LITERATURE AS GUIDEPOSTS ON MY IMMIGRANT JOURNEY
By Kei Tsuzuki
“What I have learned from books is that there is no one story that explains the world to us or captures our identity entirely. There is power in the specificity of each of our stories…”
RUDOLFO ANAYA’S MAGIC WITH WORDS
By Chris Chaves
“It seems that, for Anaya at least, libraries and the magical words hidden in their books can serve to impart knowledge, facilitate love, and encourage empathy about others.”
THE BANDANA BRIGADE: WITH HEARTS AND HANDS, WOMEN DO IT TOGETHER
By Kim Suina Melwani
“Like a ‘bandana brigade’ these women seemed ready to face whatever obstacles that came their way.”
REFLECTIONS ON THE BLACK FOOTPRINT IN NEW MEXICO
By Darryl Wellington
“Let’s begin with a story that reflects my concerns that the Black presence isn’t significantly appreciated — but that simultaneously reaffirms my belief in the importance of teaching New Mexican Black history.”
A MUSLIM FITTING INTO NEW MEXICO
By Ryqir Haden
“I am a Muslim, and I belong in Las Cruces, New Mexico. Surprised? So am I.”
BREAD OF DEATH AND LIFE: A SHORT HISTORY OF PAN DE MUERTOS
By Vanessa Baca
“‘Bread is life.’ This platitude is among the most well-known in our culture, yet when we consider the Mexican holiday El Día de los Muertos and the food associated with that celebration, it takes on a much more significant and poignant meaning.”
PRE-PANDEMIC GRIEF, ANCESTRAL MEMORY, MOURNING THE WORLD IN 2020 AND HEALING IN THE PRESENT
By Venaya Yazzie
“I now find myself dwelling upon ancestral homelands of my Diné (Navajo) matriarchs and male patriarchs in the San Juan Valley and at Huerfano, N.M.”
IT’S THE MOST WONDERFUL TIME OF THE YEAR: THE BURNING OF ZOZOBRA AND HERALDING THE NEW SEASON
By Nicolasa Chávez
“Now celebrating his 99th year, Zozobra is older than the Macy’s Thanksgiving Parade and the lighting of the Rockefeller Center Tree.”
ANCIENT DEATH RITUALS RUN DEEP IN NEW MEXICO
By Ana Pacheco
“Through the mid-20th century some women wore the tápalo in the villages of northern New Mexico. That tradition is long gone, but the one that remains is the descanso, the roadside memorial.”
ESTHER MARTINEZ (P’OE TSÁWÄ/BLUE WATER): A MATRIARCH OF PUEBLO LANGUAGE PRESERVATION
By Kim Suina Melwani
“By age seven, Martinez no longer had her elders, their stories, or her grandmother’s cooking to ease the transition as she reoriented herself to boarding school life about twenty miles south of her village of Ohkay Owingeh.”