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
Customs for betrothal and marriage
The “Alwasiles” sheriffs were very strict. If they found a girl or a boy talking to each other out in public they would take them
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
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.
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 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
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.”
Mineral Resources Are Found Near Rio Colorado
Mining came to the Rio Colorado in the 1860s. The Ute Indians had long known mineral-rich areas throughout the San Luis Valley and, of course,
Questa area timeline
Questa area timeline. 300 million years ago Area covered by shallow ocean 36–25 million years ago Sangre de Cristo Mountains formed, Rio Grande Riftbegins to