Laura Geyer, recorder, 1975
File — Box: 4, CD: 370
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
Miguel Casias, born 1902. Begins at 00:02 and ends at 41:10. 1. Datos personales (good recording, personal information, born in San Juan, New Mexico, 1902); 2. Benito Juarez (good recording, describes what Benito Juarez said to Pofirio Diaz, Mexico); 3. Story (good recording, about a king that married a very young and beautiful queen, a fradulent painter tricked them, unfaithfulness, accepted the fake painting, marriage, women); 4. anecdote (good recording, local traditions, past experiences); 5. Story (good recording, about a Mexican drinking in a bar, his friends trick him with passport and trip to heaven, purgatory, hell, back to earth, Mexicans singing in heaven); 6. Story (good recording, about Mexico, account of rich people being buried with their jewlery, which then was dug up and stolen by thieves, and their bodies sold to doctors to examine, story of drunk man getting a dead body and taking it to a bar, death, muerte, burial, funeral); 7. Story (good recording, about a poor couple, wife who wants her husband to go to church, women, marriage, and him in the bathroom); 8. Story (good recording, about a king who wanted to hear a never ending joke, the king threatened to kill the man who stopped it, so a man takes on challenge, tells king about a rich man who builds a house, took him fifty years, sealed it so well not even an ant could get in, filled it with wheat, but then an ant came, got in and took a grain and did so for six months, king wants to know when he will finish emptying the house, man said he can't tell him anwer so the joke will never end, so king had to reward him for winning the challenge); 9. Conversation (good recording, wedding, marriage proposal letter by man to parents of woman,15 day limit for giving a response, if refusal they send calabazas, if excepted groom had to take large wagon full of wood to her parents, he paid for all expenses for wedding, to day families share the cost); 10. Conversation (good recording, velorio, wake, death, funeral, in past many attended wake, only four or five people attended the funeral, not like today, in old days, no mortuary, stayed with dead person overnight until burial next day, today have funeral homes, everyone pitches in for food for reception); 11. Conversation (good recording, tells of being Penitente for 29 years, secrets of group can't be revealed, not even to his wife, describes a traditional wake for a Penitente hermano, men beat their backs bloody so as to help the dead person go to heaven, he also belonged to the Santisima Trinidad Penitente order for one year, not as strict); 12. Chiste (good recording, joke, story of Dona Maria Sebastiana, the death cart woman figure, she was asked by God to go to earth and bring in 3,000 dead people that she killed and along came 2,000 others that died of fear when the first ones died, women, santos, death, muerte, heaven); 13. Story (good recording, joke, God asked St. Peter to go to earth and check on people, San Pedro, worried how they will all survive and have enough to eat, God said don't worry the live ones, the workers, work for themselves and also support the lazy and stupid ones who are on goverment welfare, WPA, Great Depression concept); 14. Ghost story (good recording, after telling too many jokes to his wife, she went to sleep in the shed, fragua, and she heard sounds there, Casias said it was haunted, had seen ghost of man on horse there, etc.); 15. Story (good recording, about a girl and her boyfriend, she tricked him, had told him she lived in a house two sections down along the railroad tracks, as if a short distance, he spent all night walking the tracks looking for her house, never found it); 16. Adivinanza (good recording, riddle, el rabo de la calabaza y la puente); 17. Corrido de Presidente Roosevelt, 1932 (that Miguel composed, how Roosevelt asked for their vote and helped the poor people, right of everyone to live in this world, words to song in the Cobos notes in folder); 18. anecdote (story of a Native American Indian and a millionaire, good recording, El Rito, New Mexico, near Canjilon, Indian is driving a wagon with horses up the hill, having a hard time, passes a rich man in a cadillac who says hello and wonders if he should help out, Indian finally reaches the top, very tired, rich man says hello again, Indian replies, sin hace jalo pero con el chicote).
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