Herrera, Ramón (Albuquerque, NM)
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Document Type
Audio
Publication Date
3-20-1984
Recommended Citation
Atrisco Oral History Project (MSS 565), Center for Southwest Research and Special Collections, University Libraries, University of New Mexico.
COinS
Comments
[Conversation in Spanish interwoven with some English] Las Pastorelas in Atrisco, a Spanish legacy that commemorates the nativity of Jesus. Description of the meaning and characters that participated in the Pastorela. Historical background on the Pastorela and how people in NM celebrated this religious event as a serious ritual different from the original Spanish Pastorela that was presented as a comedy act. Las pastorelas se celebran en los pueblitos de la Sierra y norte de Nuevo México. It is not celebrated in urban areas as young generations are more alienated by the media culture. Memories of Atrisco when he was young, Atrisco was a small town with few families, the Republican dominance until the Great Depression hit the area and the Democratic party started to gain favor among the local people. Means of transportation: cars pulled by oxen or horses on dust roads. He went to Atrisco School. Instruction was in English and Spanish. Anecdote of the arrival of a black kid to school. He learned English in school. He mentioned that the language policy was confusing sometimes they were punished for speaking Spanish and some other times punished for not speaking Spanish, but English was the dominant language of instruction and school communication. He says he does not believe in bilingual education programs. La Merced de Atrisco and its management, the regulation of passing the lands to heirs of the original owners granted by the Guadalupe Hidalgo Treaty. He did not inherit land, but his mother did. He says it was some kind of lottery to apply for land granted by the commissioners. The Herederos Unidos that later became a corporation. Under the corporation regulation the land was granted to share holders, or the old owners who were made stake holders in exchange of some development in the area. Yet, the political and individual interests of different council members ended the Merced of Atrisco. More details on the management of the corporation, the land rights passed to heirs and the heirs' gradual loss of land rights.