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Frances Banuelos, Audilio Miranda, Anonymous, recorders

 File — Box: 4, CD: 324B

Scope and Content

From the Collection: The collection consists of 591 recordings of folk songs, folklore and local histories collected by Ruben Cobos from 1944-1974 in northern New Mexico and southern Colorado. Also included in the collection are about 270 additional recordings of selected music - a few from New Mexico, many from Mexico and Latin America, and others from Spain, Europe and the U.S. The recordings vary in quality between good, fair, and poor. They contain both musical and spoken content. Most recordings are in Spanish, however, a few are in English. Others are Bilingual or represent the use of Spanglish.

The informants are mainly from New Mexico and Colorado, with a few from California, Texas and Mexico. The collections focuses heavily on spoken Spanish, with examples of poetry, riddles, proverbs, legends, anecdotes, folk tales, mysteries, prayers, nursery rhymes, games, jokes, language use, tricky words, tongue twisters, memories, local history and family history. The Spanish songs include alabados, entriegas for weddings and baptisms, inditas, corridos and ballads, pastores, posadas, love songs, folk dance music, etc. Traditions of Los Juanes and Los Manueles, Penitente morada practices, including women Penitentes, Holy Week songs and activities and the role of the church, santos and fiestas in the lives of the people are also included. There are also several lectures on folklore, music and culture by Cobos and other scholars, including Fray Angelico Chavez, Charles Briggs, Alfonso Ortiz, Arthur Leon Campa, Marta Weigle, Guadalupe Baca Vaughn, Anita Thomas and others. Included also are autobiographical accounts by Ruben Cobos and his wife Elvira.

Songs and stories about and for children, their health and education are included. Although the majority of the information is about Spanish and Hispanic traditions, the collection also provides some materials by and about non-Hispanics and the relationship between the races. A small amount of stories and songs relate to Apaches, Navajos, Pueblos, Mexicanos, African Americans, and Anglos (gringos).

Songs and stories by or about males show them in every walk of life, as rich and poor, old and young, as husbands, widowers, fathers, sons, relatives, compadres, friends, orphans, opponents, collaborators, kings, princes, commoners, giants, ranchers, cowboys, shepherds, farmers, woodcutters, shoemakers, vendors, railroaders, hunters, priests, doctors, teachers, politicians, attorneys, meteorologists, soldiers, witches, simpletons, gamblers, murderers, drunks, adulturers and thieves.

Recordings by and about women add value and perspective to the collection. Females are rich and poor, old and young, girl friends, lovers, adulteresses, wives, widows, mothers, comadres, church attendees, housekeepers for priests, nuns, princesses, queens, teachers, curanderas, cooks and witches. Some of the characters found in the collection are Cinderella, Genoveva de Brabanate, Goldilocks, Delgadina, La Llorona, Doña Cebolla, Dona Fortuna and the Virgin Mary, as well as San Antonio, San Pedro, Bartoldo, Don Cacahuate, Juan Charrasqueado, Pedro and Juan de Urdemalas, Ali Baba, Don Dinero, Tio Botitas and others.

The collection contains descriptions, traditions, local history and songs for New Mexico, Colorado, Texas, Missouri, Kansas and Mexico. There are references to the Civil War in New Mexico, the Spanish American War, World War I and World War II. Stories tell of superstitions, supernatural, unexplained phenomenon, balls of fire and light, lightening, a comet, the sun, moon, finding treasure, ghosts, devils and magic. Additional topics include traditional food and cooking, health and home remedies. Included also are stories and references to insects, animals, birds, fish and snakes, as well as floods and storms, and automobiles and airplanes.

Dates

  • 1944-1974

Language of Materials

From the Collection: English, Spanish

Access Restrictions

The collection is open for research.

Extent

From the Collection: 13 boxes (12.25 cu. ft.)

General

CD II of III. Banuelos, 1971: Mrs. Sarita Padilla, age 64, Anton Chico, NM. See Sarita on CDs 54, 55 and 56. Begins at 1:48 and ends at 29:52. 1. El caballo encantado (poor recording, story, a man was to die in three days but was too old to build his own grave, tomb, muerte, death, a young man helped him and so the old man told him to go get an enchanted horse and to return and bury him, the young man retrieved the caballo encantado and three bottles of elixer of life, the young man travels on the horse and discovers a kingdom, the king's daughters wanted to marry the man, the horse told the man not to stay there but the man didn't listen, the horse tells him to kill him and jump over boiling pots of water, the horse told the man to revive him with the elixer of life. The man married one of the girls and forgot to revive the horse, a month later he remembered but the witch had stolen his leg, the man killed the witch and retrieved the leg of virtue, they lived happily ever after); 2. Story, El pajaro que habla (fair recording, a father with three daughters dies, the girls were left alone, the three girls all had the same dream and the king found out about the dream and had the girls brought to him, the king's wife gave birth to a son and they told the king she had a cat, there was only one thing missing from the three girls' lives...the talking bird, the brother agrees to fetch the speaking bird, agua de oro, and El arbol que canta, but he was turned into stone just like all those who had searched for it before him, the second brother went looking for the first and also turned to stone, the third brother goes looking for the first two, the third brother was successful as catching the bird, water, and tree, he disenchanted everyone who had been turned to stone, the king invited him to the castle and made him prince).

Creator

Repository Details

Part of the UNM Center for Southwest Research & Special Collections Repository

Contact:
University of New Mexico Center for Southwest Research & Special Collections
University Libraries, MSC05 3020
1 University of New Mexico
Albuquerque NM 87131
505-277-6451