Luisa Chavez, recorder, 1975
File — Box: 4, CD: 369
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
Evangelina Duran de Lopez, b. 1891, Penasco, NM. Begins at 00:02 and ends at 19:18. Notes for 369 in Cobos folder. Story, Historia de un hermano mayor, Penitente (good recording, she wrote it down, heard it from her husband, about a man who was a Penitente, she did not give his name, anonymous, 1955, to protect his family, because information was given in confidence and the cofradia es una sociedad secreta, secret society, here he calls himself Jose Amarante Lucero, born in 1869, age 87, from Canoncito, talks about his health, vision, and became a Penitente at age 16, describes the organization and obligations, founded by Spanish ancestors, gives his philosophy, view point, following the way of God, order, hermano mayor es la guia, head, cabecera, names the titles of the other leaders of the group, all trying to get to heaven, religion, their behavior, some outsiders do not understand them, he finished the eighth book in his education, school, felt prepared for life, names subjects that he learned, Spanish, math, literature, history, in his day no free education, did not have the money or opportunity for more education, today some children only go to school for fun, have no interest in learning, use of automovil vs. carro, automobile, car, dialectal semantic difference, Spanish language, mentions El Rancho de la Cueva, established by Vicente Romero, in Mora, New Mexcio, he worked on the acequias and directed the water use there, atarques, lagunas, farming, agriculture, water for the mill, molino, ranch produced wheat, trigo, flour, harina, whole wheat flour, very good taste, healthy, mill sold wheat to Fort Union, he and his father carried freight, took sacks to the fort, through the Mora River canyon, Golondrinas, los llanos, plains, ranch also had many sheep and vacas, cattle, and brought fruit to Fort Union, later the fort was abandoned, story of some French trappers, fur traders, nutria, beaver, hunters who were arrested and placed at the fort, left the fort and escaped to Buena Vista or Mora, New Mexico, the fort soldiers captured those at Buena Vista, put them in prison, crime, but never found those French at Mora, one escaped man married a girl from El Rancho de la Cueva and later entered the Penitentes in Buena Vista, he was Anglo Aleman, German American, the Penitentes kept his secret, he learned some Spanish, the locals, natives changed his name, he did not like that and so he moved to Mora, if you see many hueros, white, blonds there, you will know why, other soldiers also left the fort and went to Mora, many families with French names, descendents of the trappers. He told about a French priest who was very bad with the Penitentes, he was from the parish of San Gertrudes in Mora, spit on a hermano and cursed them, hit them with his carriage whip, they did not defend themselves, they pardoned him as a man of God, but slowly they did not give their primarias or tithes to him and took their children for baptism in Las Vegas, and some Penitentes became Protestants, but wete still members of the morada, he said we did not recognize the Catholic Church, Archbishop Byrne, Santa Fe, who condemned the Penitentes, 1955. Who knows what the future will bring, he liked the past better that the present, in modern times people are loosing their faith, this is why he left this story, for people today, now we have money but no sentiment, feeling, he gives the interviewer a rosary and alabado retablo, says to take care of himself, his life, even though he is not Spanish, he never criticized Hispanic beliefs, he said when interviewer and man's grandson went to World War II 1942, spent 40 months in Europe, if he came back alive would divide all his savings among his children, they both came back and he thankful God gave him a long life and children, talks about the Morada de Canoncito, made in 1935, adobe, no windows, shared it with Penitentes from Buena Vista, the wives and girls take part, women, Las Carmelitas, bring food to men during Holy Week, Semana Santa, and other days of fiestas, panocha, tortillas, pan de horno, triles, chile, fruit, seca, cocida, pollo con arroz, borrego, food, cooking, after the service, he wished he had time to tell us more about the Penitentes).
Anonymous musical group. Begins at 19:25 and ends at 39:18. Entriega de novios (poor recording, song, wedding, singing, band, people speaking in background. See Cobos notes for extensive verses for the songs. Named in the entriega are Leandro Garcia, Yolanda Garcia, Juan Garcia, Jose Sandoval, Clarencio Roybal).
Felicitas Torres y Trujillo, born on May 30, 1904 in Las Truchas, NM. Begins at 39:55 and ends at 44:25. 1. Personal information (good recording, personal experiences, school, education, women, she only studied up until the ninth grade, learned how to do housework, religion, culture, traditions, dichos, adivinanzas, if speaker did not learn the chore well she had to pray, learned to card wool, spin, dye, weaving, sarapes, crochets, is now seventy one years old, speaker states that she wants for all the things that she did at home to be recorded and preserved); 2. La muchacha bailarina (good recording, story, the dancer, a girl was raised a good person but turned to dances, bars, liquor, she wore herself out, got pneumonia, sickness, delirious, devil spoke to her and wanted to take her, she repented, died in peace, saintly manner).
Anonymous musical group. Begins at 44:42 and ends at 70:12. Song (fair recording, singing, guitar).
Anonymous musical group. Begins at 19:25 and ends at 39:18. Entriega de novios (poor recording, song, wedding, singing, band, people speaking in background. See Cobos notes for extensive verses for the songs. Named in the entriega are Leandro Garcia, Yolanda Garcia, Juan Garcia, Jose Sandoval, Clarencio Roybal).
Felicitas Torres y Trujillo, born on May 30, 1904 in Las Truchas, NM. Begins at 39:55 and ends at 44:25. 1. Personal information (good recording, personal experiences, school, education, women, she only studied up until the ninth grade, learned how to do housework, religion, culture, traditions, dichos, adivinanzas, if speaker did not learn the chore well she had to pray, learned to card wool, spin, dye, weaving, sarapes, crochets, is now seventy one years old, speaker states that she wants for all the things that she did at home to be recorded and preserved); 2. La muchacha bailarina (good recording, story, the dancer, a girl was raised a good person but turned to dances, bars, liquor, she wore herself out, got pneumonia, sickness, delirious, devil spoke to her and wanted to take her, she repented, died in peace, saintly manner).
Anonymous musical group. Begins at 44:42 and ends at 70:12. Song (fair recording, singing, guitar).
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
cswrref@unm.edu
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
cswrref@unm.edu