Travel Tips

The legendary Seven Cities of Gold were said to have been established by seven bishops who fled Spain after the Moorish conquest to hide gold, gems, and religious articles in the New World.

Ironically, the first exploration of New Mexico may have come about from an ill-fated Spanish attempt to settle Florida in 1527. A series of storms and shipwrecks stranded four survivors from this expedition near present-day Galveston, Texas. This group, which included Alvar Nuñez Cabeza de Vaca and an African slave named Estevan (also known as Estevan the Moor and Estevanico), spent more than eight years wandering through southern Texas and northern Mexico. They were the first Europeans to explore, albeit unwittingly, this part of North America. In 1536, the ragged survivors finally emerged from the wilderness at Culiacan, on the west coast of Mexico. Cabeza de Vaca’s report to the Spanish Viceroy, Antonio de Mendoza, included a brief mention of stories they had heard which told of large cities in the interior of the continent where valuable minerals were traded. These sparse but tantalizing bits of information sparked a renewed interest in the Spanish quest to find the “new” Mexico which had so far eluded them.

In 1539, Fray Marcos was sent on a scouting expedition to look for legenday Cibola (City of Gold), and returned with claims of having seen a village with buildings made of gold. Historians believe that village was Zuni. The most charitable interpretation has Fray Marcos seeing Zuni from afar mistook the sunset on adobe walls containing bits of silica as being the glimmer of a city of gold.

In January of 1540, Vásquez de Coronado set out from Mexico to find these fabled cities of gold. The chronicles tell us that when the expedition arrived at the outskirts of the multi-storied, stone and mud village of Hawikah, many unkind words were uttered about Fray Marcos, as the expectations conjured up by his imaginative report were nowhere to be seen. For the next two years, the expedition explored deep into the North American continent, but discovered only that the Seven Cities of Cibola were, after all, nothing but a myth. After Vásquez de Coronado was injured in a riding accident in the winter of 1542, the disheartened adventurers returned to Mexico. Despite their failure to find any cities of gold, history has shown the expedition to have been a journey of epic proportions. In little more than two years, Vásquez de Coronado and his men explored much of the southwestern United States, ventured deep into the plains of Kansas, descended the walls of the Grand Canyon, and visited all the major Indian villages in the region.

The fable of the Seven Cities never died, and still, in fact, lives today in stories about the seven caverns of gold beneath Victorio Peak north of Las Cruces, and now in a story being promoted in the Deming and Silver City area about seven caves of gold in the mountains of the region.

This latest entry in New Mexico's gold lore is the product of two Grant County men, Ruben Amador and Rollie Saavedra, who contend that petroglyphs on rocks, boulders and in caves in the area are actually treasure maps left by Fray Marcos de Niza, not by Indians who preceded them. They say the petroglyphs are in Spanish, and tell a Spanish story. Indians, they say, didn't need to carve treasure maps, because to them the treasure was common knowledge. Amador and Saavedra contend there were seven caves deep in the mountains where gold was mined and traded with the Aztecs. They say a common pictograph in the area is a cross enclosed in a clover, which was de Niza's mark. Amador, a former heavy equipment operator, says he will devote the rest of his life to breaking the code of the petroglyphs, and he predicts he will do it.

Petroglyphs of the image of Kokopelli are found carved on walls throughout the southwest dating back 3,000 years. The hump on his back is said to be full of seeds, which are scattered over the earth to bring new crops. The flute is a phallic symbol so some have called him the "Cassanova of the Cliff Dwellers." He is also thought to be a prankster.

In a Winnebago variation of the legend, he possessed a detachable *** he would float downstream which, undetected, would impregnate the maidens bathing in the river. In other legends, he would bring the Spring, his flute music warming the earth and causing the villagers to dance the night away. In the morning, the crops would be sprouting, and all the women would all be pregnant.

When present, Kokopelli’s phallus is unusually long and erect, symbolizing the fertile seeds of human reproduction. It usually projects upward from the lower body and is sometimes only represented as a single line or arrow. His phallus is clearly depicted in a thousand year old bowl displayed at Mesa Verde National Park. It is thought that Kokopelli’s image was "cleaned up" over the years (his phallus depicted less often) due, in part, to the influence of Catholic priests who worked hard to Christianize the natives of the American Southwest. In the modern genre, Kokopelli often wears a kilt and a sash.

Other versions of the legend recount our hero carrying a sack of deerskins & moccasins to barter for brides, and some to the effect that he entered villages to sew with the women in order to seduce them, while his wife, Kokopelli-mana, would run after the men.

In all, his music is thought to bring joy, a regeneration of life, and gaiety.
Kokopelli embodied everything pure and spiritual about music. He and his magical flute traveled from village to village bestowing gifts and spreading cheer to all whom he visited. His flute was said to symbolize happiness and joy. When he played his flute, the sun came out, the snow melted, grass began to grow, birds began to sing, and all the animals gathered around to hear his songs. His flute music soothed the Earth and made it ready to receive his seed. The magic of his flute was also thought to stimulate creativity and help good dreams come true.

Kokopelli’s flute is said to be heard in the spring’s breeze, while bringing warmth. It is also said that he was the source of human conception. Legend has it, everyone in the village would sing and dance throughout the night when they heard Kokopelli play his flute. The next morning, every maiden in the village would be with child.

Kokopelli is found in numerous petroglyphs & pictographs throughout the Southwest, and almost always he is portrayed a little differently. He is a representation of many things & many stories. He could be the "puchteca" who was an Aztec or Toltec trader who brought goods to the villages & came with the music of the flute to announce himself, or perhaps "Nepokwai-i," who the Pueblos & Hopi speak of. "Nepokwai-i" is told to be a large black man, presumably a Moor, who was a scout for the exploration party of Friar Marcos de Niza. He had an entourage of females & gifts which followed his journey to the Zuni village of Hawikuh. Perhaps the legend of Kokopelli comes from the Navaho tale which concerns a gambler & his hunchbacked companion. The stories go on ad infinitum.

From those images, today we draw our own conclusions. Kokopelli is most often seen today as the flute player with a feathered headpiece and stands as a symbol of abundance & fertility.

People in the southeastern region of the state love to relate the legend of Pavla Blanca, ghost of the Great White Sands.

The figure is thought to be of a beautiful Spanish maiden named Manuela, who searches the dunes in vain for her lover, who was killed by an Apache warrior on the edge of White Sands while he accompanied the expedition of Francisco Vazquez de Coronado in 1540. While the rest of the exploration party managed to escape the skirmish, the injured Luna was left to die somewhere on the ever-shifting sands.

Distraught by the news of her lover's disappearance, it is said that a determined Manuela set out to look for Luna. Although she was never seen alive again, many claim she is visible in her flowing wedding gown on the windy dunes every evening - searching for his eternal sandy grave.

The ghostly figure usually appears as the evening winds sweep over the vast white gypsum dunes just after sunset, whipping up wraithlike eddies of sand.

This particular legend is still being used to scare children into behaving ..... "i.t's not the wind, it's La Llorona" ...

Maria was a beautiful, young mother who was becoming more and more distressed with her husband's behavior. It seemed he only kept her around because of the children, and would rather spend time with them [or other women]instead of her.

One particular day, in a rage of jealousy and dispair, she threw her children into the river. She immediately regretted what she had done and ran crying down the river attempting to retrieve her boys. She was unsuccessful, and broke down along the side of the river - inconsolable.

Despite everything the townspeople did to help her, her depression deepened. She wore her white gown and wandered the riverbanks, arroyos, and creeks crying for her children. She stopped eating and eventually died on the banks of the river.

Shortly after her burial, children who had been playing near the river after dark, disappered. Later, she was seen walking along the local waterways - still wandering and crying ... bringing terror to all who heard her.

She became known as La Llorona, and it is believed if one encounters her near the water and after dark - whe will repeat the act that led to her extreme grief. Most locals believe La Llorona is why so many people drown in the ditches and rivers of New Mexico.

Part Deer, part Rabbit .... evolution has allowed Jacaklopes to evolve only in certain 'cowboy infested' regions of the west and southwest US. They are rare, and some consider them extinct ..... only the males have antlers, and my 'milking' them when they are asleep, healing properties can be used by all. To learn more go to this Jackalope link ....

Or, if you want to now where to buy one of your very own ........

is also known as as the legendary 'Goat Sucker'. This vampire-like creature was considered the source of the cattle mutilations by the more traditional locals.

This specimen was all over the local news, and some websites, after being found on the West Mesa area of Albuquerque.

Find out more about the legend of the Chupacabra ....... Skeptics Dictionary