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Dear Las Golondrinas Supporters,
We hope your new year is off to a great start! We have certainly been keeping busy at Las Golondrinas. This is the time of year when we plan for the season, train our volunteers, prepare for school field trips, and most exciting of all, finalize the festival calendar.
We are pleased to announce the 2024 Festival Calendar:
Santa Fe Spring Festival | June 1-2
Santa Fe Wine Festival | July 6-7
Santa Fe Fiesta de los Niños | July 20-21
Santa Fe Beer & Food Festival | August 10-11
Santa Fe Renaissance Faire | September 14-15
Santa Fe Harvest Festival | October 5-6
Santa Fe Spirits of New Mexico | October 26
Mark your calendars and stay tuned for event updates in the newsletter and on social media.
Next Tuesday, we are kicking off the Winter Lecture Series, which will be held at the New Mexico Museum of History. Tickets are going fast for all three lectures, so reserve your tickets today! Scroll down for more information about the lecture series.
Most Sincerely,
Daniel Goodman
Museum Director
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The 2024 Winter Lecture Series kicks off next week! This award-winning lecture series has been recognized in the Best of Santa Fe for three years in a row. We have an exciting lineup of lecturers who will be speaking on a variety of fascinating topics. Tickets for all three lectures are now on sale.
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Jayne Aubele
New Mexico’s Geological Landscape
and Its Effect on Our Culture and Social History
January 30, 2024
6–7pm
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Dr. Stephen Lekson
Of Noble Kings Descended: Colonial Documents
and the Ancient Southwest
February 27, 2024
6–7pm
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Dr. Thomas Chavez
The Diplomacy of Independence:
Benjamin Franklin and Spain
March 26, 2024
6–7pm
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St. Francis Auditorium, The New Mexico Museum of Art
Tickets: $10, Free for Members of Las Golondrinas and MNMF
Members—Remember to reserve your free tickets online as well.
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Tamale Pie
This recipe is taken from Comidas de New Mexico by Lucy Delgado.
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Ingredients
- 1/4 lb pork sausage
- 1 1/2 tablespoons cold water
- 1 lb ground lean beef
- 2 Tbsp diced onion
- 1/2 cup chopped celery
- 1/2 bell pepper chopped fine or 2 green chile peppers
- 2 1/2 cups sieved tomatoes
- 1 cup sliced ripe olives
- 1 Tbsp chile powder
- Fresh ground black pepper
- 1 cup cold water
- 1 can whole kernel corn (12 oz can)
- 1/2 cup yellow corn meal
- 1 cup grated cheese
- Salt to taste
Directions
Place sausage into a large skillet, break meat with spoon, add 1/2 tablespoon of cold water and cook for about 5 minutes. Add beef, brown over medium heat. When meat is almost done, add celery, green pepper and onions. Cook until vegetables are tender. Add tomatoes, olives, and seasoning. Mix corn meal in cold water and add to meat mixture. Cook slowly until mixture thickens. Turn into a 2 qt. baking dish and bake in moderate oven for 45 minutes. Just before serving, sprinkle grated cheese on top. Serves 8.
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The 2024 season at Las Golondrinas is full of fantastic events and opportunities. If you join us as a member, you will get FREE ADMISSION to Las Golondrinas for one calendar year and to all 7 festival weekends! Memberships start at just $40 for an Individual and $60 for a Couple/Family. Join at the $100 level and you’ll also get free admission to over 1,000 other museums and attractions throughout North America. It's the best deal in town!
There are several benefits of membership, including:
- Free Museum Admission for One Year
- VIP Entrance During Large Festival Weekends
- Subscription to the Monthly E-Newsletter
- Invitation to Special Members-Only Events
- 10% Discount in the Museum Gift Shop
- Plus, more amazing benefits for higher levels of membership!
The generous donations from our members help to fund educational experiences for New Mexico children, the repair and restoration of our historic buildings and grounds, and the care of our churro sheep, burros, and goats.
Most exciting of all, we have continued our partnership with a private foundation that matches every dollar of your membership, automatically doubling your donation!
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by Annie Murchy, Agricultural Programming Assistant | |
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Did somebody say “seed catalogs”? January is the perfect time for getting your seeds in a row, and that is the bulk of what our Agriculture Department is doing here at Las Golondrinas. Anything from sharpening pruning shears, to organizing the greenhouse and cleaning out forgotten sheds, to going through our seed reserves and ordering fresh supplies. All are important ways to provide a little extra insurance for the season ahead.
Sometimes we might wish it were as easy as throwing seeds in the dirt and walking away but anyone who’s tried their hand at gardening (especially in the desert Southwest) can agree that it’s much more than that. It's forever a learning experience, and just when you think you’ve got a finger on its pulse, there is another lesson to learn. But isn’t that part of what makes it so rewarding?
Did you know that crop rotation is an important part of a healthy and thriving vegetable garden? It helps keep unwanted pests at bay and helps to prevent nutrient depletion in your soil. However, it’s not as easy as simple rotation because while some plants thrive next to each other, others will fail. Taking the time to track what was planted where from season to season, year to year, and using that information to plot out the next incarnation of your garden helps lead to a healthy and fruitful ecosystem. So, we take notes, do research, stay organized, plan ahead, work clean, but most importantly aren’t afraid to get dirty!
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by Laura Griego, Director of Education | |
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Tired of winter and ready for brighter, warmer days? We complain about the cold, the snow, driving in bad weather, and more, but these days we can feel cozy during New Mexico winters. However, things were a little rougher for our ancestors before central heating, paved roads, and indoor plumbing made life a little easier.
The winter of 1931 is a prime example of a really tough winter. New Mexicans witnessed more than four feet of snow across the state. The storm began on November 30 and didn’t cease for two days. People had to dig their way out of their homes and create pathways to animal pens and outdoor privies. Wood was the only source of heat so keeping warm and fed was a real concern. Severe temperatures followed the storm and snow remained on the ground in some parts until February. Livestock loss was widespread. The most vulnerable were those animals out in the open. Even those in enclosures suffered. Milk production dwindled and chickens ceased to lay eggs. What a harrowing experience for those who lived through it. Then two decades later New Mexicans endured the coldest day recorded in New Mexico history. On February 1, 1951, Gavilan, New Mexico reported negative 50 degrees. Now that’s a winter to complain about!
During the Great Depression and WWII, as if life wasn’t difficult enough, winters added additional challenges. Anthropologist and photographer, John Collier Jr. documented the daily life of rural New Mexicans as part of the New Deal Program. The photos offer a peek into the lives of our parents and grandparents in winter during the rough years. Here is a sampling. Some photos are from the Collier collection and others hail from the New Mexico History Museum Digital Photo Collection. Perhaps there’s some truth to their stories of walking to school in the snow uphill both ways.
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Photos:
- Peñasco couple stays warm by the stove
- Santa Fe Street Scene, 1948
- Chopping Firewood in Snow
- Man by Snow-Covered Wagon Eating Crackers, ca. 1920
- Peñasco Students Eating a Hot Lunch at School
- Los Alamos One-Room School in Winter, ca. 1930
Sources: weather.nmsu.edu, historyinsantafe.com, onlyinyourstate.com
Photos: Palace of the Governor Photo Archives & John Collier Collection
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by Amanda Mather, Curator of Collections | |
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The word chocolate, or cacao, comes to us from the Nahuatl word “xocolatl,” and the history of chocolate is long and storied. Its earliest archaeological appearance is around 1900 BCE, or 4,000 years ago, in Southern Mexico. Archaeologists have not been able to agree on which culture initially began cultivating cacao, but the tree is widely distributed throughout Mesoamerica.
Cacao grows on trees and forms long “ears” with a tough, brown outer shell. If you crack into the ear, you will find brown seeds surrounded by a sweet white flesh. If you’ve ever eaten a cacao nib or have tried unsweetened chocolate, you will quickly discover that cacao is quite bitter. This did not stop the Mesoamericans from imbibing cacao, most often in the form of a bitter drink mixed with herbs, spices, and sometimes maize. Harvesting cacao is no easy task, as the trees in their natural environment are around 60 feet tall. Between the taste, the intensity of harvesting, and cacao’s purported properties such as being an aphrodisiac and giving the drinker strength, cacao was very highly prized in the Pre-historic Americas.
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Cacao was not only something delicious to indulge in Mesoamerica, it was political and economic. Cacao was used as currency. For example, a day’s wages may have been 100 cacao seeds, while a tamale was worth one seed. It also played a role in rites such as marriage and funerals. Cacao played a big role in many Pre-contact societies, including the Maya, Olmec, and Aztec.
When Cortez came to Mexico, he witnessed the Aztec reverence for cacao firsthand. Bernal Diaz, one of his soldiers, writes of Montezuma being given chocolate in golden cups and described it as an aphrodisiac. The Spanish brought chocolate back with them to Spain. Someone (who I think we’d all like to thank) added sugar—and BAM! Chocolate took off in Europe! Within about 100 years of its introduction in Europe, chocolate was a must-have for the elite and soon the average Joe. Chocolate is still one of Europe’s favorite treats, just ask the Swiss!
New Mexico also has a long history with chocolate. In the grand kiva in Chaco Canyon, large cylindrical vessels, dating from about 1,000 years ago, were found. When tested, the vessels were found to contain theobromine, the chemical signature of cacao. Walked all the way up from Mesoamerica, this discovery shows just how vast the trading networks of Native peoples were. When Oñate came to New Mexico in the 1600s, he brought chocolate so precious it came locked in special jars to keep it safe. Cacao remained an expensive treasure here in New Mexico until trains made the transportation of manufactured goods a regular part of life.
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