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 Founders of Questa, by J.P. Rael
J.P. Rael’s poem Los Pobladores de Questa (The Founders of Questa) is probably the first written history of Questa.
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 End of the Trail for Horse and Buggy—J.P. Rael
Bad roads were an obstacle to the industry. Every time a Model T went over this road on its way to Taos it made an awful racket.
Our Water
In the 1920s to 1940s, very few people had wells. They drank water from the the Red River, Cabresto Creek, or the ditches, whichever was
Our Houses
Questa’s first homes were made in a U shape. That way when the Indians came to attack them, they closed the gates in the plazuela
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
Indians Depredations on Rio Colorado Continue
The arrival of the U.S. Military and the increased traffic on the Santa Fe Trail had served only to increase the anger of the Indians,
More Arrivals and Visitors in Rio Colorado
The presence of Francisco Laforet in Rio Colorado drew other trappers and traders to settle in this valley. One of the most colorful, and famous,
Ancient Geological Events Formed Our Landscape
Landscape is an important backdrop to the events of history—the stage upon which it occurs—and sometimes even an actor. This has certainly been true throughout