Hidden Gem of the Taos High Road: Nuestra Señora del Rosario, Las Truchas NM

Nuestra Señora del Rosario Church exterior, Truchas NM

Nuestra Señora del Rosario Church exterior, Truchas NM

Las Truchas, named after the trout found in its streams, is one of the small historic communities of New Mexico's Taos High Road.  This 56 mile road winds through the Sangre de Cristo Mountains between Santa Fe and Taos connecting the tiny Spanish Land Grant and Pueblo Indian villages in its path.  Initially built as a walled compound, Truchas was created in 1754 as a buffer to protect Santa Fe and Rio Grande villages from raids by roving Apache and Comanche bands. 

Las Truchas' church, Nuestra Señora del Rosario, was finished around 1805 and is still used for worship in the summer months.  It contains important altar screens (reredos) by famed New Mexican santeros Pedro Antonio Fresquis, the "Truchas Master", and Rafael Aragon. 

The adobe church is small and narrow, with a single aisle and wooden beam roof typical of New Mexican churches. A choir loft is present in the back of the church.

Nuestra Señora del Rosario Church, Truchas NM

Back of Church showing Choir Loft, Nuestra Señora del Rosario Church, Truchas NM,

The main altar, seen in the photos below, was created by the "Truchas Master", santero Pedro Antonio Fresquis between 1800-1818. The santero style was unique in the Colonial world for reasons I discuss in my  September 9, 2014 post  "Understanding New Mexico's Santos". ( Note that photos enlarge when clicked to better show detail).

Main Altar by "Truchas Master" Antonio Fresquis, Nuestra Señora del Rosario, Truchas NM

Very top: God the Father- it is convention of place this image at the very top of altars.

Top row from viewer left to right:  San Juan Nepomuceno (St. John of Nepomuk, 14th century Bohemian saint), Our Lady of Carmel, Our Lady of the Rosary for whom the church is named, St. Francis, St. Gertrude the Great. 

Bottom row viewer L to R: St. John the Evangelist, St. Josep, empty niche, St. Anthony of Padua, St. Barbara.

The Latin inscriptions above the altar in the scroll-shaped pieces, Ave Maria and In Gratia Plena, are the opening words of the Hail Mary.  In front of the empty niche on the bottom row is a small bulto (statue) of the Crucified Jesus.

Bulto of Christ, Nuestra Señora del Rosario, Truchas NM

Two beautiful bultos of the Virgin Mary are located on top of the front altar.

Bulto of Virgin Mary, Nuestra Señora del Rosario, Truchas NM

Bulto of Virgin of the Rosary, Nuestra Sen1ora del Rosario, Truchas NM

On a small table to the left of the altar is a bulto attributed to the Santo Niño Santero, who was most know for his exquisitely carved crucifixes.

Bulto of Jesus by Santo Niño Santero, Nuestra Señora del Rosario, Truchas NM

On the wall the left of the main altar is a retablo by the famous and prolific santero Rafael Aragon, born in Santa Fe sometime between 1783 and 1790.  This retablo from viewer L to R shows St. Paul, Jesus and St. Peter.

Retablo by Rafael Aragon, Nuestra Señora del Rosario, Truchas NM

To the right of the main altar, and seen below, is another retablo by Pedro Antonio Fresquis, this one dated 1821. Top: Trinity depicted as three men, a Colonial Mexican convention that was continued in New Mexican religious art.

Second row  L to R: the Crucifixion, Our Lady of Sorrows

Bottom:  Our Lady of Carmel, St. Gregory's Mystical Mass

Retablo by Pedro Antonio Fresquis, Nuestra Señora del Rosario, Truchas NM

The Truchas church provides an opportunity to see images usually only found in museums (such as the Palace of the Governors in Santa Fe or the city's Museum of International Folk Art)  in the setting for which they were originally created.  The retablos and bultos were not pieces of art, but liturgical art that was used in worship and very significant in the religious lives of the people of colonial New Mexico.  These images differ from the religious art you will see in other parts of the Mexican Colonial world for reasons explained in my Sept. 9, 2014 blog post.

It is difficult to visit the Truchas church since it is open only during the summer and then at limited times.  Special permission from the Archdiocese of Santa Fe is generally necessary for admission to the church and photography is strictly forbidden, except with special permission which this writer was fortunate enough to obtain.  During the High Road Art Tour, which is always the last two weekends in September, the church is said to be open at certain times but it is best to check before going.

Art as Sacrifice: the Sawdust Carpets of Barrio Sutiava, Leon Nicaragua

Creating a Sawdust Carpet, Holy Friday, Barrio Sutiava, Leon Nicaragua

We have been conditioned to think of art as something permanent,  something of intrinsic value to be preserved.  Yet, there are other way to think about and use art.  Sometimes it is the process and intention behind the creation of a piece of art that are most important, not the outcome itself.  Such works of art are made to be fleeting moments of beauty dedicated to a higher cause.  The beautiful sand mandalas painstakingly created by Tibetan monks are one example.  These intricate designs are ceremonially destroyed when they are finished and the sand deposited in a stream or river to bless the world around it. 

Monk working on Mandala, Aspen Colorado

Ceremonial Destruction of Mandala by Monks in Aspen Colorado

Another of these perishable art-forms are the sawdust carpets created throughout Latin America during the season of Lent leading up to Easter day. (Also see post of March 25, 2016 on the carpets of Antigua, Guatemala).   They typically are made the same day or evening before one of the many Lenten and Easter processions in these countries to create a sanctified surface for the feet of the holy procession.

These carpets are labor of love and religious dedication; the work is painstaking and difficult.  The carpets below were constructed on a mercilessly hot Good Friday in Sutiava, a barrio  or section of Leon Nicaragua.  As someone explained, the work itself is a kind of meditation,  done prayerfully as a personal sacrifice and gift to the glory of the procession that is to follow.  It is a way to personally participate in the holiness of the event.

Group creating a Sawdust Carpet, Holy Friday, Barrio Sutiava, Leon Nicaragua

                                

                                       

Creating a Sawdust Carpet, Holy Friday, Barrio Sutiava, Leon Nicaragua

                                 

Early in the day the the base of the carpets, blank rectangles of dirt are laid out, ready for the carpet designs that,  In Sutiava, will be made free-hand, based on some image or idea. 

Bases for Sawdust Carpets, Holy Friday, Barrio Sutiava, Leon Nicaragua

                                 

Beginning a Sawdust Carpet, Holy Friday, Barrio Sutiava, Leon Nicaragua

                                 

The designs are made with colored sawdust that is placed on top of the dirt base.

Creating a Sawdust Carpet, Holy Friday, Barrio Sutiava, Leon Nicaragua

                                   

The process is painstaking and difficult 

Creating a Sawdust Carpet, Holy Friday, Barrio Sutiava, Leon Nicaragua

                                

and, typically, groups of people collaborate on a carpet.

Creating a Sawdust Carpet, Holy Friday, Barrio Sutiava, Leon Nicaragua

Occasionally, in the Sutiava carpets, a pre-made stencil will be used for detail, as in the edge of the carpet below.

Carpet Stencil, Holy Friday, Barrio Sutiava, Leon Nicaragua

                                  

Sawdust Carpet detail, Holy Friday, Barrio Sutiava, Leon Nicaragua

By contrast in Antigua Guatemala use of stencils is more wide-spread and the stencils are more elaborate, being sold commercially. Because of the stencil use the carpets have a much more geometrical look, resembllng Oriental carpets.( "Anatomy of a Sawdust Carpet" 3/25/15).

Making Stencils for Sawdust Carpets, Antigua Guatemala

Stencils for making Sawdust Carpets, Antigua Guatemala

Sawdust Carpet, Antigua Guatemala

                                    

Sawdust Carpet, Antigua Nicaragua

Sawdust Carpet, Antigua Guatemala

The carpets of Sutiava have a very different visual impact.  Their religiosity is much more straightforward and devotional; they are powerful statements of personal faith. The Antigua carpets do contain religious symbolism, but the religiosity of the Sutiava carpets is personal and direct.

Sawdust Carpet, Good Friday, Barrio Sutiava, Leon Nicaragua

Sawdust Carpet on Good Friday, Barrio Sutiava, Leon Nicaragua

Sawdust Carpet on Good Friday, Barrio Sutiava, Leon  Nicaragua

Sawdust Carpet on Good Friday,  Barrio Sutiava  Leon Nicaragua

As with the Tibetan mandalas, the glorious designs of the carpets are demolished as soon as the religious procession for which they were created begins.  There is no sense of regret at their destruction, because they have lived their brief lives and served their purpose.                                              

Processional carpet after its destruction, Holy Saturday, St. John Seelos Church, New Orleans, Louisiana

                                              

Creating an Earthly Paradise: The Huertos of Guatemala and Nicaragua

Huerto, La Merced Church, Antigua, Guatemala

The Holy Week huertos of Antigua, Guatemala are true spectacles with a deep religious and communal significance.   They are created in churches in conjunction with velaciones, portrayals of scenes of Christ's passion and the beautiful sawdust carpets for which Antigua is famous.  (Please remember that all photos enlarge when clicked for better viewing details).

                                                   

Huerto, La Merced Church, Antigua, Guatemala

                                                                                                     

The fruits and vegetables that go into creating the huerto, in English orchard or garden, are donated by church members and neighbors and often are later sold at a reduced price or given away to people who need them.

Huertos symbolize the abundance and redemption that come with the resurrection of Christ on Easter.  There is also some association with the idea of garden, since it was in the Garden of Gethsemane that Jesus prayed during the unfolding of the events leading up to the crucifixion.

The huertos  of Nicaragua are quite different from the geometrical, elaborate ones seen in Guatemala, although the idea of plenty is present in the copious fruit and foodstuffs used to decorate them.   They are open-sided  enclosures constructed out of sticks and covered with palm fronds.  In some places they are filled with fruits and other types of food. The five photos below were taken in Diria and Diriomo, pueblos in the Masaya region outside of Granada.

Building a Huerto, Holy Wednesday,  Dioriomo, Nicaragua

Building a Huerto, Holy Wednesday, Diria Nicaragua

Building a huerto, Diria, Nicaragua

Huerto,  Holy Wednesday, Diria Nicaragua

Huerto, Holy Wednesday, Diria, Nicaragua

In Granada Nicaragua, the huertos were  somewhat different.  They, too, had stick frames covered with palm fronds, but their interiors were less elaborately decorated with foodstuffs. Instead, each was used as a shelter for a holy figure from the church. In some of the booths religious items were being sold- rosaries and small pieces of cloth that were rubbed on the figures and then were worn or carried by people to confer protection on them.

             
                                         

Huerto, Holy Wednesday night, Granada, Nicaragua

Huerto,  Holy Wednesday night, Granada, Nicaragua

                                    

Huerto, Holy Wednesday night, Granada Nicaragua

Huerto, Holy Wednesday night, Granada, Nicaragua

These huertos are built on Holy Wednesday and remain up the following day.  They  provide worshippers an opportunity to be close to the images, these figures of Jesus, Mary and others that are normally on display in a church or carried in procession.  The huertos  provide an environment of intimacy in which people can interact with these figures and receive the spiritual benefits of this.    

Islamic Influences in Colonial Latin America

San Francisco Acatepec, Puebla, MX
                                          

Bell Tower of San Francisco Acatepec, Puebla MX 

                                              
Colonial Latin American material culture is full of elements that are usually termed Arabic or Islamic.  One instance is the tile-covered façade of the Puebla, Mexico church in the above photo  (please click photo to enlarge).  The Spanish word for these tiles,azulejos,is derived from an Arabic word meaning "polished stone".  

Background:
What typically are termed  "Islamic influences"  in the material culture of colonial Latin America and the mother country, Spain, are really much more than just that.  Spain as a completely Catholic nation has only existed since 1492, when the last bastion of Muslim control, Granada, fell to the forces of the Ferdinand and Isabella.  The reconquista, which began as early as 718 when Christian Asturias opposed the Moors, proceeded and receded piecemeal over the next  seven and a half centuries.  Toledo fell to Catholic forces in 1085 and in 1212 most of what had been Al-Andalus (Islamic Iberia) became Catholic controlled.  

However, even when Muslim rulers were no longer actually in charge, Muslims and their long-standing culture remained in Spain as the dominant cultural aesthetic force.  Arabic had long been the written and spoken lingua franca for citizens of all religions, Jews, Christians and Muslims.  In fact, when Columbus and his crew first landed in Cuba, a crew member used Arabic to try and communicate with the Taino chieftain; it was assumed that Arabic was a universal language.  

Such continuation of the Islamic style can be seen in the church of   San Roman in Toledo. This church was built in the 13th century, well after the 9th century reconquest of Toledo and yet the mudejar influence is clear.  Mudejar style emerged in the 12th century in the Christian areas of Spain and continued to be a strong influence even after Muslims were no longer involved in architecture.

Church of San Roman, Toledo Spain

Compare the form of this Toledo church window to that of the niche in the Fez, Morocco building below.  Arches, such as this horseshoe arch below are a design element in Morocco and throughout the Islamic world.

Niche in building, Fez Morocco

The nunnery, the Royal Convent of Santa Clara in Tordesillas Spain was built in 1363 in an area that was long out of Muslim control.  The architecture is mudejar and the Christian inscriptions in the tile-work are in Arabic.  

Monastery of Santa Clara , Tordesillas Spain

Monastery of Santa Maria la Real de las Huelgas, Spain

The minaret of the Great Mosque of Seville had a notably tall minaret (tower used by muezzin to call faithful to prayer) that was admired by the Castilians when they took 
Seville in 1248.   This minaret was incorporated into the Cathedral of Seville as its bell tower with some redesigning in 1568.

La Giralda, Seville Spain

As it was, there was a kind of dialogue between the old faith (Islam) and the new, conquering faith (Christianity) that was carried out on the level of material culture.  
The victorious Christian Castilians kept and re-used elements of Islamic culture, which had once been the dominant culture of the Iberian Peninsula.
    


Latin American Examples:  

The Spanish brought their aesthetic styles with their pervasive Islamic residue along with them to the New World.  Craftsmen were imbued with what had been the dominant aesthetic of the Iberian world for so many centuries that it became a part of the vernacular architecture of the New World in Mexico and elsewhere.

Azulejos:


Elaborate geometric tile-work is pervasive in the architecture of the Islamic world, as in this Fez, Morocco building.

Add caption

Notice the similarities in the work of this Puebla, MX church. Throughout Mexico, geometric tile-work is found alongside figural art.  

San Francisco Acatapec, Puebla, MX  

Alfarjes:

The two photos below are of a ceiling in 16th century Oaxacan church, the ex-Convento of Santo Domingo, Yanhuitlán.  The Spanish term for them is artesanado and ceilings like them are found throughout the colonial Latin American world.  They are based on a type of wooden ceiling found in Spanish Moorish architecture; some are more simple, consisting of horizontal wood ceilings structured through beams that can be either plain or ornamental.

Artesanado-Yanhuitlan, Oaxaca MX

Artesanado-Yanhuitlan, Oaxaca MX

                                                                          

 Enclosed Balconies:

Called Mashrabiya in Arabic, these enclosed porches are found throughout the Islamic world to offer privacy to the occupants of a house.  

Fez

Below, the same type of wooden enclosed porch is seen:

Lima

  Interior Patios:

Courtyards are an ancient feature of building design, but the house built around a central patio originated in Greece and was adopted by the Romans. Fully-enclosed patio houses offered privacy to occupants and were functional for cooling and heating. 
Islamic Spain used this style of building and it became the vernacular architectural style in colonial Latin America.

Riyadh interior, Fex Morrocco

House interior, Puebla,MX

Conclusions:

What we today call Islamic architecture is a product of the Muslim conquest in the 7th and 8th centuries.  Elements, Persian, Roman Byzantine and others, from lands conquered formed the basis of the style that came to be known as Islamic.  These elements underwent a further transformation in contact with the North African Moors resulting in the mudejar style of the Iberian peninsula and, later, Spanish colonies. This mudejar had become so entrenched thoughout much of the Iberian Peninsula, that it became the dominant Spanish style even after Islamic Spain no longer existed.