff. The new lobby displayed the reportedly ‘ultimate’ low-rider car…a modified 1956 Mercury. It was a work of art. It’s a great statement to Northern New Mexico’s car culture – lowriders, hoppers, and hot rods. It’s all about people expressing themselves through pride in their ride, instead of just transportation from x to y.
Oldest home in North America
There are a lot of ‘oldest’ things to see. One of the oldest private homes, built on a foundation dating back to 1200, has endured several major restructurings during the centuries. Today it houses a boutique jewelry and crafts store. Next door is the oldest church in the USA – San Miguel Chapel which was first built around 1610. It has been partially destroyed, rebuilt, and restored many times over the last four centuries. Today there were two docents on duty in the church. It was a slow day, with just a few visitors, so we took the opportunity to spend time with them to discuss the El Norte Nation idea. The first docent, Juan, is retired, probably in his mid 70’s, and is of Spanish descent. His family originated in Spain, and later joined Francisco Vázquez de Coronado’s 1540 expedition in search of the Seven Golden Cities of Cíbolato. The expedition of 300 hundred Spaniards, a 1,000 Indians, as well as livestock settled in New Mexico. The party never found the riches they were seeking but were the first Europeans to see the Grand Canyon.
San Miguel Church – Oldest church in North America
Inside San Miguel church
Talking with Juan and Father P
Juan was very proud to be Spanish and his family’s role in settling New Mexico. He describes the New Mexico of today as comprised of four cultures in order of status – Northern European, Spanish, Native American, and Mexican. He sadly acknowledges that the Spanish are a dying culture due largely to intermarriage with Northern Europeans. There is virtually no intermarriage with or between the other two cultures. It is very important to him that we distinguish Spanish as different from Mexican, or Latin cultures.
The second docent, an 81-year old Catholic diocese priest, was ordained at St. Joseph’s seminary in Mountain View, California. He has been with this church since the early 70’s. I don’t recall his name, but lets call him Father ‘P’ (P for Patronizing). A young Philippine couple – obviously Catholic – stopped to talk with Father P. After taking his hand and touching it to their foreheads (I guess that’s like kissing the Pope’s ring), they told him that they were interested in moving to Santa Fe, but that they had not seen any other Filipinos. Are there any in the parish? No, Father P sadly responded, but all people are welcome. Yuck!
When we had the chance to talk with Father P by himself, he described the culture of Santa Fe as having three components – Anglo Saxon, Native American, and Mexican. Turning back to speak with Juan, we suggested that he coach Father P about there being four cultures. So Juan turns to Father P and coaches him that there are really four cultures. Father P dismisses him with a wave of his hand and the words ‘whatever!’ There is obviously a good dose of cultural tension present.
However, they did agree on one point: an El Norte Nation makes no sense and could never happen. The cultures would never meld. Obviously I didn’t sell this idea correctly. Since I had nothing to lose, I asked a highly charged question: “Since New Mexico has its primary election coming up in a couple of weeks, will Trump win the Republican nomination?” Father P quickly responded that they never discuss politics in the church – Juan rolled his eyes. Neither answered. Juan packed up his materials and left. His shift as docent was over. Whew!
We moved a few buildings down the street to the Visitors Center, to get a recommendation for a walking tour of Santa Fe. The staff, which works for the state, was somewhat cynical about the New Mexican government… something we’ve run into on several occasions. They volunteered information without being asked. The Democratic governor from 2003 to 2011, Bill Richardson, is blamed for destroying the financial health of the state. In response, they elected the Republican Susana Martinez. While she has done better, she used a lot of the state’s budget to throw an elaborate and expensive 100th Anniversary party for New Mexico. The party was at the expense of state employees who are still suffering through reduced services and staffing. She is not popular, but has tried to win back support by announcing she would not attend the Republican Convention if Trump is the presumptive candidate. We’ll see!
Talking with the staff in a mission book store.
Our final stop for the day was at a mission’s book store to get a book by Fray Angelic Chavez that describes the history of Spain’s New Mexico. With the store mostly empty, we started talking with the two clerks on duty – about the state of government in the state. They echoed the same point of view we picked up at the Visitors Center. New Mexico government and finances are a mess. The current governor is mildly better than her predecessor. Citizens just don’t take voting seriously. The two claimed that the current governor was elected by just 16% of the voters. Now THAT is hard to believe. So I decided to check it out. Here are the facts: voter turnout for Albuquerque in 2011 (when Martinez was elected) was 8.2%; voter turnout for the State was 52%. Okay, so the 16% was pulled out of the air. Neither felt that voter turn out was a reflection of cultural demographics – really? Both felt that the state, which was historically Democratic, is now more evenly split between Democrats and Republicans. Neither would offer an opinion about Trump’s chances in New Mexico.
Ahh! Those old cars from the old days. Sigh!
It’s been a long but interesting day. Obviously the notion of an El Norte Nation did not advance today. That aside, Northern New Mexico has become one of our favorite places. It is on our “we could live here” list – wonderful weather, an opera company, wonderful food, great art – unfortunately a low-rider ’56 Chevy is not in my card deck. Can we still be accepted?
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