Ruben Cobos, recorder, 1975
File — Box: 4, CD: 335
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.
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
- 1975
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
Andy Torres, b. 1935 on March 5th. From Center, Colorado, now Albuquerque, NM. Begins at 00:04 and ends at 36:27. 1. Datos personales (fair recording, personal information, Andy Torres, parents were named Refugio Torres and Magdalena Trujillo Torres, they born in El Mojote, Colorado and El Chico, NM, discusses geography and how to get to Center, Colorado); 2. Local traditions (fair recording, local school games, children were hit for speaking Spanish at school, language, speaker went to Center Consolated Elementary, Christmas tree, deocrations, songs, Navidad in Center, Colorado, local town, on Noche Buena, Christmas eve, Navidad, no one would sleep, mis cristmas, people handed out candies to the children in a trick or treat style, only the Mexicans would participate in this tradition, speaker says that the Gringos, Americans would not); 3. Local traditions, Dia de los Inocentes (fair recording, December 28, this holiday consisted of requesting items from the neighbors, when the neighbor let them borrow the item, the family would reimburse them with a cookie or candy and return the item, they would recite Dios los page por inocentes, it is a game, dia de los inocentes also refers to April 1st, April first or April fool's day); 4. Los Dias (fair recording, traditions, men go singing from home to home and playing guitars, the people invite the musicians in for food and alcohol, they all end up drinking the night away); 5. Empanaditas (fair recording, local tradition, food, cooking, women, they are made with a paste of choice, and folded into the dough, baked in the oven, not fried, they are usually made of pumpkin or meat); 6. Versos (fair recording, quick verse that is sung in church, speaker sings a portion of song ); 7. Baptism (fair recording, local tradition, Dr. Cobos asks the speaker if he plans to baptize his new child, the speaker states that he does not have enough money to follow through with this tradition, Dr. Cobos insisted on the padrinos' responsibility to pay for the celebration); 8. Entriega de novios (fair recording, speaker states that he does not have a good recollection of the entriega but refers Dr. Cobos to Elizabeth Medina from the north); 9. Personal experiences (fair recording, as a child, he learned reading, escuela, school, education, speaker codeswitching into English, Bilingual, language, speaker learned to read with comic books, he was motivated to learn to read because he wanted to be like the other children in his class); 10. Surumatos (fair recording, personal opinion of the meaning of the word surumato, speaker explains surumatos are the people coming from the South, from Mexico, Mexican, they were not to be trusted, gitanos, turcos); 11. Manitos, (fair recording, Dr. Cobos asks the speaker why the surumatos chose to call the northerners hermanitos or manitos, mano, New Mexicans); 12. El gallo, cockfighting (fair recording, tradition, local game, they would burry a rooster, the men would hit each other with the rooster); 13. La Pitarrilla (fair recording, local tradition, games, one man is on a horse and the other is walking); 14. Adivinanzas (fair recording, riddles, cinco aves); 15. Pobladores (poor recording, local history, Taos to Chama, El Rito, New Mexico, San Luis, Colorado, settlers, colonists, food production, the Gringos, Americans own the land and the crops but the Mexicans worked the land and produced the potatoes, people would come to work from Mora, Espanola, El Rito, etc.); 16. Soterranos (fair recording, local history, underground food storage areas, food preservation, adobe cellar with thick walls to preserve inventory to sell later, dug into the ground, covered, many migrant workers there now, most come from Mexico, some people from Salinas, California, selling lettuce, lettuce boycott, speaker knows people who were involved in the lettuce boycott); 17. Story, Los gatos (fair recording, local tradition, people kept cats as pets for protection).
General
Mrs. Marta Talamantes de Torres, b. 1952, December 17. Born in El Ojo de Agua, Camargo, Chihuahua, Mexico, now living in Albuquerque, NM. Begins at 36:35 and ends at 39:24. Local tradition, Christmas in Mexico, La Navidad en Mexico (fair to poor recording, festivities, foods, cooking).
General
Andy Torres, b. 1935, Center, Colorado, now Albuquerque, NM. Begins at 39:26 and ends at 63:59. 1. Traditional foods (fair to poor recording, bunuelos, sopapillas, fry bread, food, cooking); 2. Traditional food (fair recording, local food, traditional food, carne seca, beef jerky, thin dried meat, coat or over coat, abrigo vs. sobretodo, vocabulary, language, semantic differences) ; 3. Penitentes (fair recording, speaker discusses traditions of the Penitentes, church services, home visits, selection of new members, it was an honor to have the Penitentes in the home); 4. Personal opinions (fair recording, witches, male witches, legends, muerte, death of a woman overnight, magic, they can tell the future); 5. Conversation (fair recording, between Andy Torres and Dr. Cobos).
Creator
- From the Collection: Cobos, Rubén (Person)
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
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