NEW MEXICAN HISPANIC CULTURE PRESERVATION LEAGUE LA VERDAD CON ORGULLO The Albuquerque Council for International Visitors contacted NMHCPL President Mel Montano to schedule a visit with our Board of Directors in order to learn of our history and culture. The cross section of professional individuals from various countries were most interested and pleased to have met with Mel Montano, Orae Dominguez and Richard Quintana. Pete Padilla/Manuel Mora Memorial Park On July 14th ground breaking for a park at the NHCC (National Hispanic Cultural Center) to replace the park dedicated to two Vietnam Veterans that the NHCC building is built over. The event was well attended by the community, Sonny Rivera and Orae Dominguez of the NMHCPL showed their support as well as New Mexican veterans, Sgt Wayne Fowler, Clara Apadaca, Mayor Richard Berry, County Commissioner Art De La Cruz, City Councilor Isaac Benton, Representatives of the Padilla and Mora families, and Veronica Gonzales- Department of Cultural affairs- sent her aid. The first phase of the park should be ready in three months. The image to the right. Santa Barbara, a retablo created by Miera y Pacheco, recently joined the History Museum's collections and is on display in the Tesoros de Devoción exhibition in the Palace of the Governors The Spanish Colonial Religious Art on Exhibit at the Palace of the Governors, is and outstanding exhibit of artists of the period, and well worth the time to view. Santa Barbara by Miera y Pacheco Defining the Colonial World: The Explorations of Don Bernardo Miera y Pacheco The Explorations of Don Bernardo Miera Pacheco (NM Museum). 18 th -century scientist, explorer, cartographer and santero. Spanish Colonial Art Historian Felipe R. Mirabel, will speak at 2pm, NMHM
President Melvyn Montano s Message Greetings, After our annual membership meeting, the NMHCPL is ready to continue for another year. The meeting resulted in productive and realistic goals Congratulations to the new NMHCPL Board member Samuel Dominguez Second Vice-President. Mr. Dominguez has been a member for several years and is willing to serve. Also, Ruben M. Salaz will serve as the new Secretary, also long time member. The other positions will continue to be held by remainder of the present Board for another year and we will again determine next year if NMHCPL will continue as an organization. Once again this year we will make recruitment a priority, especially seeking younger members which is vital to the existence of this organization, and preservation of our Culture. The Annual Meeting at the El Bruno s Restaurant y Cantina was, a lovely setting, great conversation, in a fine environment. The NMHCPL has several issues to complete, if we as a culture wish to maintain a Spanish legacy for our children. Please attend meetings, invite guests, and provide a hand. The present Board is dedicated, but six to seven members working, limits what we could do. Who has time to organize, strategies and communicate our positions, when a few are working to maintain the basic work of the organization as required, leaving little time for much else. This year will certainly be telling of our future! All efforts to keep our mission is appreciated! We hope to continue to see some of you attend meetings, and keep us posted on issue you are following, the affect our story. Have a great August! Our Prayers will be with the youth and sponsors of St Alice s Catholic Church from Manzano area as they attend the International Youth Conference in Madrid, Spain this August. Sincerely, Mel Montaño President NMHCPL BOARD President Melvyn Montano 797-2015 First Vice President S. Pauline Anaya 242-6582 Second Vice President Samuel Dominguez Secretary Ruben M. Salaz Treasurer Ricardo Quintana Sergeant at Arms Daniel Antonio Herrera President Emeritus Conchita Lucero Board Members Orae Dominguez Patryka Duran y Chaves Samuel Delgado Honorary Board Socorro Aragon Eva Torres Aschenbrener Pauline Chávez Bent Sheldon Hall, Honorary Council to Spain Adele Baca Hundley Jeff Romero Attorney at Law Ed Romero, Past Ambassador to Spain Corina Santistevan Website Orae Dominguez Newsletter staff Editor S. Pauline Anaya Prayer Requests Our Troops, our youth and answers to our personal petitions. NMHCPL Members and all most in need of healing.. Many Members have already sent in Renewal Dues due annually by July 1. Thank you NEXT MEETING 2nd Wed of Month. August 10, 2011 6:30pm 8:00pm call for directions 239-4335.
Don Bernardo Miera y Pacheco Mirabal's lecture, "Defining the Colonial World: The Explorations of Don Bernardo Miera y Pacheco," is at 2 pm, Sunday, Aug. 14, in the History Museum Auditorium. The lecture is free with admission; Sundays are free to NM residents. Miera y Pacheco (1713-1785), "is often unjustly referred to as colonial New Mexico's `jack-of-all-trades ' or wrongfully as a `Renaissance man,'" Mirabal said. "He was, in fact, the embodiment of the term `polymath-a person of encyclopedic learning who was proficient in astronomy, cartography, mathematics, geography, geology, geometry, military tactics, commerce, husbandry, oenology, metallurgy, languages, iconology, iconography, liturgy, painting, sculpture and drawing. "If that wasn't enough, as an explorer, he had an adventurous spirit with a keen eye for the details of the customs, dress, and practices of the various indigenous tribes of the American Southwest of the 18th century."mirabal has constructed a biography of Miera y Pacheco and created a database of the maps that he drew of Spain's northern colony and the artwork that he created, including a monumental stone retablo built in 1759. That altar screen was once the main altar of the Capilla Castrense, a 1761 military chapel on the south side of the Santa Fe plaza, built to serve the soldiers and families of the presidio. In 1859, the altar screen was dismantled and reassembled in the sanctuary of St. Francis Cathedral. In 1939, it was moved to the sanctuary of the newly built Cristo Rey Church on Canyon Road, where it remains today. Mirabal has worked with institutions including the University of New Mexico and the Archdiocese of Santa Fe and has served as a curator at El Rancho de las Golondrinas Living History Museum. His areas of expertise include the art history of Spanish New Mexico and the Spanish Catholic experience during the colonial and Mexican periods His research includes historical civil and ecclesiastical documents, a genealogical study, Miera y Pacheco's maverick geometrical and scientific data, archaeology, artistic foundations, iconographic analysis, and an examination of several unpublished artworks. YOU ARE INVITED TO Join Us NMHCPL Hispanic Cultural Preservation League monthly meetings, for info and directions call: 239-4335 for next meeting on 2nd Wednesday of the Month, August 10, 2011 6:30pm 8:00pm. Doña Dolores Valdez de Pong-Teacher, Artist, Musician, Composer, Author from Santa Fe and NMHCPL member and awardee, has provided inspiring entertainment and messages through many regional community volunteer activities, and has been contacted recently by the National Park Service to provide her expertise in producing plays and music with stories of historic purpose. More details about this important projects will be forth coming. Congratulations!! Dolores Valdez de Pong National Hispanic Cultural Center in August: Albuquerque Latin Dance Festival with Ocho Y Mas Saturday, August 27, 2011 5:30 pm - 11:30 pm Plaza Mayor $15 advance, $20 at the gate August in New Mexico is a beautiful month, and celebrating our traditional Church Fiestas in many communities supports our traditions and honors our Heritage. See you at the FIESTAS!!!
The Patron Saints of New Mexico Submitted by Ricardo Quintana What many people are not aware of is that New Mexico is unique in its culture and also in its Patron Saints. When the Spanish settlers first arrived in 1598, they found themselves under new and unusual circumstances. These required new Patron Saints. The land was arid, mountainous and empty. There was danger everywhere, not only from the environment, but also from the indigenous population. The saints that they had known and brought with them from Spain, therefore, would have to serve for additional purposes than they had in the past. Old saints were given additional duties and new patron saints were created from their traditions at home. These traditions remain with us today and are not found anywhere else in the world. They are unique to New Mexico. Here are some examples: Santa María La Conquistadora de Almas (The Conquerer of Souls) is the patroness of New Mexico and of the Hispanos of New Mexico. Nuestra Señora de los Afligidos (Our Lady of the Afflicted) patroness of those who are troubled and afflicted. Nuestra Señora de los Angeles (Our Lady of the Angels) is the patroness who directs the angels who protect individuals, particularly from monsters. This new land was full of unknown monsters. Nuestra Señora de Atocha y El Santo Niño de Atocha (Our Lady and Child of Atocha) protect those who are captive and imprisoned or who are trapped underground, such as miners. El Santo Niño is the patron of the veterans of Bataan.Nuestra Señora de Guadalupe (Our Lady of Guadalupe) is much revered in New Mexico where she is patroness. Nuestra Señora del Camino (Our Lady of the Streets) protects travelers and pilgrims. Nuestra Señora del Carmen (Our Lady of Mount Carmel) protects from all dangers especially purgatory and the pains of hell. An adobe was placed on the chest of a dying member of the third order of Carmelites to ease the transition to death. Santa Ana (St. Anne) is for grandmothers, viejitas and horsewomen or cowgirls, because her feast (July San Acacio (St. Acacius) protects against intruders. San Amador (St. Amadour), said to be Mary's gardener, is charged with protecting the barnyard and its denizens. Padre mio, San Amador, todas pollitas y un cantador (Saint Amador, my father, make them all chickens and one singer/rooster.) is a prayer over a setting hen. Santiago, patron of horsemen. San Antonio Abad (St. Antony Abbot) protects from ghosts and devils. Pets are blessed on his feast day, as he is patron of all wild and domestic animals. San Antonio de Padua (St. Anthony of Padua) protects burros and horses. He is the Spanish patron of lovers, in place of St. Valentine. He grants husbands and children and of course, he finds lost articles. "Santa Bárbarita, doncella, libranos del rayo y de la centella", (St. Barbara) protects against a lightning storm, a common fear in New Mexico. A bad storm was dissipated by a small girl making a cross in the air with a knife and calling on St. Barbara. San Bartolomé (St. Bartholomew) also protects from lightning and other fearful deaths, including protecting women in childbed, a common cause of death in the old days. San Benito (St. Benedict the Great) protects against poison and brujas (witches). He is invoked for a good death. San Bernardo de Claraval (St. Bernard of Clairvaux) protects from Indian captivity and attacks. San Cayetano (St. Cajetan) is the patron of gamblers. People bet a candle, a rosary or a mass plus eleven cents to el santo apostador (the betting saint) that he cannot perform a given miracle. When he grants it, he must be paid or he won't come across the next time. Gamblers leave him gifts from their winnings, perhaps a bandana. *NOTE: To be continued in next months issue.
FEAST DAY in July AUGUST - Saint.Days/ (Feasts) 2 San Diego Mission (Jemez Pueblo) 10 Dia de San Lorenzo (Patron of cooks and restauranteurs) 11 Santa Clara Wagon Mound 11 Feast day of Santa Susana 15 Santa Maria de la Paz Santa Fe Our Lady of Belen Belen Our Lady of Assumption ALBUQ San Diego Mission Zia Our Lady of Assumption Jemez Springs 18 Santa Elena (St. Helen) - Portales 23 St. Rosa of Lima Santa Rosa 28 San Augustine Isleta Pueblo AUGUST - Events 9 1851 Archbishop Lamy and Vicar Machebeuf arrive in Santa Fe 10 1680 St. Lawrence Day Massacre 331 year Commeration ~ 400+ Martyrs of N.M. Remember your ancestors in prayer 11 1623 Don Juan de Oñate exonerated by Rey Felipe IV de España 11 1837 Revolt of El Cantón de la Cañada with Mexico 18 1846 NM Territory begins Kearny enters Santa Fe 22 Kearny Proclamation 25 Birth of Cristobal Colón (Christopher Columbus) September Santo Niño Labor Day Weekend Tierra Amarilla 3-4-5 Labor Day Weekend, Pray for Worker s Blessings List of Perpetual Adoration : In case you are in the area, making a visit is a blessing in action. Albuquerque Church of the Ascension Our Lady of the Annunciation Española Sacred Heart Los Alamos Immaculate Heart of Mary Ohkay Owingeh Pueblo St. John the Baptist Rio Rancho St. Thomas Aquinas Santa Fe Our Lady of Guadalupe Hispanic Genealogical Research Center of NM. (HGRC of NM) : General Meeting, August 7, 2011, 10:00 AM Featured Speaker: Jane Bardal Southwestern New Mexico Mining Towns. At Lourdes Hall Rm.136. Archdiocease of Santa Fe. NOTICE: The Genealogical Society of Hispanic America will hold its annual conference in Las Vegas, NM on Aug 5-7, at the historic Plaza Hotel. Theme is Discovering our Shared Ancestors. Reminder that Annual Dues begins on July 1, 2011. Many have sent in their dues, thank you. Remember if you are a first-time member and you paid dues after January 1, 2011 they are good until next June 30, 2012. Send to Old Town Station, P.O. Box 7956, ABQ.NM 87194. WORLD YOUTH DAY, August 16-21 this year in Madrid, Spain, is an opportunity offered every three years to encounter the universiality of the church with the Pope, in a different country, which will take place in 2014 in Brazil. This experience can serve to promote a Christian life. As an example, from the USA will be a group of twenty four college Knights of Columbus who will visit many of Spain s sacred sites and than will volunteer at the home Love and Life A home for English speaking pilgrims, sponsored by the Knights of Columbus and Sisters of Life at Palacio de Deportes. In Zaragoza, college Knights will visit the Basilica- Cathedral of Our Lady of the Pillar. The apparition of Nuestra Señora del Pilar dates to the apostolate ofst. James in the first century; and devotion to Our Lady of the Pillar also has special historical significance for Americans and the Knights of Columbus -- Christopher Columbus discovered the New World on her feast day (October 12, 1492). The Knights will also follow in the footsteps of St. Ignatius of Loyola. Additionally, they will visit Burgos, a major crossroads on the Way of St. James and Caleruega, the birthplace of St. Dominic The first principle of the Knights of Columbus is charity, and these Knights will have the opportunity as volunteers and help all of the English speaking who come to Spain to learn, honor and celebrate this special occasion. Que Viva España!
Have you renewed your Membership? Will you consider giving a Student Membership gift? Dues are $35 (per family): $ Students $20: $ Student Membership Gift $ Donation: $ Total Amount enclosed $ Make checks payable (NMHCPL) PO Box 7956 (87194) Attention: Membership Chairman New Mexican Hispanic Culture Preservation League Name: (please print) Address City & State Zip Phone: Home: Work Fax Email I will help on the: Board Newsletter Website Banquet Silent auction Lobbying Submit articles Other Areas of interest Place of Employment www.nmcpl.org NOTE: Annual Renewal Dues due by JUNE 30. Mission Statement : The mission of the New Mexican Hispanic Cultural Preservation League it to Preserve the heritage, Spanish language and the history of Hispanic New Mexico, to promote the education and understanding of the contributions of Hispanics to the development of New Mexico and the nation, to protect the history of the New Mexican Hispanic heritage and culture. To achieve this mission, we will seek the TRUTH of our heritage and history, and re-store the TRUTH and PRIDE of our New Mexican Hispanic Culture. New Mexican Hispanic Culture Preservation League Old Town Station, P. O. Box 7956 Alburquerque, New Mexico 87194 Non Profit 501 (c) (3) organization