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
Additional Reading
Abert, Lieutenant James Willian. Expedition to the Southwest: An 1845 Reconnaissance of Colorado, New Mexico, Texas, and Oklahoma. University of Nebraska Press, Lincoln, 1999 Arny, W.F.M.
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
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
The San Antonio del Rio Colorado Land Grant
A second group of settlers petitioned for a land grant on the Rio Colorado early in 1841, essentially for land that is now Questa proper.
The 20th Century Comes to Questa
Our story now becomes less detailed. The end of the Indian raids and of the gold rush changed life in Questa to a more cyclical
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
Floyd Hamblen
The boy that grew up in Questa, who was an integral part of the community, merchant, farmer and a prosperous business man. – by J.P. Rael