A couple of weeks back, after a full day of work at La Dona Luz, I awoke from a much needed nap. I grabbed a snack, set the house up for a night time return, and walked down the street. The warm light of sunset shone on the mountain peaks behind me and created a golden glow on the adobe architecture lining Paseo (del Pueblo Norte).
Along the way, towards the heart of town, I passed a patch of colorful zinnias and large-bodied marigolds, Ouray’s Spirit Runner Gallery of oil landscapes, a large twirling wind sculpture dangling from the branch of a chestnut tree, and a labyrinth circling in front of a Presbyterian Church. I turned off of the sidewalk and mozied across the green, spongy lawn of Kit Carson Park and to the TCA, the local community arts center.
The TCA was in its third evening of a lecture series provided by the Taos branches of UNM & SMU. That’s a lot of acronyms for one sentence. The evening’s speaker, Miguel Santistevan, shared, with an occasional dry humor, an intelligent look at the deeply historic regional subject of water usage and conservation through the acequia system, as well as traditional agriculture. Here’s a brief bio & summary: http://www.taoslecture.com/?page_id=38
Here’s a recording of the lecture:
Some important points I took from the lecture:
1. The acequia system has deep, cultural history that was adopted by this region and is a water source that is truly communal, creating its own system of trust and balance within the community.
2. The digging of the acequia and helping to open up the spring water flow is an opportunity for a Rite of Passage experience for local youth and their bond with the community.
3. There are many time tested methods, as well as current experimental methods, for conserving moisture for agricultural uses. Lowered, gridded “waffle” gardens with shade fences, rock piles to collect moisture and regulate heat, and even giant snowballs harvested in the spring and placed in the shade are some methods used.
4. As a reminder of the wild plants that have edible and medicinal use, many exist in this region right under our very feet, from watercress and lemon balm to a whole host of others.
5. Sustainable placement of features for land use is absolutely vital in order to make the entire regional system of acequias and agriculture to work.
6. Indigenous and historic seeds are able to adapt and flourish on their own, without much need for coaxing, and they offer a healthy diet. Genetically modified seeds are doomed to potentially fail on a mass level and offer poor dietary benefits.
I first came to Taos nearly 14 years ago and have come and gone four separate times, with numerous visits in between. After a full year spent in Oregon, I’m just now completing my first consecutive year-long stay in this unique community. Through that transient relationship, Taos has slowly become my adopted home.
It was once suggested through a mentor that, wherever one may travel, it is best and most efficient to learn from the natives. In the spirit of that idea, evenings such as this are about opening myself up to the greater local community and to learn from centuries of tradition, conservation, and survival. It feels of the greatest importance to connect with educators such as Miguel. Being native to the northeast, this is a landscape that will take years for me to truly come to understand and gain intimate familiarity with.
For a small town of perhaps 6,000 people (similar in size to the Pennsylvania town I grew up near), I’m always amazed at the colorful diversity, depth of cultural experiences, and mix of progressive attitude and tradition that exists here. And this on nothing more than a mundane Wednesday evening. It rivals any city that I would care to inhabit, yet with the quiet, steady pace of the Southwestern, small-town countryside.
After a brief chat with Miguel and others following the lecture, I left the TCA and retraced my footsteps home, gazing up at the stars along the way. Ten minutes later, I was lounging on the couch and eating dinner to the steady sounds of crickets and a myriad of other insects buzzing and chirping in a comfortable September night.
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