Tag Archives: Spanish conquest

Christmas Eve from Taos Pueblo, Oaxaca Connection, and Happy Holidays

Posted on Monday, December 25, 2023 | 1 comment

We know that New Mexico, in fact the entirety of the southwestern United States, was part of New Spain, and then after Independence in 1821, part of Mexico. The Spanish conquered, enslaved, and imposed Catholicism into all parts of the empire. Christmas celebrations in Oaxaca are an amalgam of pre-Hispanic and Catholic rituals. They are similar here in Taos, New Mexico, where each Christmas Eve, the Taos Pueblo holds a posada against the backdrop of history.

The posada here features a band of men shooting rifles (with blanks). Each crack of gunshot is startling. Following them in procession are others holding flaming logs, pointed skyward, that might be ten feet long. Following them is a covered palanquin (litter) holding the Virgin Mary dressed in white. Locals follow, beating drums, chanting. They are covered in woven serapes or Pendleton blankets wrapped tightly around their shoulders. It is cold this time of year in Northern New Mexico. The children have shell ankle bracelets that jingle when they move.

At first glance, one might assume that this is the ritual of Catholicism worldwide — the Christmas posada, or procession, depicting Mary and Joseph seeking shelter where she can give birth to Jesus. Here, too, the Virgin is dressed in white and carried in a palanquin. I have experienced this so many times in Teotitlan del Valle, where the posadas continue for nine nights, from December 16 to December 24. La Ultima Posada, on Christmas Eve, is the final procession to find the manger where Baby Jesus is born. In Teotitlan, the host family offers an elaborate celebration complete with all night feasting.

But, it is different in Taos pueblo. Christmas Eve, the men carrying rifles, and the attending bonfires are a re-enactment of a painful memory — the 1680 Pueblo Revolt, when the Spanish military entered the village. Many of the pueblo inhabitants — women, children, men, elderly and infants — sought shelter in the church, believing that they would not be harmed there. The Spanish burned the church, killing all inside. The ancient adobe bell tower is all that remains, a reminder of this oppressive history.

In this re-enactment, I see the men shooting rifles symbolizing the Spanish invaders. I believe the burning wood stanchions are a reminder of the destruction of the church. And, I interpret the burning 25-30 foot high pyres to represent the church as it burned to the ground. Those who have not read the history, come to visit for the spectacle. And, indeed, it is that!

On a cold Christmas Eve in Taos, New Mexico, the burning wood towers keep us warm as we huddle together in the 20 degree Fahrenheit evening chill, remembering, honoring those who stood here before us.

This is the day that darkness begins to turn toward light. May this holiday season and your new year be light-filled, with good health, cheer, contentment, and peace. Thank you for reading.

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Posted in Oaxaca Mexico art and culture

Tagged Christmas Eve, New Mexico, posada, Pueblo Revolt 1680, Spanish conquest, Taos, Taos Pueblo

Churro Sheep, the Heritage of Spanish Conquest, and Tierra Wools

Posted on Saturday, July 29, 2023 | 1 comment

There are so many similarities between living in Oaxaca, Mexico, and northern New Mexico. With the conquest, the Spanish brought the pedal loom and sheep to the Americas. Churro sheep, an Iberian peninsula breed and the first to be domesticated in the Americas, are especially sturdy. They survive, even thrive, in harsh climates and at high altitudes. This is the wool used by New Mexico Navajo to weave their famous rugs. This is the wool used by Oaxaca Zapotecs to weave their famous rugs.

As I drive from Taos, NM, to Pagoso Springs, Colorado, to meet up with Carol Estes and her family for camping, I pass through Chama, NM. Here, off the road almost obscured in a forest of pine trees, is Tierra Wools. I remembered it from my last camping adventure from two years ago. I wanted to make a stop to see what it was all about, zoomed by before I could make the turn. For a moment, I hesitated and considered going on, thought better of it, did a U-turn, and pulled into the driveway.

It was a hot day, and the barn door was wide open to let in any semblance of a breeze. Five people were learning to weave at treadle looms of the type predominant in Teotitlan del Valle, not much different from the ones introduced by the Spanish in these parts over five hundred years ago. They call them Rio Grande Valley looms here, much too localized for their historical impact.

As I stepped through the front door, I entered a world of color and texture, walls filled with skeins of locally grown Navajo-Churro sheep wool, hand or machine spun, and most dyed with natural plants and cochineal. It was astounding to find a shop like this in a town of 912 people. Tierra Wools pride themselves on making everything from local sources, and their history runs deep.

I share this with you because finding sources for native wool that is naturally dyed, where people are keeping their traditions alive, is important. If you are a knitter or weaver, perhaps some of these amazing skeins will entice you. They did me.

And, here’s what car camping looks like in the San Juan National Forest! My Subaru is equipped with a 20”wide x 66” long blow up mattress. Cozy for one small woman!

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Posted in Oaxaca Mexico art and culture

Tagged churro sheep, natural dyes, Navajo-Churro, Spanish conquest, Tierra Wools, weaving

La Malinche: Mexico’s Mestizo Origins

Posted on Thursday, July 21, 2022 | 6 comments

For those who don’t know, La Malinche was the young woman-child and slave sold to Hernan Cortes on the Maya coast of Mexico in 1521. She was traded by the Chontal Maya along with 19 other 12-year olds. Her narrative is complex and formidable. An exhibit at the Albuquerque Museum examines her role as survivor, interpretor, and companion. In viewing the exhibit and knowing of her story, I continue to ask myself, Why was she so maligned?

In contemporary history, as interpreted by Mexican writer/poet Octavio Paz in his 1950 essay Sons of Maliinche, he defined La Malinche as a traitor responsible for the Spanish conquest of indigenous Mexico. This is an interpretation that has stuck and is only beginning to be questioned and debunked.

Mestizaje, the mixing of Spanish and indigenous, is the origin story of modern Mexico. It factored prominently during the Mexican Revolution when political leaders were trying to establish a new identity for the re-imagined nation, one based on honoring indigenous roots. And, yet, La Malinche continues to be denigrated as the ultimate betrayal. To be known as a Malinchistas is a derogatory slur applied to those who favor anything foreign.

To understand Mexico is to understand the context of the Spanish conquest and Aztec (Mexica) dominance. The Aztecs controlled the territory from Tenochtitlan to Nicaragua for over 150 years. Heavy tributes were collected from indigenous tribal groups and the Aztecs were hated by many. La Malinche recruited indigenous allies, some of which included the Zapotecs, the Tlaxcalans, and those from Texcoco (surrounding Tenochtitlan) who aligned with the Spanish to defeat the Aztecs. With this backdrop, La Malinche emerges as the negotiator, interpretor (she learned Spanish and knew Nahuatl, language of the Aztecs), facilitator.

Her images are depicted in the codices of the time — the painted pictorials that told the story of the Spanish expedition in Mexico. She wears a red and white huipil, her hair is tied in braids around her crown (sign of a married woman). She sits with Cortes and tribal royalty to broker the alliances that would destroy the Aztecs. Why is she depicted as evil, as the traitor?

it wasn’t until the Chicano movement of the 1970’s that La Malinche began to be reinterpreted as heroine, representing the sacrifices that women made for family and community. Women have culturally had no voice, are controlled and dominated. This is evidenced by machismo, and we see even more of behavior now in the United States with the reversal of Roe v. Wade and the dominance of conservative, repressive values that have migrated into our legal system.

There is no better time to talk about La Malinche as symbol of survival and intelligence. It is also the time to talk about missing and murdered indigenous women in Mexico and in Navtive American tribes of the United States. Domestic violence against women rose signficantly during the pandemic.

In modern Oaxaca, La Malinche survives in the Dance of the Feather. Her duality as an indigenous girl and a convert to Catholicism (legitimate) and baptized Doña Marina is depicted by two distinct individuals, as if one could be separated from the other. Dance as historical interpretation exists in New Mexico, too, with the Dance of the Matachines, depicting the Spanish conquest of the Aztecs. La Malinche plays a prominent role here, too. As a resident of Oaxaca and New Mexico, I find this overlap fascinating. The exhibition concludes with contemporary photographs of New Mexico indigenous villages celebrating the Dance of the Matachines.

As I exited the Albuquerque Museum, I could help but make these observations and a list:

Men determining the fate of women
Women without choices
Women without voices
Women without rights
Women as slaves and chattel
Women who are powerless
Women as evil, bearing the Garden of Eden legacy
Women as temptress, sexual object
Women objectified in fashion, film, photography

I found this exhibition to be provocative and gave me pause to think about the fate of La Malinche and all women who are enslaved in traditional roles with few choices and little chance for escape. This is why this exhibition is so important. I hope it comes to a city near you.

6 Comments

Posted in Oaxaca Mexico art and culture

Tagged Albuquerque Museum, Dance of the Feather, Dance of the Matachines, Doña Marina, feminism, Hernan Cortes, La Malinche, Mexico, New Mexico, Oaxaca, Spanish conquest, violence against women

Around the Zocalo, Sunday in Mexico City

Posted on Saturday, April 18, 2015 | 2 comments

Sunday is family day in Mexico. Most people work a long six-day week often until eight or nine at night, so this is the only time they have together for an entire day. On this particular Sunday, the Zocalo is filled with families flying kites across the great expanse that looks as huge as Tiananmen Square in Beijing.

I love to stay in the historic center of Mexico City to walk the cobbled streets, take in the murals and enjoy the street life. There is a deep sense of ancient history here reflecting Aztec roots. The Templo Mayor is nearby with an impressive archeological dig going on to uncover more of Tenochtitlan.

For art glass lovers, two buildings boast art nouveau glass domed ceilings. The central atrium of the upscale department store Palacio de Hierro has a fine example. The other adorns the Gran Hotel Ciudad de Mexico. The hotel is at the corner of the Zocalo (entrance on Av. 16 de Septiembre) and the store is a block away.

On this particular Sunday, the last before Easter vacation ends and Mexican school children must return to the classroom, we are approached by youngsters needing to complete their school assignments: interview a foreigner who speaks English and record the interview. It is almost dusk. Time is running out. Parents are at hand with tablets and hand-held devices to help get this done.

We finish off the Zocalo stroll at the rooftop restaurant of Gran Hotel Ciudad de Mexico with a mango mezcal margarita rimmed with worm salt and a magnificent Zocalo view as the sun sets.

Then, it’s off to Calle Isabel la Catolica #30 for a grand finale dinner at Azul Historico.

Be sure to catch the indigenous clothing gallery, Remigio, on the second floor of Isabel la Catolica #30 featuring hand-woven garments with natural dyes. Right next door, avant clothing designer Carla Fernandez offers hand-carved wood bracelets from molinillo parts. Both shops close at 6 p.m. on Sunday, 8 p.m. other nights.