Day Trips: High Road to Taos, Part 3 in a Series

Las Trampas
Leaving Truchas and continuing on NM 76 towards the village of Las Trampas, enjoy a spectacular vista as the valley opens before you, with the Truchas Peaks rising on the eastern horizon. 

Founded in 1751, by a Spanish land grant entitled Santo Tomas Apostol del Rio de las Trampas, (Saint Thomas, Apostle of the River of Traps), Las Trampas was settled by 12 families from Santa Fe. Located in the valley between Truchas and Picuris, Las Trampas is approximately halfway between Taos and Santa Fe, on what is now the High Road to Taos. As with other communities established at that time, the village was built around a plaza. When the village came under attack, the entrances to the plaza could be blocked to create a fortress. And the village did survive numerous attacks, as well as a smallpox epidemic.

Of note is the church of San Jose de Gracia at Las Trampas, one of the finest examples of the parish church still existing, with outstanding reredos, or altar screens, painted by well-known santeros. Parish churches were a more elaborate structure, based on the original mission churches which were established by the Spanish in New Mexico. The mission churches were simple rectangular structures of adobe bricks with flat wood beam ceilings. They were fashioned after the fortified churches of Mexico, with tall, bright, white-washed interiors. Constructed of the same materials, the parish churches evolved into a cross-shaped plan like the great cathedrals of Mexico and Spain. To the exterior of the mission church were added one or two simple bell towers.

Travelers coming from the direction of Santa Fe, on the High Road to Taos, first see San Jose De Gracia as they round a bend in the mountain road and descend into the village. The church sits peacefully in the middle of the village, as it has for centuries. If the doors to the church are open, visitors are welcome to enter the church and view the works of art by local artisans which adorn the interior of the church. ~Aimee

Learn more about Trampas at Taos Unlimited

Day Trips: High Road to Taos, Part 2 in a Series

Cordova and Truchas
The next stops on the High Road to Taos are two communities small enough, and close enough together to share a zip code.

Cordova
Originally named Pueblo Quemado for  an ancient, burned-out pueblo, Cordova was settled as an expansion from the Chimayo valley. The tiny community was abandoned in 1748 due to renegade Indian attacks, and permanently re-settled by 1750, named Cordova for a prominent local family.

Cordova is best known for the Lopez family of Santeros, or saint-carvers.

Originally, Spanish usage reserved the term santos for holy personages, including the saints as well as the Holy Family and for blessed objects which represent or are associated with them. The term “santero” referred to a wide range of persons who cared for a church or chapel and its furnishings, or who made, repaired, or repainted images. While the term santos has evolved into a broader meaning, including spiritually significant icons as well as animals and other folk images, the meaning of santeros has narrowed, now referring only to those who carve santos.

Jose Dolores Lopez (1868-1937) was a fifth generation santero, and like his forbears, he made his living also by making carved and painted screen doors, frames, nichos, shelves, chairs, tables (and even mailboxes and coffins), as well as being a maker of paper flowers and filigree jewelry, and a weaver. He also served as the town cobbler.

Lopez’s early santos were in the traditional painted style, but in the 1920s he began to develop what would become a unique style to his family; intricately carved santos of natural wood. He made use of the natural grain and unusual shapes present in local woods such as juniper, aspen and cedar.

Though his son George grew up with the tradition, for a time he went his own way, working on the railroad in Colorado, and then in Los Alamos during World War II. During long nights in the railroad camps, George started whittling small santos reminiscent of those he had watched his father carve in his youth. After the war, he returned to Cordova to take up the art full time.

George’s work continued the evolution of the art form, and in 1982, he was awarded the National Heritage Fellowship by the National Endowment for the Arts. The Lopez santero tradition is carried on today by his niece Sabinita Lopez de Ortiz.

Truchas
The next stop on the High Road is Truchas, halfway between Santa Fe and Taos, where it straddles a ridge 8,400 feet above sea level. The colony of Truchas was established by a Spanish land grant in 1754 as an outpost. Built as a walled compound around a plaza, its purpose was to provide a buffer between other Spanish settlements and nomadic Apache and Comanche bands who often raided both Spanish villages and Indian pueblos.

There are numerous traditional crafts in evidence, including weaving, wood carving, furniture making, quiltmaking, and local pueblo pottery. In addition, Truchas has several galleries which feature contemporary local artwork and imported handicrafts.

Because the community has remained unchanged for so long, it still operates by many of the original Spanish land grant bylaws. For example, cars must share the roads with livestock, giving the livestock right-of-way.

Truchas offers stunning views of the Truchas Peaks, part of the Sangre de Cristo Mountains, (nearly 5,000 feet above the community) and the Espanola Valley. The Truchas Peaks are a beautiful group of mountains with a true wilderness character, making them a destination for serious hikers and climbers.

More about Cordova, New Mexico

More about Truchas, New Mexico

Day Trips: High Road to Taos, Part 1 in a Series

Chimayo
The High Road to Taos brings the traveler up 284 North from Santa Fe, through Pojoaque (Po-wa-kay) to Nambe. There, it leaves the highway to travel through the distinct and stunning landscape of the ‘badlands’ between Nambe and the tiny but historically significant village of Chimayo. A stop at this traditional Spanish town is a must, for it holds many mysteries and delights for the visitor. Built of plazas and placitas, Chimayo is home to the oldest surviving fortified plaza in the Southwest.

Chimayo is also home to the “Lourdes of America.” El Santuario de Chimayo is known for the healing powers of the earth, small amounts of which are taken away by the more than 300,000 who visit this shrine each year. The Santuario also attracts thousands of pilgrims who walk dozens, and sometimes hundreds of miles each Easter week to give thanks and ask for blessings.

Chimayo’s history and attraction for the faithful are only the beginning of what this little village has to offer. Stop in at one of its numerous restaurants to enjoy the famous heirloom Chimayo chile, a mild, but extremely flavorful variety of chile which was so prized for medicinal as well as cooking purposes, it was once used as a currency.

Then a look through the many galleries featuring traditional arts of the region is in order. You will find tin-smithing, painting and wood carving. But Chimayo’s best known artists are the Ortega and Trujillo families, who have been practicing traditional Spanish weaving in Chimayo for generations. Their art would ultimately become so revered, that it is now known as the Chimayo style of weaving. You will find blankets, clothing, purses, pillows, furniture mats, seat covers, couch throws, wall hangings, and one-of-a-kind tapestries.

Set as it is in its beautiful high desert landscape, and built of traditional adobe architecture, Chimayo offers the visitor a wealth of fascinating history, as well as exceptional dining and shopping.

Read more about the historic Spanish settlement of Chimayo