Ruben Cobos, recorder, April 15, 1975
File — Box: 4, CD: 380 B
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
- April 15, 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
CD II of III. Maria Guadalupe Premia Salazar Sandoval, born July 20th, 1912, in Alamosa Colorado. Begins at 00:05 and ends at 47:31. In the home of the Sandovals, aunt and uncle of Ken Salazar. 1. Aginaldos, local traditions (good recording, conversation, Catholic songs, traditional, aguinaldos); 2. Aginaldo (good recording, singing, these songs were sung eight days before Christmas, velorios de santos, traditions, canticos, Catholic religion, aguinaldos); 3. Conversation (good recording, Dr. Cobos Interviewing speaker, personal experiences, alabados, rosary, traditions, death, funeral, Campo Santo, la morada, people buried alive); 4. Influenza epidemic (fair recording, personal experience, local history, Flu Epidemic 1918, medicine, health, death, muerte, care was provided by curanderas, access to doctors was limited, speaker describes her bout with flu, remedios caseros); 5. Remedios caseros (fair recording, hierba buena for stomach aches, tea, plants, curandero, osha used for stomach aches as well, osha as a snake repellent, Wilma Stump - teacher of curanderismo, Taos, New Mexico, partera, post partum pains, child birth, mastranzo, culantro, cilantro); 6. Cooking (fair recording, local traditions, food, murcilla, blood sausage, speaker describes how to prepare it); 7. Estropajo (fair recording, personal experience, estropajo, blood, alberjones, immortal used for stomach aches); 7. Home remedies (fair recording, curandero, medical care, remedios caseros, women); 8. Christmas traditions (fair recording,verses, oremos, trick or treating for Christmas, children, going house to house begging); 9. Song (fair recording, singing, San Francisco, religion); 10. Local traditions (fair recording, personal experience, procession, paint the church, death, muerte, San Isidro); 11. Alba (fair recording, greeting the dawn, singing); 12. Adivinanzas (fair recording, riddles); 13. Don Cacahuate (fair recording, story, cuento, short story about how he got his name); 14. Pedro de Urdemalas (fair recording, story, Pedro's mother was an ill elderly lady with two sons, one drown her with atole, tricked his brother into thinking that he had killed her by accident); 15. Conversation (fair recording, Cobos asks speakers about various stories, foods, traditions, etc. tortas de huevo).
Donita Sandoval, born May 3rd, 1951. Daughter of Maria Guadalupe Premia Salazar. Begins at 47:32 and ends at 51:40. 1. Conversation (fair recording, with Cobos in English, discussion regarding kitchen pans and appliances, difference between a pan and an oven, food, cooking, women); 2. Chiste (fair recording, joke, short story that speaker's father told her, humor, troka, codeswitch, Bilingual, Spanish language, Spanglish, English); 3. Bedtime stories about the devil (fair recording, to scare children); 3. Legend (fair recording, story in English, La Llorona, different version, a woman wanted to get revenge on her husband so she killed her son and daughter, the man punished her by sending her out alone to search for the children, her cries and creams are still heard, women).
Enrique Salazar, brother of Donita Sandoval, son of Maria Guadalupe Premia Salazar. Manasa, Colorado. Begins at 51:41 and ends at 58:26. 1. Corrido de Luciano Perez (fair recording, traditional song, singing, speaker's mother taught this song to him fifty years prior); 2. Local traditions, Semana Santa (fair recording, Penitentes, Semana Santa, CD II cuts off abruptly, continues on CD III of III).
Donita Sandoval, born May 3rd, 1951. Daughter of Maria Guadalupe Premia Salazar. Begins at 47:32 and ends at 51:40. 1. Conversation (fair recording, with Cobos in English, discussion regarding kitchen pans and appliances, difference between a pan and an oven, food, cooking, women); 2. Chiste (fair recording, joke, short story that speaker's father told her, humor, troka, codeswitch, Bilingual, Spanish language, Spanglish, English); 3. Bedtime stories about the devil (fair recording, to scare children); 3. Legend (fair recording, story in English, La Llorona, different version, a woman wanted to get revenge on her husband so she killed her son and daughter, the man punished her by sending her out alone to search for the children, her cries and creams are still heard, women).
Enrique Salazar, brother of Donita Sandoval, son of Maria Guadalupe Premia Salazar. Manasa, Colorado. Begins at 51:41 and ends at 58:26. 1. Corrido de Luciano Perez (fair recording, traditional song, singing, speaker's mother taught this song to him fifty years prior); 2. Local traditions, Semana Santa (fair recording, Penitentes, Semana Santa, CD II cuts off abruptly, continues on CD III of III).
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