Espanola Valley Communities

Shoppers at the market.

The Espanola Valley is host to many distinct ethnic and social communities. Here you'll find weathered farmers who speak the Spanish or Tewa of their grandparents, bespectacled scientists from Los Alamos National Laboratories, Sikh families, world-class artists and weekend warriors, all eating at the same drive-in or pushing carts at the grocery store.

One of the treasures of the Valley is Ohkay Owingeh, formerly known as San Juan Pueblo, the site of Don Juan de Onate's first settlement in New Mexico. Today, it is the largest of the Tewa-speaking Pueblos, and the headquarters of the Eight Northern Indian Pueblos Council. It is also home to the Oke-Oweenge Crafts Cooperative, which displays the famous polished red pottery made at the pueblo, as well as pottery, wood carvings, paintings and jewelry from other pueblos. The Ohkay Casino and Resort provide a steady flow of income to pueblo residents.

Nearby Santa Clara Pueblo is known for its long tradition of talented potters. Their polished black, red or multicolored pots are highly prized among collectors. Santa Clara Canyon is a scenic destination for camping, fishing and hiking. It is also home to the striking Puye cliff dwellings.

The city of Espanola is an important center of Northern New Mexican culture and commerce. Residents of surrounding rural communities come into Espanola to shop, take classes at the community college, get medical care at the hospital and buy or sell produce at the farmers market. Nicknamed the Lowrider Capital of the World, the city hosts an annual Lowrider show every July, but locals' passion for custom cars -- their chasses riding just inches from the ground -- is visible any day of the week.

Also in Espanola is the Yogi Bhajan Sikh Dharma, a religious retreat since the 1960s. The area boasts a significant population of Sikhs, both born and converted.

The village of Chimayo, a few miles east of Espanola, is home to the Santurio do Chimayo, a church and sacred site believed to have healing powers. The weavings of the Ortega and Trujillo families have made this village famous, as has the outstanding local cuisine.

Lately, Espanola and Chimayo have drawn an increasing number of people who work in nearby Santa Fe or Los Alamos, but choose to live elsewhere, often seeking out more affordable housing.

Residents of the valley and beyond love to visit the hot springs at Ojo Caliente and fish, boat and swim in the Abiquiu Reservoir. Just up the road from the reservoir is Ghost Ranch, now a Presbyterian Conference Center, but previously the summer home of artist Georgia O'Keefe.

Through decades of immigration by artists and big city refugees of all kinds, villages like Abiquiu and Arroyo Seco have managed to retain their small town character. Valley villages like Dixon, Velarde and Embudo are known for their orchards, wineries, small farms and cottage industries. In Alcalde, the Moorish origins of early settlers are apparent in the traditional dance of Los Matachines, performed at fiestas and at Christmas.

Pottery studios inhabit old adobe houses next to orchards, and the acequia systems put in place by Spanish settlers continue to irrigate fields -- and inspire town squabbles. Throughout the region, people of diverse backgrounds work hard to live together and adapt to their changing communities.