As a consequence of the so-called Spanish Flu, in November and December of 1918, La Revista de Taos recorded the names of those who had died in villages throughout Taos County, including Arroyo Hondo, Arroyo Seco, Cañón, Chamisal, Taos, Ranchos, Talpa, Rio Pueblo, Llano de San Juan, Llano Largo/Santa Barbara, Córdovas, Picuris, Peñasco, Valle, Trampas, Questa, and Cerro.
In this blog post, Shirley Romero Otero, Executive Director of Move Mountains Youth Project Inc., San Luis, CO, shares the philosophy to intergenerational engagement and education. The post features the Move Mountains Project video produced by EnLightofMe and 2MX2 and the words of the 2016 youth leaders of San Luis, Colorado rising up – ‘dreaming big, moving mountains, and being proud of who they are and where they live.’
Event overview: The general public and community members, from La Lama to Amalia and beyond, were invited to a community workshop: Gathering Memory: Object, Photos, and Story, on Sunday, July 8, 2018, at the Questa VFW Hall. The event was organized and hosted through a partnership between Questa History Trail (a project of Questa Creative Council) and Questa Stories (a program of LEAP and Localogy). The workshop was announced, and the public was invited, by mail, through online platforms, radio and newspaper. On the afternoon of the event, the VFW…
July 27, 2019: It was a beautiful day, low wind and perfect temperature. Questa Library volunteers gathered early to set up for Questa Library Community Day, an annual event, which included a fundraiser book sale, community trunk sale, booths and lunch. Questa Stories was among the community organizations present. Questa Stories co-creator, Claire Coté and volunteer, Judy Rutledge staffed the table. The focus was the newly acquired StoryBox provided to Questa Stories and Questa Library, through the Manitos Community Memory…
Recently, Governor Michelle Grisham issued a state-wide ‘stay-at-home’ order, to help flatten the curve of the COVID-19 pandemic, closing the schools that remained open and most workplaces. Chances are, if you and your family were not already sheltering in place at home, you are now. This is a novel situation for most of us, enforced isolation during the day. While at the beginning it may seem like there are endless things to do, movies to watch, social media to surf,…
Event description: Questa Stories hosted a “Women’s Tea: a story sharing afternoon” on Saturday, Nov 16, 2019, at La Sala in Questa, NM. We collaborated with Esther Garcia* as our event co-host, an active community member and former Mayor of Questa. During her tenure as Mayor she had hosted a women’s gathering and was struck by the outpouring; women embraced the opportunity to come together in celebration. This event stayed with her and inspired her suggestion of a Women’s Tea. Together…
Bien dice el dicho que una mano no se lava sola. It is true what is said, that one hand washes the other and now, more than ever that practice is imperative. This saying is also one that is evoked to recognize that we need each other, particularly in moments like this. As a part of the Manitos Community Memory Project, we asked Dr. David Garcia, one of our key partners, to help us create a hand washing song for…
The Manitos Community Memory Project is an initiative to establish a community-based archive, grounded in the living culture of the villages of northern New Mexico, southern Colorado and the diaspora intricately connected to this region. The project was launched with support from the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation. The following essay is a reflection of the first phase of the project, what was accomplished, what was learned and what is envisioned for its future.
As New Mexico’s governor undertakes to improve our state’s educational system, understanding the winding road that has taken us to the present day becomes both more relevant and timely. Education history is an important topic we hope to incorporate into the Manitos Community Memory Project digital archive. Remembering can also provide cultural and historical context for these latest educational reform efforts. An important part of educational history for Manitos is the missionary efforts of Presbyterians, especially women, who raised money…
In the following post, Archivist Samuel Sisneros reflects about the extraordinary experience of working to recover a set of sacramental records from Catholic church of the Pueblo de Santo Tomás Apóstol de Abiquiú.