¡Colores!; 1101; New Mexico's Ancient Adobe Churches

I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry Mexico's ancient Adobe churches, next. Scattered among the snow

-capped mountains of northern New Mexico are some of the most remarkable and oldest churches in the United States. Seeing these beautiful churches at Christmas time, the tradition of giving is personified by stories of great love and even miracles. Made hundreds of years ago, these ancient churches were constructed and maintained over the years with a deep devotion. Today, they are symbols of the rich cultural heritage New Mexican share. Remote beyond compare. Early settlers in this rugged landscape found few resources and received little support from distant Spain. Here, there is an old saying, Mucho Spocos, Asin un Mucho.

A lot of nothing makes something. Using simple local materials, Nuevo Mexicanos developed an exceptional architectural style. They used Adobe, Stone and Timber to make marvelous handcrafted churches that are uniquely New Mexican. Rich in clay and sand, New Mexico soils are ideal for making Adobe. Yet, Adobe is water soluble and needs constant maintenance. Throughout the year, communities take the time to come together and restore their Adobe churches along with their faith. They honor and preserve the work of their ancestors and crafted work that has lived on for hundreds of years.

On September 29, 1979, we experienced the collapse of one of the walls here in the church due to water damage that seeped in from beneath, from groundwater. Once the church began to rebuild, they began to realize that as their ancestors at one time used to come together as a community to re -plast to the church with mud or fix the roof, they were re -timed those lines that made the community what it was. They were re -linking themselves, one to the other and to God. One of the things that really impressed me about building this church is that as we were getting near to its completion, we had found the footprint of children, barefoot print of children that had been used by those early settlers to run across the top of the Adobe forms to tempt the earth down into the forms of the brick we come up perfect. Well, when we discovered those, it was marvelous because it was like that little child 150 years ago, could have been the great, great, grandparent of some of the people living here today.

It was like that child was impalienous. This was worth building. What are you going to do to preserve it? What are you going to do to make sure that it passes on to your children and your children's children? I often walk in the door and I stop to bless myself at the found. And somehow, when no one else is here, you're immediately in communion with all the people that have gone before you went. All the people who have just left it perhaps, maybe even all the people that are yet to come because it's such a very special place that it carries all the memories of the past and the promises of the future. The people

who have just left it perhaps, maybe even all the people who have just left it perhaps, maybe even all the people who have just left it perhaps, maybe even all the people who have just left it perhaps. Perhaps the most photographed church in the United States is the San Francisco de Acesse Church located in Ranchos de Taus. Constructed in 1810, over the years, it has at times been in terrible disrepair. Today, it is well cared for by the community and considered one of the crown jewels of New Mexico's Adobe Churches.

I am thinking of a quotation of Bernard Purcell, who was a Frenchman, and he did a painting of the church, and he said that it was a visual experience. And he summed his thoughts up by saying that he felt that the Ranchos de Taus Church was the American Cathedral of the Desert, and I think that says a lot. In 1980, the framework of the main altarscreen was restored by Santa Fe artist Luis Tapia and Federico Vihil. The paintings on the main Retablo were restored by Dina Bavarone, who traveled to Mexico and Spain to learn about the original pigments. The Retablo, in the East Chapel, is a very beautiful place. Over 25 feet in height,

it was painted by the Master Moyeno, sometime before 1818. The Retablo, in the East Chapel, is a very beautiful place. As the people build

up the church, they also build up their community. In 1979, the hard plaster exterior was removed and returned to the traditional mud plaster. Each year, the community comes together to remodeling the exterior. Over the years, the community that surrounds San Francisco de Asis has become a strong and happy one. The coming together, the good food, the hard work, and caring for one of the most beautiful churches in the United States all helps to form a special bond between the members of the community. Because they have such a good time, it is said that people come together to work on the church, whether it needs it or not. No one can really imagine the number of people who come and participate. I was looking at a list of the people who come, and we have 100 names on one sheet of paper, and we have nine sheets of paper at least. And there are those names, single spaced, and when we finish, there's nothing more beautiful than this

church is when we have finished restoring it in the summer. The bits of straw gleam in the sunshine. You want to touch it, you want to move up and put your hands on it. And when you do, you almost feel that there's a pulse in it. It's meeting with hundreds of heartbeats of the people who have laid their hands upon it. This beautiful old church in the United States all helps to form a special bond between the members of the community and the members of the community. And there's nothing more beautiful than this church in the United States all helps to form a special bond between the members of the community and the members of the community and the members of the community.

This beautiful old church in Trampas is considered to be the most perfectly preserved Spanish colonial church in America. The church itself is a work of art built about 1776, walking in the front door of San Jose de Gracia is like stepping back in time. The worn floorboards, the carved wood, the beautiful paintings, the handwritten signs above the entry. It is as if your ancestors were right there with you. It is as if your ancestors

were right there with you. It is as if your ancestors were right there with you. This beautiful and beautiful San Jose de Gracia is a very spiritual place. Some say this must be what heaven is like. To many people, the Sant Guardio de Chimayo is the spiritual heart of New Mexico. Thousands find their way there during the year and

almost 30 ,000 pilgrims visit during Holy Week. The first days I was here came from family from Texas. They had a daughter, had a beard, tumor in the brains, and the doctors told them that we can try to operate, but we

don't guarantee. This is your last case, but they decide after the operation. Before a few days before, the men told the wife, let's take the child to Chimayo New Mexico. They came with the little girl, what's suffering, they kneeled down here, they made their devotion here asking, and they left back home. A couple of days later, it was the time of the operation. They took it to the doctor, they examined, there was nothing. She was able to go back to school. Nobody could explain. There was a real cure. Built in 1860, the

Sant Guardio de Chimayo is known for La Tierra Santa, a healing dirt. A side room is filled with crutches, kings, and other items left behind as a testament to the remarkable healing powers found here. Father Roca and his assistants fill the posito with holy dirt. I bless the soil, he says, and I tell the people that it is not the dirt that cures, but their faith. Then, and came one man, all I have here, my mother, very, very sick. I think we will have a little time to go to pray. He went to the garden, he took the very frail lady, short, in his arms. He entered here, when inside, I was waiting here, but they finished.

A few minutes, I heard Father Father, and the man came here, I don't know what happened inside. And we were coming, when the little lady was coming walking, she is impossible. She had been able to walk for the years, and she would have stopped to pray over here, and they by herself, he went to the garden, they left. I was assigned down here, and to take a special care of this place, 45 years ago, 1954. And I never had to end there, sick. I couldn't say myself part of this. Where the church at Trampas is generally quiet, the Santuario

has visitors all the time. Some say it is worth the trip to the Santuario to sit and watch people coming and going during the day. To witness those who are physically or spiritually hurting, and see the power of the Santuario help lift the burdens from their shoulders, is a humbling experience. The power of the Santuario does not end once visitors leave. It continues on through a renewed faith and something a little more tangible, the Holy Dirt. It is said just about everyone keeps a bit of the Holy Dirt at home, linking the belief in God and miracles across the mountains, rivers and valleys of northern New Mexico. This is some special thing in this place. You cannot see it in other places. And I am proud. I had my 81st birthday like you, and my place is here. Here is my feeling home. I am proud.

I am proud. I am proud. I am proud. I am proud. I am proud. Chapples or capillas were built in every village in New Mexico. Small versions of their mission predecessors, each chapel is an individual act of faith, made by the people of the village. Each has its own distinct handcrafted style due to the scales of the local craftsmen. The designs and the saints are as different as the community each chapel serves. Located near Black Mesa and the Rio Grande, the tiny La Sagrada Familia Chapel built in 1920 is an excellent example of how families and small communities maintain their faith

and traditions by caring for a chapel. Come and see everything for yourself, a chapel. The history on the chapel is it was built in the early 20s. My great -grandfather and his family and other community members were having to have mass said in their private homes, so my great -grandfather donated the property and built the chapel.

Then in 1937, I believe, the federal government decided to turn this valley into Indian reservations. But my great -grandfather, apparently having some foresight, had deeded this property to the archdiocese. So the chapel, the property around the chapel, stayed with the archdiocese, but it was abandoned. And it wasn't until, back in the early 80s, late 70s, that we started having our family reunions, that we saw what neglected done to the chapel, where there were holes in the walls, the ceilings were caving in, the roof was totally deteriorated. And great -ans, my grandmother, my mother, different relatives kept wishing that someday somebody would start a restoration on it. Driving along the highway,

my mother would be sitting in the car with me and she would say, I would love to see the Sagrada Familia Chapel restored. And I never forgot it. I guess I can only say it in that it was an expression of love on my part. I'm one that cannot say I love you on a daily basis. I want to show it. So I made a commitment to my mom and I said, we'll get it restored. And this was after the Community Foundation had already come on and we were seeing things accomplished. The restoration of the chapel has really helped to bring the family even much closer together. We're a very close -knit family. If we hear that the distant relative needs some type of help, the family is always there to help out. But by being here together, it symbolizes really

the closeness that we are. My great aunts show up every Saturday. One of them literally comes in prepared to do work. The other one comes to see if any of her children are here, but the encouragement and the enthusiasm that they give us and seeing the appreciation about having it done, recalling and being able to reminisce with us when they were children living here and using the chapel, just keeps us going. This is a dream that came true. And this is not the end of it. We'll keep on. Our children will do it. We did it. Our parents did it. We did it. Our children will do it. And all of them will be here. To see these people, my nephews, my nieces, working, making

windows when I didn't know the new carpentry, building doors, building walls. Oh, it's a feeling that I wish everybody would get it because it is unreal. It's beautiful. This was falling apart. And look at it. During the course of the restoration, not a single moment goes by when you're not thinking about grandma or grandpa or mom. And you set that Adobe brick on the wall and occasionally you even get that lump in your throat or the tear coming down your eye. I knew my great -grandmother is a little boy and she was a very loving and wonderful lady, but knowing that she had a part in building this church initially. And now, myself as a great -grandson,

having something to do with the restoration of it, just gives one such a deep sense of love, which is it permeates through our whole family. Ready? Sacred Heart of Jesus. Four things I have asked you today with a lot of need. Patience for suffering. Force to work. The pains you gave me. Entendimiento sereno. Para poder arreglar las cosas con Santa calma. Así sentir en el alma. Perfecta tranquilidad. Esto tengo que robarte. Oh, mi Jesús adorado. En este día, consagrado. Para servirte y amarte. Who brought the hot chocolate?

Located close to the high peaks of the Sangre de Cristo Mountains in the small town of Truchas, is the Nuestra Senura del Rosario, built in 1818. It is a small church that is no longer used by a growing community. Although a new church has been built, this church is still well cared for and with good reason. Inside is a wonderful, altarscreen painted by New Mexico's first native -born Santero Pedro Antonio Frequís. Frequís was not his spanning, but a flemish descent. He worked in traditional fresco methods. He incised into the jessos while it was still wet to create form in his figures. He used rapid strokes, almost abstract in appearance, creating broad cheekbones, almond eyes, slender noses and torsos. The simplicity of his artwork has an effect all its own. The two

-dimensional rendering of his figures creates a mystic quality and assateliness. New Mexico Governor Diego de Vargas established one of the original Frontier Spanish fillas, La Villa Nueva de Santa Cruz de la Cañada, de los mexicanos españoles del rey Nuestro Señor Don Carlos II, in 1695. La iglesia de Santa Cruz de la Cañada is a remarkable church due to its long history. Originally, a chapel may have been used by early settlers as their first church. The building of the

prison church was begun in 1733. Families have worshipped, have been baptized, married and buried here for generations. Priests are still assigned from Spain and there are traditional masses in Spanish. In 1995, Santa Cruz celebrated 300 years as a parish. The people in this area are historically and spiritually devoted to this church. Over the years, the parish has carefully restored the church. No quick fixes, they took the time to get it

as close to the original as possible, in order to preserve this beautiful church and have it inspire future generations. Many people have remarked how wonderful it is to see some of the finest colonial New Mexican art, not in a museum, but in their very own church. The magnificent and elaborate altars screen in Cristo are by renowned colonial Santero José Rafael Aragón. Every since it was made, the cherished Santero Santero has rested in the main nave in the south wall. The poignant carving depicts Christ laying his tomb. It is by Frank Andres José Garcia,

a friar who served at the church from 1765 to 1768 and is considered one of his finest works. The restoration of Santa Cruz is perhaps one of the most complete and successful in northern New Mexico. Father, for art in the name, I will be thy name, thy kingdom come, thy holy gun, honor, justice, amen. He has to stay our feet gray and forgive us not to ask us this, as we forgive those who trespass against us and lead us not into temptation for ugly arrests from evil. With all its beautiful colonial

artworks and craftsmanship, the church is truly a wonder. It thrives today with the vibrancy of traditions hundreds of years old. The churches of New Mexico have been at the heart of people's lives for hundreds of years. These ancient churches are living churches. Centuries old, they continue to serve and be cared for by their communities. It has been said that the beauty of a church is an expression of love for God and the people who built it. New Mexico's beautiful ancient adobe churches are testament to the great history and culture that thrives in New Mexico today. Everybody has something to offer. The old timers have their wisdom and their pacing, the young guys have their strength. The women oftentimes would make

the mud, they would provide the cooking, the children would help with the plastering. It seemed like everybody has a place, has something to contribute to preserve these churches. These were churches built by the people for the people and the people can fix them. And as each adobe is important only in its relationship to another adobe and bond it together to form a wall. And even as that adobe requires the foundation so that it can be strong and then adobe supports the woodwork, the corbal and the vigas on top. So it is with everybody's effort. There is always a doubt in one's mind about what one can accomplish. I had helped my father as a young child to build adobe walls to do mud plastering, to do some minor carpentry work. But I had never attempted it on my own as an adult. But

in the restoration here they show you that the need is there to be done and you do the best you can. It might come out a little crooked but the sense of accomplishment of being able to say later on, hey I did this, does give you a sense of pride. The church contains, really it contains all the dreams and the visions. I think of the wedding couples who march up this aisle and with them they have all their hopes and their plans for the future. Then I think of all the ones who walk behind a coffin because some loved one has died and so they go down the aisle with them and you have that great sense of loss. It contains all of that, it contains the size and the needs of all the people who come to

light a candle and to pray. It contains so much that one really doesn't have enough words for it. The angels we have heard of last evening, sweetly through one night, and the mountains in a fire that will be felt prayin' light. Oh, oh oh oh oh oh oh oh oh oh oh oh oh oh oh oh oh oh oh oh oh oh oh oh oh oh oh oh oh oh oh oh oh oh oh oh oh oh oh oh oh oh oh oh oh oh oh oh oh oh oh oh oh oh oh

oh oh oh oh oh oh oh oh oh oh oh oh oh oh oh oh oh oh oh oh oh oh oh oh oh oh oh oh oh oh oh oh oh oh oh oh oh oh oh oh oh oh oh oh oh oh oh oh oh oh oh oh oh oh oh oh oh oh oh oh oh oh oh oh oh oh oh oh oh oh oh oh oh oh oh oh oh oh oh oh oh oh oh oh oh oh oh oh oh oh oh oh oh oh oh oh oh oh oh oh oh oh oh oh oh oh oh oh oh oh oh oh oh oh oh oh oh oh oh oh oh oh oh oh oh oh oh oh oh oh oh oh oh oh oh oh oh oh oh oh oh oh oh oh oh oh oh oh oh oh oh oh oh oh oh oh oh oh oh oh oh oh oh oh oh Oh oh oh oh oh oh oh oh oh oh oh oh oh oh oh oh oh oh oh oh oh oh oh oh oh oh oh oh oh oh oh oh oh oh oh oh oh oh oh oh oh oh oh oh oh oh oh oh oh oh oh oh oh oh oh oh oh oh oh oh oh oh oh oh oh oh oh oh oh oh oh oh oh oh oh oh oh oh oh oh oh oh oh oh oh oh oh oh oh oh oh oh oh oh oh oh oh oh oh oh oh oh oh oh oh oh oh oh oh oh oh oh oh oh oh oh oh oh oh oh oh oh oh oh oh oh oh oh oh oh oh oh oh oh oh oh oh oh oh oh oh oh oh oh oh oh oh oh oh oh oh oh oh oh oh oh oh oh oh oh oh oh oh oh oh oh oh oh oh oh oh oh oh oh oh oh oh oh oh oh oh oh oh oh oh oh oh oh oh oh oh oh oh oh oh oh oh oh oh oh oh oh oh oh oh oh oh oh oh oh oh oh oh oh oh oh oh oh oh oh oh This coloris program is available on home video cassette for 1995 plus shipping and handling. To order, call 1 -800 -328 -5663. You