"Sacred Soil & Plastic Madonnas" a Chimayo Travel Page by kymbanm

Santuario de Chimayo has been calling me for months ....... and everytime I have tried to make it up there someone, or something, has prevented my journey. This particualr weekend, I decided to go. I decided no one would stop me.

I'm so glad I made it up there when I did. Fall colors greated me along my drive as I wandered into the higher elevations. The sky was a gorgeous New Mexico blue. The birds happily sang and dove about us as we walked from the parking lot. The air was crisp.

How can healing intentions not occur after this special day?The day was perfect, happy and filled with spirituality. I was meant to be there on this day, at this time. I don't know why yet, but it was as it should be.

The town of Chimayo is known for it's weaving and folkart. Since the 1600's, locals worked with wool and wood... generations of artists have lived in Chimayo and struggled to protect their family art.

I"ll be honest, I didn't wander town much this day ... today was just to enjoy the Santuario de Chimayo. This church contains the crucifix and sacred soil which are reputed to be responsible for miraculous cures .... also known as Lourdes of North America, Chimayo is special; regardless of your belief system You can feel the energy in your pores. As a matter of fact, Chimayo's water and dirt were known to be special forces used in Native American ceremonies for ages before the Europeans even thought of arriving here :)

Most of New Mexico is a blend of spirituality with touches of tackiness ... Chimayo is no different. In one glance you see religious devotion portrayed with amazing artistic skill. You turn your head and you find yourself staring at a 6 inch plastic madonna that not only is meant to hold holy water, but also glows in the dark. Yup, I love my home :)

Like most of New Mexico, chile is important to Chimayo ...... but where Hatch is known for it's green chile, Chimayo is known for it's red chile. Being harvest season, chile ristras were everywhere we turned this day! I did happen to pick up a bit of Chimayo Holy Chile .... why not? It's really tastey!