Querencias Series – serie

During the Chicano Movement in the 1960s and 1970s, the idea of Aztlán, homeland of the ancient Aztecs, served as a unifying force in an emerging cultural renaissance. Does the term remain useful? This expanded new edition of the classic 1989 collection of essays about Aztlán weighs its value. To encompass new developments in the discourse the editors have added six new essays.

This exploration of Iberian, Latin American, and US-Hispanic representations of Christ focuses on outliers in art, literature, and theology: Spanish painter Salvador Dalí, Mexican muralist José Clemente Orozco, Argentine writer Jorge Borges, Spanish existentialist Miguel de Unamuno, Brazilian theologian Leonardo Boff, and Mexican philosopher José Vasconcelos. Their work, and that of others, stands out from the conventional, stretching our imagination by probing the limits of our sensibilities.

The arrival of Spaniards in 1769 served as a defining moment for California's future. They described the First Peoples and their cultures and provided a window into the evolution of California's Camino Real. In an effort to establish the Camino Real de California as a UNESCO World Heritage Site, Joseph P. Sánchez explores the rich history of the path running from San Diego to San Francisco in this significant study. While records capture the stories and legends of the Camino Real there is little information on the exact ground route. Sánchez utilizes historical and archaeological literature and the documentation from Spanish and Mexican archives to begin the much-needed process of authentication of this braided corridor to further establish the Camino Real de California's integrity and valuable history, which is shared with Spain, Mexico, and Native American tribes. Their story is part of the patrimony of the Camino Real de California, which ought to be authenticated, preserved, and protected for future generations to enjoy.

Nación Genízara examines the history, cultural evolution, and survival of the Genízaro people. The Contributors to this volume cover topics including ethnogenesis, slavery, Settlements, poetics, religion, gender, family history, and mestizo genetics. Fray Angélico Chávez defined Genízaro as the ethnic term given to indigenous people of mixed tribal origins living among the Hispano population in Spanish fashion. They entered colonial society as captives taken during wars with Utes, Apaches, Comanches, Kiowas, Navajos, and Pawnees. Genízaros comprised a third of the population by 1800. Many assimilated into Hispano and Pueblo society, but others in the land-grant communities maintained their identity through ritual, self-government, and kinship.Today the persistence of Genízaro identity blurs the lines of distinction between Native and Hispanic frameworks of race and cultural affiliation. This is the first study to focus exclusively on the detribalized Native experience of the Genízaro in New Mexico.

New Mexico cultural envoy Juan Estevan Arellano, to whom this work is dedicated, writes that querencia "is that which gives us a sense of place, that which anchors us to the land, that which makes us a unique people, for it implies a deeply rooted knowledge of place, and for that reason we respect it as our home."This sentiment is echoed in the foreword by Rudolfo Anaya, in which he writes that "querencia is love of home, love of place." This collection of both deeply personal reflections and carefully researched studies explores the New Mexico homeland through the experiences and perspectives of Chicanx and indigenous/Genízaro writers and scholars from across the state. The importance of querencia for each contributor is apparent in their work and their ongoing studies, which have roots in the culture, history, literature, and popular media of New Mexico. Be inspired and enlightened by these essays and discover the history and belonging that is querencia.

Second Place Winner of the 2020 International Latino Book Award for Best History BookNación Genízara examines the history, cultural evolution, and survival of the Genízaro people. The contributors to this volume cover topics including ethnogenesis, slavery, settlements, poetics, religion, gender, family history, and mestizo genetics. Fray Angélico ChÁvez defined Genízaro as the ethnic term given to indigenous people of mixed tribal origins living among the Hispano population in Spanish fashion. They entered colonial society as captives taken during wars with Utes, Apaches, Comanches, Kiowas, Navajos, and Pawnees. Genízaros comprised a third of the population by 1800. Many assimilated into Hispano and Pueblo society, but others in the land-grant communities maintained their identity through ritual, self-government, and kinship.Today the persistence of Genízaro identity blurs the lines of distinction between Native and Hispanic frameworks of race and cultural affiliation. This is the first study to focus exclusively on the detribalized Native experience of the Genízaro in New Mexico.

Winner of the 2015 Southwest Book Design and Production Award for Gift Book from the New Mexico Book AssociationSilver Winner of the 2015 PubWest Book Design Award for Historical/Biographical Book2015 Southwest Books of the YearThe poetic proverbs known to nuevomexicanos as dichos are particular to their places of origin. In these reflections on the dichos of the Chimayó Valley in northern New Mexico, native son Don J. Usner has written a memoir that is also a valuable source of information on the rich language and culture of the region. Illustrated with black-and-white photographs that Usner, who is also known for his photographic work, took of the people and places that he writes about, this book is a one-of-a-kind introduction to the real New Mexico.Usner has known Chimayó since he was a boy visiting his grandmother and the other village elders, who taught him genealogies going back to family origins in Spain. The Spanish he learned there was embedded in dichos and cuentos. This book is the result of Usner's research into these memorable sayings, and it preserves a language and a culture on the verge on dissolution. It is a gateway into a uniquely New Mexican way of life.

In New Mexico's Moses, Ramón A. Gutiérrez dives deeply into Reies López Tijerina's religious formation during the 1940s and 1950s, illustrating how his Pentecostal foundation remained an integral part of his psyche even as he migrated toward social-movement politics. An Assemblies of God evangelist turned Pentecostal itinerant preacher, Tijerina used his secularized apocalyptic theology to inspire the dispossessed heirs of Spanish and Mexican land grants fighting to recuperate ancestral lands throughout northern New Mexico and the Southwest. Using Tijerina's collected sermons, Gutiérrez demonstrates the ways in which biblical prophecy influenced Tijerina throughout his life from his early days as a preacher to his leadership of the Alianza Federal de Mercedes. Tijerina sought justice for those who had lost their lands and was determined to eradicate the most egregious forms of racism and to valorize the language and culture of mexicanos. Translated into English for the first time here, Tijerina's sermons serve as a blueprint for the religious origins of the Mexican American Civil Rights Movement.

The arrival of Spaniards in 1769 served as a defining moment for California's future. They described the First Peoples and their cultures and provided a window into the evolution of California's Camino Real. In an effort to establish the Camino Real de California as a UNESCO World Heritage Site, Joseph P. Sánchez explores the rich history of the path running from San Diego to San Francisco in this significant study. While records capture the stories and legends of the Camino Real there is little information on the exact ground route. Sánchez utilizes historical and archaeological literature and the documentation from Spanish and Mexican archives to begin the much-needed process of authentication of this braided corridor to further establish the Camino Real de California's integrity and valuable history, which is shared with Spain, Mexico, and Native American tribes. Their story is part of the patrimony of the Camino Real de California, which ought to be authenticated, preserved, and protected for future generations to enjoy.

The Latino Big Bang in California presents a Spanish transcription and English translation of a diary written by Forty-Niner Justo Veytia, a Mexican immigrant seeking riches during California's Gold Rush. Veytia's diary offers insights into the dilemmas and choices of an adventurous and ambitious young mexicano and provides a detailed glimpse into the life of Latinos who participated in this tumultuous moment in California history. In doing so, Veytia's diary demonstrates that the US-Mexico War together with the Gold Rush constituted a Latino "big bang" in California that attracted large swaths of fortune seekers from across the Spanish-speaking world throughout the latter half of the nineteenth century. Combining archival research with quantitative methods to extrapolate demographic information about the persistent presence of Latino communities in California from the mid-nineteenth century to today, The Latino Big Bang in California shows how Latino migration and labor forever changed the course of California history.

In The Poetics of Fire, Pulitzer prize-winning journalist and Chicano author Victor M. Valle posits the chile as a metaphor for understanding the shared cultural histories of Chicanx and Latinx peoples from preconquest Mesoamerica to twentieth-century New Mexico. Valle uses the chile as a decolonizing lens through which to analyze preconquest Mesoamerican cosmology, early European exploration, and the forced conversion of Native peoples to Catholicism as well as European and Mesoamerican perspectives on food and place. Assembling a rich collection of source material, Valle highlights the fiery fruit's overarching importance as evidenced by the ubiquity of references to the plant over several centuries in literature, art, official documents, and more to offer a new eco-aesthetic reading--a reframing of culinary history from a pluralistic, non-Western perspective.

In New Mexico's Moses, Ramón A. Gutiérrez dives deeply into Reies López Tijerina's religious formation during the 1940s and 1950s, illustrating how his Pentecostal foundation remained an integral part of his psyche even as he migrated toward social-movement politics. An Assemblies of God evangelist turned Pentecostal itinerant preacher, Tijerina used his secularized apocalyptic theology to inspire the dispossessed heirs of Spanish and Mexican land grants fighting to recuperate ancestral lands throughout northern New Mexico and the Southwest. Using Tijerina's collected sermons, Gutiérrez demonstrates the ways in which biblical prophecy influenced Tijerina throughout his life from his early days as a preacher to his leadership of the Alianza Federal de Mercedes. Tijerina sought justice for those who had lost their lands and was determined to eradicate the most egregious forms of racism and to valorize the language and culture of mexicanos. Translated into English for the first time here, Tijerina's sermons serve as a blueprint for the religious origins of the Mexican American Civil Rights Movement.

Sage Vogel's debut short-story collection invites readers into the heart of a proverbial 1950s Northern New Mexico village, where the fruit orchards, arroyo roads, adobe homes, and even pigsties hold tales of wit, romance, woe, and wisdom.Dichos en Nichos contains ten interconnected stories enriched by original dichos—pithy folk sayings presented in both Spanish and English—that are shared among the colorful cast of characters. The dichos offer guidance, caution, and comfort as the townsfolk navigate themes of identity, community, loss, and love. From tales of sacrifice and survival to those of intimacy and independence, each story is a testament to the strength and resilience of the human spirit.Created in collaboration with each story is a nicho—an oil painting set in an antique frame—created by renowned Southwestern artists Christen and Jim Vogel. These fine artworks serve as both vibrant altars and vivid windows into a village brimming with the dynamic rhythms of life, from poetry and music to tragedy and scandal.Dichos en Nichos offers a captivating and immersive experience that invites readers to explore the heart and soul of a distinct setting in a bygone era. Through its inspired blending of vernacular language, compelling cultural themes, and masterful artwork, this collection of stories will leave an enduring, endearing impression on all who enter its beautifully crafted and wholly unforgettable world.

The Latino Big Bang in California presents a Spanish transcription and English translation of a diary written by Forty-Niner Justo Veytia, a Mexican immigrant seeking riches during California's Gold Rush. Veytia's diary offers insights into the dilemmas and choices of an adventurous and ambitious young mexicano and provides a detailed glimpse into the life of Latinos who participated in this tumultuous moment in California history. In doing so, Veytia's diary demonstrates that the US-Mexico War together with the Gold Rush constituted a Latino "big bang" in California that attracted large swaths of fortune seekers from across the Spanish-speaking world throughout the latter half of the nineteenth century. Combining archival research with quantitative methods to extrapolate demographic information about the persistent presence of Latino communities in California from the mid-nineteenth century to today, The Latino Big Bang in California shows how Latino migration and labor forever changed the course of California history.

A dramatic story of love, fate, and redemption in a time travel adventure filled with mysticism as our hero moves between the twentieth-century and New Mexico during the Spanish Inquisition. Aspiring writer Uriel Romero finds himself mysteriously trapped in the body of Diego, a seventeenth-century Franciscan novice accused of heresy. Unsure whether he’s in a dream, a coma, or another dimension, Uriel must navigate Diego’s fate: to be sent to New Mexico on a perilous mission to convert the Apaches or else risk the flames of the Spanish Inquisition. As he struggles to understand his new existence, Uriel encounters a cast of colorful characters: a prophetic friar who claims to be his father, an Apache shaman guiding him through the astral plane, a talking mule yearning for the Promised Land, and Alma—his eternal love whose tragic death still haunts him. With echoes of “The Night Face Up” by Julio Cortázar and Journey to Ixtlan by Carlos Castaneda, this time-travel saga weaves history, mysticism, and existential mystery into a gripping tale of fate, love, and redemption. Will Uriel uncover the truth before time runs out, or is he doomed to be lost between worlds forever?

Nasario Garcia's poignant memoir revisits the 1940s Albuquerque neighborhood of his youth to capture the struggles and joys of growing up in Albuquerque's oldest barrio. In the summer of 1945, nine-year-old Junie is transplanted from the idyllic setting of his family ranch in the Río Puerco valley to Albuquerque’s oldest barrio, Martíneztown, home and refuge for Nuevomexicanos seeking better opportunities in the wake of World War II. Young Junie finds comfort in some of the community’s familiar Hispanic traditions as he struggles to learn a new language and navigate this often confusing and challenging new environment. Through the boy’s eyes we meet an extraordinary cast of characters and urban survivors on an intercultural journey into modern New Mexico. To read this remarkable collection is to enter a time machine and travel into a world where neighbors help neighbors as they celebrate life and confront life’s tragedies and heartaches side by side. These connected stories serve as an elegy for an era too important to relegate to the forgotten past. Martíneztown, 1945 transcends its specific time, place, and culture to become a universal testament to our shared humanity with all of its confounding imperfections and sporadic splendor.

This lush historical novel is a family saga set against the backdrop of the Spanish colonial world. Beyond the Edge of the Known World is the fictional tale of the four-year journey of Don Pedro Bautista Pino from Santa Fe to Spain and back to represent New Mexico at the 1812 Cortes de Cádiz, as narrated by his Genízaro grandson Juan de los Reyes Baca. This coming-of-age adventure story follows this intrepid duo down the Camino Real and across the Atlantic. “Juanito,” the grandson, observes the drafting of “La Pepa,” the liberal Constitution by delegates from across the entire Spanish Empire that established a brief constitutional monarchy. After being separated from his grandfather, Juanito’s journey through the New World on merchant ships and in heavily guarded caravans leads him to reflect on New Spain’s failed caste system and the abuses of slavery he witnesses in Cuba. Armed only with a well-read copy of Don Quijote and grappling with the feelings of first love, Juanito collates and edits the notes that became Pino’s famous report, Exposición sucinta y sencilla de la provincia del Nuevo México.

An excellent overview of the diversity of Mexican music and its powerful role in society to awaken, narrate, and interpret political consciousness. The essays in Migration, Dislocation, and Place Making in Mexican Popular Music explore a convoluted musical landscape through personal testimonial, cultural history, and musical ethnography. The iconic regional traditions of mariachi and música norteña, from the center and north of the country, hybridize and become a musical lifeline for immigrants under stress. When rural economies collapse and the only cash crops are illegal, traditional corrido ballads morph into narco-corridos, deceitfully sacralized with folk saints. The international idiom of rock is fully naturalized and Mexicanized to offer powerful social critiques to youthful urban listeners. Popular diva singers challenge racism, discrimination, xenophobia, and homophobia. Social and cultural change in greater Mexico has multiple soundtracks that replenish and redefine ethnicity. This anthology is tightly focused on popular music and its powerful role in society to awaken, narrate, and interpret political consciousness. The variety of styles highlighted here distinguishes it from other works on Mexican musical traditions. Interdisciplinary in scope, this anthology is sensitive to the nuances of the struggles over identities represented through Mexican musical expressions. It defines the imagined communities and identity formation of Mexican immigrants across class and regional differences as reflected in the music they choose to listen to. It examines the cultural economy of fans and followers and the reciprocal influence of musical consumers and producers, analyzing the impact Mexican musicians have on second-generation Chicanos in California and the Borderlands who are coming of age and redefining their place within the social fabric of the United States. Contributors to this volume detail the ways in which fans and musicians alike use Mexican music to challenge cultural expectations to re-create a world of communion, hope, defiance, and self-recognition.