Santa Fe Local Customs

Visiting some of New Mexico's pueblos is an excellent way to learn about the history and culture of the indigenous peoples. Because they are recognized as Sovereign Nations, they also are allowed their own specific laws governing conduct and accessibility, which vary greatly from tribe to tribe. For instance, some allow visitors to roam freely, some can be seen only on guided tours, and still others allow no visitors at all.

Beyond that, here are some common regulations you can expect:
• Kivas and other sacred places are usually off-limits - respect areas designated as such.

• Photography is often severely restricted or not allowed at all. Some pueblos allow still cameras but no video, and you may be asked to buy a permit for taking pictures. Never photograph the people unless given permission, or specific areas posted off-limits to cameras.

• Don't look into windows, doorways or enter houses unless specifically allowed to do so, don't climb on walls or ladders, and keep a tight rein on little ones.

• Check for pueblos that may be closed on religious days and if allowed to attend ceremonial dances, behave as if you would in church - no chatting during the dance or applause afterwards.

Best rule of thumb is to acquaint yourself with each pueblo's rules at the start of your visit and to remember that you are a guest in someone's home.

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Santa Fe's unique appearance is due to the thoughtful preservation of its historic structures and to a zoning code, passed in 1957, that dictates how new buildings must look. New construction within older sections of the city has to be styled after specific Territorial, Pueblo or Spanish architectural styles that are considered traditional to the original town. The result is a harmonious blend of old and new: colors and materials that reflect the treasured cultural heritages that make Santa Fe truly "The City Different". The zoning codes also eliminate eye-sore strip malls, disproportionate building sizes and heights, and boxy, boring office and apartment buildings - hooray.

While many of the structures look like adobe, they're usually concrete with a stuccoed overcoat. Tradesman skilled in the craft have become a bit scarce so real adobe has become very expensive to build. They also involve a certain amount of maintenance as earthen walls can take just so many rainy days before they need a facelift!

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New Mexicans love color and their favorite shades decorate everything that can possibly be painted, dyed or planted. Vivid chile reds, bright turquoise blues, sunny yellow, fiery orange, cool greens and rich purples are woven into textiles, brushed onto furniture and dinnerware, dabbled into artworks and heaped inside window boxes and pots. Maybe it's because they're such a perfect combination with terra cotta adobe walls, or maybe it's because it's impossible to be cranky when surrounded by all those cheerful hues but it's one of the things I love most about the Southwest.

One facet of the Old West style towns I love and very prevalent in New Mexico due to the high amounts and sun and heat are covered pavements. Tourists love the way they look and they are very practical if visiting in the warmer months when it might otherwise be far too hot to shop during the midday when it's certainly too hot to do much else. Santa Fe has a nice twist on the theme by painting the wooden parts bright hues in start contrast to the adobe red clay the main structures are made of. It makes for great photographic opportunities.

New Mexico is chilies country and the popular deep and bright red of the dried chilies is prevalent in Santa Fe as in most other cities in the state. The traditional string called a ristra They are popular with the locals for decoration as well as for spicing in their southwest cuisine but it's obviously one of the main souvenirs sought by tourists as you see them for sale everywhere.

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Fiesta de Santa Fe has a long history, having been held every year since 1712 to celebrate the retaking of the city in 1692 by Don Diego de Vargas after the Pueblo Revolt of 1680. The burning of Zozobra, Old Man Gloom, starts three days of celebration that include: mass at Cathedral Basilica of St. Francis of Assisi; a reenactment of the Entrada, when de Vargas returned to the city; a Children's Pet Parade; the Historical/Hysterical Parade; the Fiesta Ball and Roman Catholic masses of thanksgiving. These pictures are from the 2005 Entrada.

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According to Wikipedia, mariachi is a type of musical group, originally from Jalisco, in Mexico. Usually a mariachi consists of at least two violins, two trumpets, one Mexican guitar, one vihuela (a high-pitched, five-string guitar) and one guitarrón (a small-scaled acoustic bass). The vihuela and guitarrón must be included for a group to be considered a mariachi. They dress in silver studded charro outfits with wide-brimmed hats. The original mariachi were Mexican street musicians or buskers.

During the Fiesta de Santa Fe on Labor Day weekend, the Mariachi Extraveganza de Santa Fe is held at the Opera House; however, mariachi bands also stroll around the Plaza singing and playing.

This pinyon tree was pointed out to me as we walked along the streets of Santa Fe. We had noticed the wonderfully aromatic fragrance of the pinyon wood when the fireplace in our room was lit.

After searching the internet for information on this tree, I found out some interesting facts. New Mexican Pinyon trees are widespread, usually growing below the elevation of 7500 feet. They do not often grow beyond 20-30 feet and can be wider than they are tall. These trees commonly live 350-450 years, not producing cones until after 100 years old.

The pinyon tree which grows in New Mexico, provides edible pine nuts to much of the American Southwest. It was a major food source of the Native American indians who lived in this area. Since this nut nourished animals, too, numbers of nuts buried for later use often germinate. In this way, the pinyon pine relies on these creatures to help the species spread.

Early Europeans credit the pinyon nut for preventing their starvation. The Pinyon Jay and the tree seem to benefit each other--one provides the nuts and the other's beak has evolved to expertly pluck the nuts from the cone. However, some seeds fall to the ground and eventually are covered over, enabling them to grow.

This bit of info. came from an article by Stuart K. Wier on earthlink.net