Robert A. Sanchez, Ana Trujillo, Pattie Gravlee, recorders, 1975
File — Box: 4, CD: 386
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
Sanchez, 1975: Clorinda Sanchez, born 1925 in Watrous, NM. Begins at 00:03 and ends at 16:30. 1. Chistes (good recording, Bilingual, codeswitch into English, bilingul, Spanish language, Spanglish, los amigos, a Gringo and a Mexicano, Anglo American, Gringo saying I want you to meet Pablo, Paul, Juan, John, etc., gets to Agapito, doesn't know the English equivalent, says I want to introduce you to Make a Whistle, Agapito, humor); 2. Chiste (good recording, el quelite, two women picking spinach, want to cross the road, where it is greener, sign there No Hunting, one woman thinks it says no juntan, Spanish language); 3. Chiste (good recording, el Loco, a crazy man gets mad if called him crazy, two men, Pedro and Nestor, bet if can call him loco without his getting angry, one succeeds in using variations of word loco and wins $25 dollars, codeswitch, Bilingual, Spanish language, Spanglish, English); 4. Chiste (good recording, su tio Bacilio Olona, blind, joke); 5. Chiste (good recording, lavando con romadico or agua); 6. Chiste (good recording, la tia Matilde, enferma, cansada); 7. Chiste (good recording, el candidato, politics, they had an interpreter, at the end of speech he said that this generation is full of pep and energy, the translator said llena de pimenta y enjenjibre, Spanish language, pepper and ginger, humor); 8. Chiste (good recording, el sacerdote y su trabajador Haci, worker was mistreated and left, soot on face of priest, padre); 9. Chiste (good recording, un hombre, goes to confession, stole a bridle, priest said this was not major sin, but was attached to a caballo, horse said the man); 10. Songs (good recording, personal experience, she learned about the Penitentes from her relatives who were members of the Watrous morada, sings an alabado, Se considera alma perdida, all the verses for this long alabado are written in Cobos notes); 11. Adivinanzas (good recording, chistes, el burro y el sol); 12. anecdote (good recording, chistes, boy can't talk, doctor said was mentally retarded, intellectual disability, social construct, brother thinks he said take mentolate en the tarde, play on words, codeswitch into English, Spanish language, Spanglish); 13. Adivinanza (good recording, mujeres, sacos de gatos); 14. anecdote (good recording, chistes, el rey y un hombre, the king asked him how much he was worth, he replied, no more than Jesus, thirty dollars); 15. Chiste (good recording, three men go to a doctor to ask for brain transplants, one wants a French brain because Frenchmen are good lovers, second wants a German brain for intelligence, etc., last gets one a third of a Mexican's brain, Mexico, humor); 16. Adivinanza (good recording, chistes, un perro); 17. anecdote (good recording, chistes, man on welfare, got letter saying check was cancelled, he and a friend went to the human services office to ask why they stopped his benefits, they said it was because was hauling wood, friend translated this as, because eres de Hollywood, play on words, humor, Spanish language); 18. Chiste (good recording, two women on a bus, discussing family, how many are alive, some alive, some tontos, but todos comen, cost to feed them); 19. Chiste (good recording, a mathematician, could solve, codeswitch, sacar any account he encountered, an indio, American Indian, came to him, threw a small bead, una cuenta, from his clothing, into the well, and asked the mathetician to get that cuenta, speaker ends her story and says good by to Ruben Cobos).
Trujillo, 1975: Jesus Jose Aragon, born 1916 in Peralta, NM. Begins at 16:46 and ends at 22:30. 1 Chistes (good to fair recording, el muchacho de las malas palabras, siempre diciendo chingada, speaker tells what happened when he was left to watch over his deceased abuelita en el velorio, mania, habit, the raton, el gato, la vela, death, muerte, funeral, family, children); 2. Remedios caseros (fair recording, home remedies, cures, curandero, curandera, health, medicine, headaches, potatoes soaked in vinegar, and powdered cloves on forehead, sun stroke, el mal de ojo, evil eye, una cruz de saliva, babas on the forehead of the child, children); 3. Cuento (good recording, story, el encanto en el cerro de Tome, the spell on the Tome Hill, Valencia County, the old story says there was a woman there, singing and combing her hair, the people were afraid of her, many years later they found a deep hole, heard songs and noises of chains and animals coming from the depths, nobody was brave enough to investigate, then there was one man, who was lowered down into the hole part of the way, when they pulled him up he has gone crazy, loco, true story. Notes in Cobos folder).
Trujillo,1975: Roberto Dominguez, born 1949 in Mexico City. Begins at 22:31 and ends at 26:57. 1. Cuento del diablo (fair recording, story, devil comes to earth as a fairy, visits a drunk man, did not know it was the devil, drinking, liquor); 2. Chiste (fair recording, Don Cacahuate stories, he need to go to bathroom, goes up a tree, woman sees him, she exclaims, Jesus que veo, Jesus Quevedo, Cacahuate on the train, needs to use the bathroom, it is occupied, goes outside, conductor catches him, what he says, Don Cacahuate mistakes lights of motorcycle for lights of a car, gets run over. Notes in Cobos folder).
Gravlee, 1975: Eva Bernal born Taos, NM, now in Albuquerque. Begins at 27:01 and ends at 28:01. Personal information (fair recording, her parents were from Costilla, New Mexico, now they live in Colorado).
Gravlee, 1975: Fernando Gilberto Bernal, born 1928, Prado, NM, near Taos. Begins at 28:02 and ends at 34:43. 1. Personal Information (fair recording, Fernando Bernal. Now lives in Albuquerque, parents born in Costilla, New Mexico); 2. Dona Cebolla and don Cacahuate (fair recording, story, different stories, them on the train and him in jail in the city, humor); 3. Bertoldo (fair recording, Bertoldo wants to marry the king's daughter, the king sentences him to hang, he never can find the right tree); 4. Christmas (fair recording, local traditions, Taos, New Mexico, Navidad, men got together to shoot guns, cannons in the canyon, usually they were banned, black powder, yunque, then told stories and played cards, with children watching, then the mothers would dress in black, soot on faces and come after the chidren, abuelos, remembers La Llorona story); 5. Cuento (fair recording, story, Cacaseno in the cemetery, with the thieves dividing their loot, grave yard, burial, death, muertet).
Trujillo, 1975: Jesus Jose Aragon, born 1916 in Peralta, NM. Begins at 16:46 and ends at 22:30. 1 Chistes (good to fair recording, el muchacho de las malas palabras, siempre diciendo chingada, speaker tells what happened when he was left to watch over his deceased abuelita en el velorio, mania, habit, the raton, el gato, la vela, death, muerte, funeral, family, children); 2. Remedios caseros (fair recording, home remedies, cures, curandero, curandera, health, medicine, headaches, potatoes soaked in vinegar, and powdered cloves on forehead, sun stroke, el mal de ojo, evil eye, una cruz de saliva, babas on the forehead of the child, children); 3. Cuento (good recording, story, el encanto en el cerro de Tome, the spell on the Tome Hill, Valencia County, the old story says there was a woman there, singing and combing her hair, the people were afraid of her, many years later they found a deep hole, heard songs and noises of chains and animals coming from the depths, nobody was brave enough to investigate, then there was one man, who was lowered down into the hole part of the way, when they pulled him up he has gone crazy, loco, true story. Notes in Cobos folder).
Trujillo,1975: Roberto Dominguez, born 1949 in Mexico City. Begins at 22:31 and ends at 26:57. 1. Cuento del diablo (fair recording, story, devil comes to earth as a fairy, visits a drunk man, did not know it was the devil, drinking, liquor); 2. Chiste (fair recording, Don Cacahuate stories, he need to go to bathroom, goes up a tree, woman sees him, she exclaims, Jesus que veo, Jesus Quevedo, Cacahuate on the train, needs to use the bathroom, it is occupied, goes outside, conductor catches him, what he says, Don Cacahuate mistakes lights of motorcycle for lights of a car, gets run over. Notes in Cobos folder).
Gravlee, 1975: Eva Bernal born Taos, NM, now in Albuquerque. Begins at 27:01 and ends at 28:01. Personal information (fair recording, her parents were from Costilla, New Mexico, now they live in Colorado).
Gravlee, 1975: Fernando Gilberto Bernal, born 1928, Prado, NM, near Taos. Begins at 28:02 and ends at 34:43. 1. Personal Information (fair recording, Fernando Bernal. Now lives in Albuquerque, parents born in Costilla, New Mexico); 2. Dona Cebolla and don Cacahuate (fair recording, story, different stories, them on the train and him in jail in the city, humor); 3. Bertoldo (fair recording, Bertoldo wants to marry the king's daughter, the king sentences him to hang, he never can find the right tree); 4. Christmas (fair recording, local traditions, Taos, New Mexico, Navidad, men got together to shoot guns, cannons in the canyon, usually they were banned, black powder, yunque, then told stories and played cards, with children watching, then the mothers would dress in black, soot on faces and come after the chidren, abuelos, remembers La Llorona story); 5. Cuento (fair recording, story, Cacaseno in the cemetery, with the thieves dividing their loot, grave yard, burial, death, muertet).
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