Another Time in This Place
Historia, Cultura y Vida en Questa, New Mexico, USA
Tessie Rael de Ortega and Judith Cuddihy
An Introductory Note
…first-person accounts of Rio Colorado [Questa] have been included to give a first-hand view of what life was like here over the years.
Table of Contents
Front Matter From Our Hearts and Minds From the Record The Cycle of Birth, Life & Death Everyday Life in the 1920’s to 1940’s Appendix
The Ortega Family
Ortega Family Juan De Jesus Ortega—great grandfather Jose Dolores Chavez—great grandfather Margarita Trujillo De Ortega—great grandmother Maria Antonia Gonzales DeChavez—great grandmother Agapito Ortega—grandfather Teodorita Chavez
Preface & Acknowledgments
This project started quite appropriately over ditch business—Judy Cuddihy was installing a head gate and Esther Garcia, one of the ditch commissioners, came over to
Our Church of San Antonio
San Antonio church is the biggest treasure our forefathers left for us. It was built with a lot of faith and sacrifice. They brought the
Holidays
They had valerios for the dead and they would sing hymns called “Alavados.” Also velarios for the Santos. These alavados were a little different. When
Los Hermanos, La Morada y el Calvario
Every year during Lent and Holy Week, newspapers and magazines all over the country contain an article of one kind or another about Los Hermanos
Rael family history
“It is very certain, or almost certain, that only one Rael came to the New Continent and that he came as a soldier from Spain and that is how the name Rael originated.”
The Railroad Comes to Northern New Mexico
The 1870s brought more surveyors for the railroad that would come eventually through just north of Rio Colorado. By 1876, rail for the narrow-gauge Denver
Everyday Life in the 1920s to 1940s
Water was and is the basis of everyday life in this high mountain desert. Acequias were often built even before the houses or church in
The Cañon del Rio Colorado Land Grant
The first attempt for this grant was the June 12, 1836 petition for land filed by Antonio Elias Armenta, Jose Victor Sanchez, and Jose Manuel