Mysterious But Devout Penitente and other New Mexico, NM Local Custom Tips

There are many ways that people have chosen to worship God. Los Hermanos Penitentes in northern New Mexico and southern Colorado are very different from mainstream and have had to become secretive. One can still see things from their way of life. The pictures are from Truchas, NM, on NM-76.

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The custom of marking the site of a death on the highway has deep roots in the Hispanic culture of the Southwest, where these memorials are often referred to as Descansos, "resting places". Traditionally, Descansos were memorials erected at the places where the funeral procession paused to rest on the journey between the church and the cemetery. The association thus created among the road, the interrupted journey, and death as a destination, eventually found expression in the practice of similarly marking the location of fatal accidents on the highway. Descanos are sad in some respects but also moving in their love for the departed. One only needs to look at these pictures to see examples of how true this is. Everyone should honor and respect these sites. The main picture is doubly sad; it marks the resting places of two children. See KymbaNM's site for much more information.

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New Mexico is tricultural with Native American, Chicano (the historical meaning) and Anglo cultures blended together. Depending on how many days you have and how much hiking are you willing to do, you have many many options ranging from the Maxwell Museum of Anthropology on the University of New Mexico campus, to state monuments and national parks/monuments, to relatively remote, undeveloped sites like in the Ojito Wilderness where there are sacred Native American sites found near dinosaur remains, or to 12-mile round trip hikes to sites near a moonstone mine in the Gila Wilderness. New Mexico is a large state so you may have to focus on a particular area, culture, or time period. There are also sites in Arizona like Canyon de Chelly that you may not want to miss.

Here is a partial list of more sites for NM (*means see a separate tip or travelogue): Taos Pueblo*, Acoma Pueblo's Sky City*, Gila Cliff Dwellings*, El Morro*, El Malpais, Jemez State Monument*, Chaco Canyon*, Kasha Ktuwe Tent Rocks, Bandelier, Santuario de Chimayo*, City of Rocks*, Gran Quivira*, Echo Amphitheater*, New Mexico Museum of Natural History, Church of San Jose de Gracia*, Palace of the Governors*, Cathedral Basilica of St. Francis of Assisi*, Loretto Chapel*, Institute of American Indian Arts Museum*, Fiesta de Santa Fe Entrada*, various descanos and cemeteries*, Martineztown*, Madrid*, Albuquerque Old Town*, Gold Dust Ghost Town, ...

Other "nearby" sites include:
Colorado: Mesa Verde*, ...
Arizona: Sunset Crater*, Wupatki National Monument*, Grand Canyon*, Jerome, Bisbee, Ramsey Canyon, Tonto National Monument, ...

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