Ruben Cobos, Elvira Cobos, recorders, 1975
File — Box: 4, CD: 399 A
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
Part I of II. Harold Tafoya and Nora Tafoya, Nora Sandoval de Tafoya, born 1946, from Redcliff, Colorado. Similar to CD 393 and CD 400. Discussion of wedding traditions with Ruben Cobos, Elvira Cobos and the Tafoyas. Begins at 00:02 and ends at 32:59. 1. Local traditions (good recording, local wedding traditions, Rancho de Taos, weeding cake, marriage customs, celebration, food, family visitors, a dance begins after 8 PM, the marcha is held at the dance hall, Ranchos de Taos, the homes are too small for the wedding party, when the speaker's cousin got married his wife had never danced before, luto, baile, widow, women, dance in the house with candles, prayer); 2. Velorios (good recording, local traditions, death, wake, funeral, vigils, alabados); 3. Chilorio (good recording, local traditions, personal experience, preparing red chile, food, cooking, chilorio refers to the burn that one recieves from touching chile, Dr. Cobos asks about the word chilorio sometimes being used to refer to the midnight dinner at the velorio, when red chile is served); 4. Luminarias (good recording, local traditions, luminarias never used at a velorio, luminarias in Colorado refers to wood bonfires, crossed logs in a square, pinon wood, burned on a mountainside, Christmas, Navidad, speaker first saw paper luminarias in the 1950's in New Mexcio in Ojo Caliente and Espanola, in Colorado they did not use bags, only logs for bonfire); 5. Personal information (good recording, conversation, parents were Merenciano Sandoval and Eufemia Aragon de Sandoval); 6. Oremos (good recording, local traditions, no such custom in Colorado, Christmas, Navidad, recites verses, in Albuquerque Oremos refers to Halloween, children go door to door, given candy, nuts and fruit, Christmas morning, Navidad, in Las Vegas, New Mexico children, age seven to twelve years old, went door to door for treats, begging, singing Oremos angelitos somos, que del cielo venemos, si no nos dan oremos puertas y ventanas quebraremos, mis crismas, Navidad in Colorado, children go door to door, saying Mis Cristmas, given candy, nuts and fruit, was popular in 1940s and early 1950s, now few children go around for Christmas); 6. Conversation (good recording, about local traditions, blessings, La Bendicion, children go to elders for a blessing, prayer, sign of cross, kiss their hand, respect for elders, parents, family, discipline); 7. Bendicion de los novios (good recording, local wedding traditions, marriage, blessing given to bride and groom after entriega de novios, given by parents then grandparents, on both sides); 8. Local traditions (poor recording, weddings, Colorado, bendicion, blessing of new married couple in bride's home); 9. Entriega (fair recording, local wedding traditions, before wedding sponsors responsible for the couple, hijados, prayers, gave cuatro rosas, afterward bride and groom are responsible to each other, bride is first given to groom and then groom to the bride, entriega contains advise to groom on how to care for his wife, women, no hay padre, no hay madre); 10. Baptism (fair recording, local traditions, religion, personal experience, Catholic, godparents, padrinos, words they recite at time, dinner party, band played music, verses recited); 11. Conversation, Elvira Cobos and Nora Tafoya (good recording, personal experiences, opinions, local traditions, Elvira talking, the two were comadres, women, relationship, Nora continues, dicusses use of the words compadres and comadres, semantic variation, Spanish language); 12. La viudas, widows (good recording, local traditions, local attitudes about widows whom wish to remarry, depends on the family attitudes, after funeral, death, muerte, must wait at least six months to a year, local history, women, mourning period, how men treat her, men are careful not to dance with widows for fear of what people will say); 13. Wedding engagement (good recording, necesitar, the meaning of the word ocupar, to need, semantics, lexical differences in Spanish language); 14. Harold Tafoya, material similar to CD 393. Local traditions (good recording, local wedding traditions, marriage, best that the couple sneak out of the reception quietly so no tricks played on them or their car, or plan to get groom drunk); 15. Bridal car (good recording, local wedding traditions, automobile used after the wedding is over is decorated by the family of the groom or bride, when the couple leaves the church they ride in the car, honk horns, go on to the reception); 16. Wedding photography (good recording, local traditions, pictures of wedding, at the church or at a photography studio, choice, wedding party, celebration was held in a hall because homes were too small in Colorado).
Harold Tafoya. Begins at 33:00 and ends at 41:15. Similar material to CD 242, 347, 362, 363, and 400. 1. Song, Los Laureles (good recording, song, guitar, singing, Spanish influenced song, sang this to his grandmother on her 50th birthday, her name is Manuelita de Espinosa from Denver, Colorado); 2. Song, El hijo de nadie (good recording, song, guitar, singing).
Nora Tafoya, born in NM but raised in Redliff, Colorado. Similar material to CD 393 and CD 400. Born 1946. Begins at 41:37 and ends at 52:06. 1. Versos (good recording, passed down from the speaker's mother, sayings, examples); 2. Chistes (good recording, speaker's father passed down a number of chistes, jokes, humor, examples); 3. Cuento, chiste (good recording, story about a woman who was coja, crippled, play on words, Spanish language, coja); 4. Dichos (good recording, versos, sayings used to make children laugh, education, discipline, family); 5. La tortilla (good recording, story of don Cacahuate and dona Cebolla, chiste about warming up a tortilla in her armpit); 6. Los dos hombres (good recording, story, chiste about two men, Gringo, Mexican, language barrier, play on words, Spanish language); 7. El leon (good recording, story, chiste about a man who was being followed by a lion, the two prayed together); 8. Tri qui tran (good dicho, saying to make kids laugh, children); 9. Dicho (good recording, El que solo se rie de sus maldades se acuerda, laugh and learn from your mistakes, education, children); 10. Tres hombres a la guerra (good recording, story about three soldiers, Aleman, Japones, Mexicano, German, Japanese, Mexican, humor, profanity, chiste, Mexicano); 10. Adivinanza (good recording, riddle, yo tengo un bollita de mil huesos); 11. Dicho (good recording, Cada maestrito tiene sus librito, speaker explains the meaning, learning, education, to each his own); 12. Mentolate en la tarde (good recording, chiste, story about a boy that doctor said was ill, a little retarded, intellectual disability, play on words, Spanish language, humor, give him mentholatum in the afternoon); 13. La palabra pues y pus (good recording, chiste, semantic differences, lexical differences, phonological differences, phonology, Spanish variation, dialect, Spanish language).
Elvira Cobos and Nora Tafoya in conversation. Similar to CD 364. Begins at 52:12 and ends at 61:01. 1. Home remedies (good recording, local traditions, remedios caseros used by her mother, medicine, health, cures, grandmother, women, describes what plants were used for, osha, hierbas de la ormiga, hormiga, osha, polleo, yerba buena, manzanilla, chemaja, asafran, trementina, plumajeo, curandera); 2. Superstitions (good recording, brujas, witches, scissors placed in form of a cross, stories mother told speaker, crossed needles, protection against witches, when shaking right hand with person distrust, cross the fingers of your left hand, protection against curses and evil); 3. Brujas (good recording, stories passed down by mother and grandmother, women witches often appear as owls, a woman found dead was a witch, conversation about supersititions); 4. Superstitions (good recording, casorio, wedding, marriage, weather, rain, hail the size of snow balls, put out salt in the shape of a cross, stop the storm by sprinkling salt, conversation, when baking bread, put cross on top, sign of Jesus, bread will rise higher, superstition about women jealous of each other's cooking, put sign of Jesus on bread so as to not drop it or burn it, more superstitions on sprinking salt, cuts off abruptly, cont. on CD 399 B).
Harold Tafoya. Begins at 33:00 and ends at 41:15. Similar material to CD 242, 347, 362, 363, and 400. 1. Song, Los Laureles (good recording, song, guitar, singing, Spanish influenced song, sang this to his grandmother on her 50th birthday, her name is Manuelita de Espinosa from Denver, Colorado); 2. Song, El hijo de nadie (good recording, song, guitar, singing).
Nora Tafoya, born in NM but raised in Redliff, Colorado. Similar material to CD 393 and CD 400. Born 1946. Begins at 41:37 and ends at 52:06. 1. Versos (good recording, passed down from the speaker's mother, sayings, examples); 2. Chistes (good recording, speaker's father passed down a number of chistes, jokes, humor, examples); 3. Cuento, chiste (good recording, story about a woman who was coja, crippled, play on words, Spanish language, coja); 4. Dichos (good recording, versos, sayings used to make children laugh, education, discipline, family); 5. La tortilla (good recording, story of don Cacahuate and dona Cebolla, chiste about warming up a tortilla in her armpit); 6. Los dos hombres (good recording, story, chiste about two men, Gringo, Mexican, language barrier, play on words, Spanish language); 7. El leon (good recording, story, chiste about a man who was being followed by a lion, the two prayed together); 8. Tri qui tran (good dicho, saying to make kids laugh, children); 9. Dicho (good recording, El que solo se rie de sus maldades se acuerda, laugh and learn from your mistakes, education, children); 10. Tres hombres a la guerra (good recording, story about three soldiers, Aleman, Japones, Mexicano, German, Japanese, Mexican, humor, profanity, chiste, Mexicano); 10. Adivinanza (good recording, riddle, yo tengo un bollita de mil huesos); 11. Dicho (good recording, Cada maestrito tiene sus librito, speaker explains the meaning, learning, education, to each his own); 12. Mentolate en la tarde (good recording, chiste, story about a boy that doctor said was ill, a little retarded, intellectual disability, play on words, Spanish language, humor, give him mentholatum in the afternoon); 13. La palabra pues y pus (good recording, chiste, semantic differences, lexical differences, phonological differences, phonology, Spanish variation, dialect, Spanish language).
Elvira Cobos and Nora Tafoya in conversation. Similar to CD 364. Begins at 52:12 and ends at 61:01. 1. Home remedies (good recording, local traditions, remedios caseros used by her mother, medicine, health, cures, grandmother, women, describes what plants were used for, osha, hierbas de la ormiga, hormiga, osha, polleo, yerba buena, manzanilla, chemaja, asafran, trementina, plumajeo, curandera); 2. Superstitions (good recording, brujas, witches, scissors placed in form of a cross, stories mother told speaker, crossed needles, protection against witches, when shaking right hand with person distrust, cross the fingers of your left hand, protection against curses and evil); 3. Brujas (good recording, stories passed down by mother and grandmother, women witches often appear as owls, a woman found dead was a witch, conversation about supersititions); 4. Superstitions (good recording, casorio, wedding, marriage, weather, rain, hail the size of snow balls, put out salt in the shape of a cross, stop the storm by sprinkling salt, conversation, when baking bread, put cross on top, sign of Jesus, bread will rise higher, superstition about women jealous of each other's cooking, put sign of Jesus on bread so as to not drop it or burn it, more superstitions on sprinking salt, cuts off abruptly, cont. on CD 399 B).
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