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Frances Banuelos, Audilio Miranda, Anonymous, recorders

 File — Box: 4, CD: 324C

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 III of III. Banuelos, 1971, probably Rosio Duran. See also CDs 54 and 185. Begins at 00:02 and ends at 14:18. El cuento de los tres bueyecitos (fair recording, story, a man and his wife had no family and lived all alone, the wife had a son and was very happy, after some time they had a second son and a third, after some time the first son asked for his father's blessing to leave the home and make his own way. Eventually the second and third son also asked to have their blessing to leave, the couple then had a daughter but she was blown away by the wind, she found a home to stay in for the night and disocvered there were three single men who lived there and she prepared them dinner and lunch for the next day and then she hid, the brothers were determined to find out who was leaving them food and cleaning for them, they hid and caught the girl and fought over her, the girl convinced them to live as siblings and to not fight over her, she told them she had become lost and the brothers realized that the girl was their sister. They warned her about the garden outside because the witch would hurt her if she picked food from the garden, she did not listen and fed them food from the garden. The brothers were turned into donkeys, after eating the food, the woman met a king and he married her, the witch found out and she cursed her into a pigeon, the old witch became queen and tricked the king. This is very similar to stories told by Deluvina Velazquez, See CD 301).

General

Repeat of Deluvina Velasquez, from CDs 301 and 323. Begins at 14:20 and ends at 26:24. Cuento de la ranita puerca (poor recording, story, there was a king and queen whom had three children, after some time had passed one of their children asked for their parents' blessing to go out into the world and live his life and so it was that he left and met a ranita, a small frog, eventually their next child asked for his parents' blessing to follow his brother. He also met the same frog but he chose to marry her, repeated story from CD 323 and CD 301).

General

Banuelos, 1971, probably Sarita Duran. Begins at 26:38 and ends at 40:43. El cuento de la mala alta (fair recording, story, a very poor man who had three daughters, he worked making lena in the town, woodcutter, a frog tells him that he wants to make the man rich if only he allows the frog to marry one of his daughters, the man told his daughters about the frog's offer and one of the daughters agrees to marry the frog, the frog transformed back into a prince, the prince warned his wife to never open the door to one of the rooms in the home, the wife did not listen and opened the door but found it empty. She hid the key to the room and tried to lie to her husband but he knew that she had opened the door, her husband came home angry and told her he would have to leave for good, the woman goes out walking to look for him, golden hairbrush, the woman found her husband, they lived together happily).

General

Banuelos: 1971: Rosario Duran, from Tierra Amarilla, NM, lives in Atrisco. Begins at 40:44 and ends at 46:23. La Almendrita (fair recording, story, almond, one day a woman finds a little girl in the garden and she adopts her, the little girl was kidnapped by a frog who wanted to marry her, Thumbalina story, fairy tale, the girl escapes and goes to live with a rat but he ordered her to clean everything and treated her badly, the rat taught the girl to play the piano. A friend of the rat comes to visit and the rat tells her she has to marry him, the little girl says that she does not want to marry him, one day a swallow came and rescued her, golondrina, women. See also CDs 54 and 55 for Almendrita).

General

See CD 301 and 323, repeat for Deluvina Velasquez. Begins at 46:25 and ends at 69:57. Story, sopitas de miel (poor recording, a husband and wife whom had a daughter. The father was a borreguero, shepheard, the Mom became ill and died, the girl eats sopitas de miel and the old lady tells the girl to have her father marry her, the old woman had the young girl do everything, cinderella story, the girl washes tripas by the river and the fish steals them); 2. Story, Jack and the beanstalk (poor recording, a very poor mother and son but the woman had a cow and she asked her son to sell it so they could buy food, jack and the beanstalk, the boy trades the cow for a snake, the snake was enchanted and gave him a gift).

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