Centuries of Culture
Family, friends make a Taos traditional Hispano summer
Part of the multicultural mystique of Taos are centuries-old
traditions of Hispano culture and traditions that have influenced
and been influenced by what was for many generations one
of the farthest northern reaches of the medieval Spanish
empire in North America.
Many native Taosenos have ancestral ties to the first Spanish
colonists who came to New Mexico in 1598. Within a generation
of the first permanent Spanish settlement near San Juan
Pueblo, stock raisers, farmers, hunters and their families
migrated to the Taos Valley, establishing themselves, their
folk culture, language and Catholic Christian faith.
Nowadays it's hard to tell the difference between these
and other Americans. Most are unassuming working people,
intent on providing for families. Many are well-educated
and professional, and all profess pride in the extended
family of primos, compadres and comadres of this community
of villages that is home.
The Spanish still spoken after 400 years is a blend of
16th-century language that has managed to survive only in
Northern New Mexico and southern Colorado, modern slang,
some Nahuatl Aztec Hispanicized terms, a little learned
from Rio Grande Pueblos and, at times, something called
Spanglish.
Taos Hispanos are proud of their mixed predominantly Spanish
Colonial heritage. Many local individuals can count ancestors
among the first Spanish-speaking colonists. Others also
claim Hispanicized Comanche, Kiowa, Apache, Navajo or Ute
Native American heritage. One also finds Hispanos with a
plethora of French surnames, evidence of French trapper
voyagers who came to stay, as well as German, Jewish, Scottish
or other European origins. The name is there, but the families
are now all bilingual Taosenos.
Pride and care of family is first and foremost, followed
by that of community. Traditions dating back hundreds of
years take place on a day-to-day basis without a conscious
effort. It's just the way people do things here. Newcomers
who stay long enough to become locals also soon come to
know who's related to whom. Most of it has to do with being
polite, following protocols when making requests and in
conversation and honoring old customs.
Being Hispano in Taos might mean you live in town, but
your roots might be in Canon, El Prado, Ranchos de Taos,
Arroyo Seco, Arroyo Hondo, Talpa, Llano Quemado or La Loma.
You might be related through marriage or blood kin to people
in several of these villages. Perhaps your mom or dad or
grandparent is compadre or comadre to a couple at Taos Pueblo.
And you might have come here from across the mountains
or down river from Colfax, San Miguel or Rio Arriba counties
because you had relatives here. You might have met a love,
married and stayed, becoming a new member of another old
family. Many newcomers have become Taosenos by marriage.
Traditions of protecting community water rights might involve
gathering with friends and relatives to clean and repair
irrigation ditches. An invitation to a wedding or a baptism
is a chance to renew friendships, ties of kinship, recognize
and respect elders and celebrate life hallmarks.
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