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Debbie Sanchez, Jeanette Martinez, recorders, 1971-1972, 1973-1974

 File — Box: 4, CD: 328A

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

  • 1971-1972, 1973-1974

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 I or III. Sanchez, 1973-1974: Ignacio Sanchez, age 70, Belen, NM. Related to CD 25. Begins at 00:02 and ends at 8:30. 1. Franque Gonzales (fair recording, ghost story, a man whose wife had died, he was the caretaker of the acequia, Santa Fe, was cutting grass, saw his wife dead, he was eventually taken to the hospital in Las Vegas, New Mexico, for the insane, he lost his mind); 2. Incidents in the life of Ignacio Sanchez (good recording, personal experience, when the speaker was 14 years old, he worked for a local man, example of use of reque to mean wreck or choque for crash, English borrowing, language, the Meyers of Belen, the 1918 Spanish flu epidemic, influenza); 3. The priest at La Joya, zoquete, su ojete story (good recording, story, there was a priest who did not know very good Spanish, the congregation misunderstood what he instructed them, humor).

General

Sanchez, 1973-1974: Mrs. Lucinda Sanchez, age 60, Belen, NM. Begins at 8:32 and ends at 61:50. 1. Story, superstition (fair to poor recording, a hen crowned like a rooster signifying bad luck, man died after hearing it); 2.Story, personal experience (fair recording, death of the speaker's grandfather, muerte, he insisted on taking a photo because he knew it would be his last day on earth, he was ill for a month prior and then died. Conversation, man found dead, they thought he might have been sleeping. Los viejitos y la muerte, theft of a pig, humor, codeswitching, language, Spanish, Bilingual, term long johns in English, talks about how to make a toilet. Dolores Cordova wanted to borrow money to buy trigo, wheat, Frank Moya told her to go talk to another man and that man had buried all his money in the ground, treasure, women. It was common of people in those times to bury money but sometimes they forgot about it or left it and others would find the money, codeswitching, language, Bilingual, tenia foundation, cement wall. Story about a man who discovers money in the cement); 3. Story, the Outhouse light (fair recording, personal experience, blue light, she would see it every night outside, speaker would try to imagine what it was); 4. Personal experiences of Lucinda (good recording, women, conversation with anonymous man, talks about living in an old home that was falling apart, snake, speaks English, language, codeswitching, garage in English, La Joya, New Mexico, talks about when she was a newlywed, marriage, Lucia Sanchez, Jose Ramirez, talks about a drunkard, drinking, a woman from Juarez, Mexico, Spanish words from Mexico, different that those from New Mexico, misunderstandings).

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