Anglo Intrusion on the Old Sangre de Cristo Land Grant* · tions, an upscale sophisticated Santa Fe lifestyle that builds upon the region’s cross-cultural and artistic amenities

analysis: a geographic approach to protection ofbiological diversity. Wildlife Monographs 123:1–41.

Stauffer, Dietrich. 1985. Introduction to Percolation The-ory. London: Taylor and Francis.

Templeton, Alan R., Kerry Shaw, Eric Routman, andScott K. Davis. 1990. The genetic consequences ofhabitat fragmentation. Annals of the Missouri Botani-cal Garden 77:13–27.

Theobald, David M., James R. Miller, and N.Thompson Hobbs. 1997. Estimating the cumula-tive effects of development on wildlife habitat.Landscape and Urban Planning 39:25–36.

Tilman, David, Robert M. May, Clarence L. Lehman,and Martin A. Nowak. 1994. Habitat destructionand the extinction debt. Nature 371:65–6.

Turner, Monica G. 1987. Spatial simulation of land-scape changes in Georgia: A comparison of 3 tran-sition models. Landscape Ecology 1:29–36.

Wiens, John A., and Bruce T. Milne. 1989. Scaling of“landscapes” in landscape ecology, or, landscapeecology from a beetle’s perspective. Landscape Ecol-ogy 3:87–96.

With, Kimberly A., and Thomas O. Crist. 1996.Translating across scales: Simulating species distri-butions as the aggregate response of individuals toheterogeneity. Ecological Modelling 93:125–37.

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GEORGE MALANSON is Intergraph Professorof Landscape Ecology in the Department of Geog-raphy at the University of Iowa, Iowa City, IA52242. Email: [email protected]. He isan IGBP task leader for dispersal and migrationmodeling.

BART CRAMER is a doctoral candidate in Geog-raphy at the University of Iowa, Iowa City, IA52242. Email: [email protected]. His pri-mary research interests are in transportation analy-ses and GIS.

Jeffrey S. SmithKansas State UniversityPositioned on the northern edge of the Hispano homeland, the southern portion of the old Sangre de Cristo LandGrant (present-day Costilla County, Colorado) provides an interesting empirical study of cultural change. Aftereconomically displacing Spanish-American residents from villages throughout the homeland’s core, incoming Angloshave adopted the region’s rich Spanish culture as their own. On the homeland’s periphery, however, the cultural traditionsof Hispanos and Anglos have been, for the most part, at odds. Most resident Hispanos desire to maintain ties to theirtraditional past, while the younger generations embrace Anglo cultural norms. Considering the vital role it plays in themaintenance of culture, religion provides a window to the study area’s modified cultural environment. In 1900 thepopulation in this region was predominantly Catholic Hispano; by 1990 Protestant-dominated Anglos comprised asizeable proportion of the population. Comparisons are made between traditional Hispano and Anglo-influencedreligious landscapes. Changes in church affiliation, the distribution of active Penitente moradas, and the characteristicsof community cemeteries demonstrate ongoing cultural change. Geographically isolated communities, where Anglointrusion is limited, retain their strong Hispano cultural integrity. Key Words: religious landscape, cultural change,Hispano homeland, Colorado, New Mexico.

Professional Geographer, 51(2) 1999, pages 170–183 © Copyright 1999 by Association of American Geographers.Initial submission August 1997; revised submission June 1998, September 1998; final acceptance October 1998.

Published by Blackwell Publishers, 350 Main Street, Malden, MA 02148, and 108 Cowley Road, Oxford, OX4 1JF, UK.

* I would like to thank the three referees who reviewed this paper and contributed their thoughtful insight to the final product. I also thank the edi-torial staff of The Professional Geographer, Richard L. Nostrand, Daniel D. Arreola, and Kevin S. Blake for their assistance.

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170 Volume 51, Number 2, May 1999

Introduction

Except for a twelve-year hiatus between 1680and 1692, persons of Spanish descent have

continuously inhabited the upper Rio Granderegion for 400 years. San Juan de los Caballeroswas founded in 1598, and for the next 300 yearsthe descendants of the original Spanish settlers(who refer to themselves as both Hispanos andSpanish-Americans) solidified their positionwithin northern New Mexico. Anchored by acolonial core around Santa Fe, Albuquerque,and Santa Cruz, the resident Spanish populationexpanded in all four cardinal directions. By 1900the zone of Hispano influence stretched northinto southern Colorado, west into Arizona, and

east onto the high plains of Oklahoma and Texas(Nostrand 1992) (Fig. 1). The landscape of thiscultural homeland is the most enduring legacyof Spain’s influence in the American Southwest.

Starting at the turn of the twentieth centuryand accelerating to the present, change has cometo this heretofore predominantly Hispano re-gion. Anglos (as persons who are not of Hispanicor Native American origin are commonly re-ferred to) have intruded upon the region, influ-encing its economic foundation and culturaltraditions. Vast numbers of Hispanos through-out the homeland vacated their natal communi-ties in favor of larger urban centers where higherwages and better employment opportunities ex-isted. By 1980, village depopulation had rendered

Figure 1: The Hispano Homeland circa 1900. Source: Adapted from Nostrand 1992.

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most Hispano communities a mere relic of theirformer stature (Nostrand 1992). Only a fewstronghold communities in the heart of thehomeland near Chimayó have resisted the Anglointrusion (Nostrand 1992).

As Hispanos sold their homes and pursuedemployment in the cities, Anglos moved in andpurchased the real estate. Communitiesthroughout the homeland, particularly in thecorridor between Santa Fe and Taos, are attrac-tive to Anglos because of spectacular vistas andnatural amenities. As Carlson (1990) explains, inmany of these Hispano-established communi-ties preserving the appearance and ambience ofthe Spanish-American landscape was left to thenewly arriving Anglos. Instead of maintainingthe region’s cultural integrity through the con-tinued practice of community and family tradi-tions, an upscale sophisticated Santa Fe lifestylethat builds upon the region’s cross-cultural andartistic amenities developed (Carlson 1990).Cultural change is profoundly different on thehomeland’s periphery.

Spanish Americans living on the periphery arealso attracted to jobs in the cities, yet there is lessoutright Hispano displacement. Spanish Ameri-cans and Anglos tend to live segregated in neigh-boring communities; change occurs when Anglocultural norms begin to dominate the region. Asolder Hispano residents remain steadfast to theircultural traditions, the younger generations em-brace the encroaching Anglo culture. Each com-munity’s character and cultural traditions,including religious practices, are altered. Thispaper documents how Anglo-induced culturalchange has modified the religious landscape onthe northern periphery of the Hispano home-land.

Background

Scholars with a geographic perspective have ex-tensively studied the built environment in NewMexico’s Hispano settlements. Architecturalstyles (Jackson 1959/1960), village charac-teristics (Jackson 1952; Luebben 1970), housingdesigns (Gritzner 1971), and log structures(Gritzner 1974, 1990) are among the many cul-tural artifacts that are examined in the literature.This body of work suggests that traditional His-pano villages on the periphery of the homelandare typically linear in shape with an acequia (ir-rigation ditch) extending along the length of the

community. The Catholic church, commonly inthe geographic center, provides a focal point forthe village. Homes, running parallel with theacequia, tend to be on higher, more marginallands above the long-lot irrigated flood plain.The community cemetery and Penitente morada(chapel) are frequently located away from thevillage center and on lands deemed best suitedfor those functions. In some communities a tien-dita (small store) operated by an entrepreneurialresident offers goods (historically bartered) tothe resident population. These works providerich insight into aspects of the landscape oftraditional Hispano communities and provide afoundation upon which much research has beenconducted. Unfortunately, like some of the fea-tures they discuss, these works are becomingdated and their usefulness in portraying contem-porary villages where cultural change has oc-curred is limited.

More recently, scholars from a variety of fieldshave documented the ecological, demographic,and social impacts of Anglo culture on Hispanosof New Mexico and southern Colorado (Campa1979; Deutsch 1987; Eastman and Krannich1995). Carlson (1990) and Nostrand (1992) pro-vide the most recognized geographical works.Carlson explores reasons for the endemic pov-erty among northern New Mexico’s Spanish-American population by focusing on land usepatterns. Nostrand, on the other hand, meticu-lously delimits the changing areal extent andcharacteristics of Hispano concentration whilechroniclingthesalienteraswithinHispanohistory.

The foregoing research contributes much toour understanding of Hispano culture in NewMexico and southern Colorado, but little isknown about the built environment in whichHispanos are now living. What cultural mes-sages are the younger generations of SpanishAmericans receiving from their built environ-ment? A greater appreciation of this rich culturecan be achieved by understanding the environ-ment in which Spanish Americans currently live.The cultural landscape in the southern portionof the old Sangre de Cristo Land Grant suggestsan interesting empirical case study in filling thatvoid in the literature (Fig. 1).

Costilla County: Past and Present

In 1843 the government in Mexico City con-ferred the Sangre de Cristo Land Grant (equal


Figure 2: Settlement types in Costilla County, Colorado.

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in size to present day Costilla County, Colorado)to two residents of Taos, New Mexico. AfterIndian raiding rendered three previous attemptsunsuccessful, permanent settlement on the landgrant began when eleven Hispanos from Taosfounded the community of La Plaza de San Luisde la Culebra (known today as San Luis) in 1851(Lantis 1950; Dietz and Larson 1995) (Fig. 2).Later that same year another small group ofHispanos established the community of La Plazade los Manzanares (the name was later changedto Garcia, Colorado). In the following five yearsmany more Hispano settlements were estab-lished in the watershed region of Culebra Peak,including San Pedro/San Pablo (1852), ViejoSan Acacio (1853), Chama (1854), Los Fuertes(1854), and San Francisco (1854).

By the end of the nineteenth century, the U.S.government assumed political control of theregion and eliminated Indian raiding. As a result,the San Luis Valley’s rich agricultural lands werenow deemed safe for additional settlement (es-pecially Anglo). Soon the San Luis SouthernRailroad refueling stations of San Acacio, Mesita(first called Hamburg), and Jarosa (first settledby Hispanos) became thriving Anglo communi-ties (nearly all of the railroad tracks were re-moved in the middle of the twentieth century).In the early years, Hispano and Anglo settle-ments were segregated. Hispanos preferred thevalley’s peripheral locations (diverting waterfrom mountain runoff to irrigate their crops)while Anglos settled in the middle of the valleyfloor (tapping artesian well water for agricul-ture). Contact between Spanish Americans andAnglos increased as the Anglo population con-tinued to expand.

In 1900 the total population of CostillaCounty was 3,249, with an ethnic compositionof 89.6% Hispano and 10.4% Anglo (U.S. Cen-sus 1902) (Table 1). By 1990, while the totalpopulation remained roughly the same at 3,190,the ethnic composition changed dramatically(U.S. Census 1991). Costilla County’s Spanish-American population dropped to 53.6%, whileits non-Hispano population surged to 46.3 per-cent. Over those nine decades, some of CostillaCounty’s Hispano-established communities re-tained a distinctly Spanish-American flavor.Others, however, were influenced by the ever-increasing Anglo presence. Changes in the re-ligious landscape bear witness to this.

Method of Data Collection

Generations of cultural geographers haveused landscape features to identify the culturalcharacter of a region or place (Foote et al.1994). Language, religion, ethnicity, and classare the underlying themes most commonlyused when examining how a culture groupmodifies its environment (Norton 1989). Forexample, Duncan (1973) contrasted two ofAmerica’s wealthier populations (entrenchedmoney and nouveau riche) by examining theirrespective residential landscapes. Duncandocumented that the size and shape of theroads; extent and care of surrounding vegeta-tion; size, style, appearance, and ornamentationof housing; as well as appearance of mailboxescan distinguish income groups. Francaviglia(1978) identified ten landscape features diagnos-tic of Mormon religious culture. He concludesthat any community possessing five or more ofthe artifacts is Mormon. Arreola (1988) estab-lished that yard shrines, front yard enclosures,and brightly painted houses are all signaturefeatures of the Mexican-American culture. Hisanalysis reveals that these “housescape” featureshave deep cultural roots. These works illustratethat membership within a culture group pro-foundly impacts and guides individuals’ behav-ior. And, consequentially, culture groupmembers modify their environment in a mannerconsistent with cultural traditions.

The landscape is continually modified by theprevailing cultural environment. It reflects theongoing change as one culture group invadesanother. Veregge’s (1993) exploration of fiveNew Mexico and Arizona communities (nowhighly urbanized areas) illustrates the evolvingnature of cultural landscape change. Each com-munity (Santa Fe, Albuquerque, Socorro, LasVegas, and Tucson) began as a small Hispanic-dominated population and civic center. All five

Table 1 Ethnic Composition of Costilla County,Colorado 1900 and 1990

Population 1900 1990*

Total Population 3,249 3,190

Percent Hispano 89.6% 53.6%

Percent Non-Hispano 10.4% 46.3%

Source: U.S. Census 1900 and 1990.*Percentages do not add to 100 due to rounding.


evolved into regional transportation and com-mercial centers as Anglos moved in and theresulting change was evident in the settlementmorphology. An understanding of changes in aregion’s cultural composition can be achieved byanalyzing transformations in the qualities andcharacteristics of the cultural landscape. Thisarticle employs a methodology similar to theresearch cited above to demonstrate how thereligious landscape reflects a modified culturalenvironment.

Religion, as an institution promoting con-formity through shared learned behavior, is fun-damental to the dissemination of culturaltraditions from one generation to the next. Tosay that the Catholic faith permeates traditionalHispano village life is an enormous under-statement; nearly every facet of the communitydraws from the local Catholic church. Further-more, the Catholic religion is central to the lifeof individual Spanish Americans from the cere-monies at birth to the final funeral prayer.Therefore, studying changes in Hispano relig-ious practices is an indispensable tool in under-standing the region’s evolving cultural character.

A baseline was established for the traditionalreligious landscape (specifically the churches,Penitente moradas, and community cemeteries)in order to assess the extent of cultural changewithin the eight Hispano-established communi-ties of the southern portion of Costilla County.The religious tables from the 1890 U.S. Census(U.S. Census 1894) were consulted to determinea baseline for church affiliation. This baselinefor the distribution of Penitente moradas wasestablished through a review of the literatureand an examination of the landscape.

Fieldwork between 1994 and 1996 providedthe main source of data collection to ascertainthe characteristics of the contemporary relig-ious landscape. The present church affili-ations and the areal extent of active Penitentemoradas in southern Costilla County’s eightHispano-established communities were deter-mined through personal observations. Informalinterviews with church officials and brother-hood members verified my findings. The char-acteristics of Spanish-American communitycemeteries required a different methodologicalapproach.

Within each Hispano-established communitycemetery, 100% of the plots were examined.The surname on each headstone was logged and

the frequency of surnames tabulated. Thosegrave markers with undecipherable or missingepitaphs were not included in the final tabula-tions. Ideally, a living relative should be inter-viewed to determine the ethnicity of thedeceased, but time and financial restrictions pre-vented this approach. Instead, each headstonesurname was cross-referenced against Origins ofNew Mexico Families in the Spanish Colonial Period(Chavez 1954), a definitive volume containingan exhaustive list and lineage of Hispano sur-names. The given name on the grave marker wasconsulted in those infrequent circumstanceswhere the deceased’s ethnicity was uncertainbased on the surname.

Imprints on the cemetery landscape such asfencing and spatial alienation were noted todetermine if segregation exists within each com-munity graveyard. The veracity of field observa-tions was tested through informal interviewswith church personnel, the county assessor, andcemetery groundskeepers.

The Changing Religious Landscape

Church AffiliationFew would question the essential role that theCatholic church played in the life of a Spaniardresiding on New Spain’s northern frontier(Burma 1954; Foster 1960; Simmons 1969). TheSpanish settlers’ first duty was the immediateconstruction of a Catholic church and theprompt beginning of regular prayers (Spicer1962). In 1850, less than 2% of New Mexico’sRio Arriba population claimed a religious affili-ation other than Roman Catholic (Walker1991). By the early 1900s the number and geo-graphic extent of Catholic churches throughoutthe Hispano homeland reached its zenith withnearly every community having its own place toworship (Brewer and McDowell 1990).

Proceeding from the assumption that “to beAmerican one needed to be Protestant”(Walker 1991, 117), at the turn of the centurythe first wave of Protestant missionaries beganrecruiting converts throughout homeland vil-lages. The thrust of this early non-Catholicreligious activity came from the larger andmore extensively organized Lutheran, Baptist,Congregationalist, Presbyterian, and Methodistdenominations (Spicer 1962; Walker 1991). Bythe 1920s inroads into the Catholic strongholdwere substantial. As the success of these first


denominations began to wane, a second wave ofmissionary activity began, led by the Latter-DaySaints and Pentecostal denominations includingthe Assembly of God and Jehovah’s Witnesses.Both waves of non-Catholic missionaries weremost effective in communities that were chieflyAnglo or where the Anglo culture was more fullyembraced. Communities on the northern pe-riphery of the homeland were particularly sus-ceptible to Protestant sects due to substantialAnglo inmigration.

From the time of the first Hispano settlement,Costilla County served as a stronghold for theCatholic faith. Construction of the region’s firstchurch (the Catholic church of [Viejo] San Aca-cio) was completed in 1853. According to the1890 U.S. Census, five active churches servedthe resident population and all were Catholic(U.S. Census 1894) (Table 2). They were locatedin Viejo San Acacio, San Luis, San Pedro/SanPablo, Chama, and San Francisco. The 1906U.S. Census Special Report on Religious Bodiesreports that over 90% of the church-goingpopulation was Catholic (U.S. Census 1910). Bythe 1920s Catholic churches had been built inJarosa, Garcia, and Los Fuertes, meaning everyHispano-established community in the regionhad its own Catholic house of worship (Fig. 3).Anglo-influenced Protestant infiltration, how-ever, had begun. In Costilla County the Presby-terian, Methodist, Latter-Day Saint, andAssembly of God churches were particularlysuccessful (U.S. Census 1910; Ross 1985).

Within the eight contemporary Hispano-established communities examined there arefourteen churches, seven Catholic and sevenProtestant (Table 2). Chama, Los Fuertes, SanFrancisco, and Viejo San Acacio have never hada Protestant church and only the communitiesof San Luis and San Pedro/San Pablo continueto have Protestant churches (Fig. 3). The pres-ence of four non-Catholic churches in San Luisis best explained by the fact that since it is thecounty seat and the county’s largest community,it has experienced a great deal of Anglo influ-ence. Two Protestant churches (Presbyterianand Kingdom Hall of the Jehovah’s Witnesses)are also found in the community of San Pe-dro/San Pablo. With parishioners fromthroughout the region, the Jehovah’s Witnesseshave been particularly successful in attractingconverts because, until recently, the serviceswere conducted solely in Spanish. On the other

hand, the San Pablo Presbyterian church oncehad a congregation of nearly 60 members, butin the last five years has had only three and thereis talk of closing the church. Historically, Prot-estant churches also existed in the Hispano-established communities of Jarosa and Garcia.Jarosa (a community now dominated by Anglos)no longer has any church, while in Garcia theAsamblea de Dios church closed in 1995, leavingonly the very traditional Catholic church. Cos-tilla County’s only other Protestant church existsin the Anglo-founded community of Mesita.This community’s first church was Presbyterian,but in 1987 the Latter-Day Saints purchased thebuilding and began offering services.

The Catholic church is dominant in mostcontemporary Hispano-established communi-ties of Costilla County. While Protestantchurches in the valley tend to serve a larger areathan Catholic churches, Protestant churches aremade to feel welcome and remain in communi-ties where Anglo influences are greatest.

Penitente MoradasThe origins of Los Hermanos Penitentes (the peni-tent brothers) is a topic of considerable debateamong scholars examining New Mexico’s Span-ish-American culture. One of the most acceptedexplanations is that the Penitentes are descen-dants of the Third Order of Saint Francis ofAssisi. This order was reserved for Spain’s laypopulation (especially males) who wanted tofollow St. Francis’ teachings yet continue to livein the secular world. It is asserted that as Span-iards emigrated to the new world they took thetenets of the order with them (Woodward 1935;Horka-Follick 1969; Henderson 1977). Whiletheir origins might remain a mystery, their impor-tance to community life is well understood. Intraditional Hispano villages these pious lay breth-ren provide organized religious guidance and so-cial support where otherwise it most likely wouldbe missing. Their responsibilities include caringfor the elderly, feeding the hungry, enforcing

Table 2 Religious Institutions in Costilla County,Colorado 1890 and 1996

Church Type 1890 1996

Total Churches 5 14Catholic Churches 5 7Protestant Churches 0 7

Source: U.S. Census 1890 and fieldwork 1994–1996.


Figure 3: Past and present distribution of churches and Penitente moradas.

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community rules, meting out justice, conductingfunerals, and leading church services.

During both the colonial and Mexican peri-ods, one of the greatest problems for remoteSpanish-American communities of New Mexicoand southern Colorado was the absence of aresident village priest. In 1750, an estimated 25Franciscan Fathers served New Mexico’s 4,200Spanish residents (Carlson 1990), and the pau-city of priests only intensified during Mexicanrule. Between 1828 and 1850 no more than 16priests served the entire population of the NewMexico province (Horka-Follick 1969; Nos-trand 1992). During this time a majority of thecommunities were left without formal religiousleaders, and the Penitentes filled the vacuum(Woodward 1935; Henderson 1977; Podles andPodles 1992). However, instances of overzealousbehavior during Lenten seasons forced theCatholic church to excommunicate the Brothersin 1833 (Horka-Follick 1969; Weigle 1976)1. In1947 the Penitentes were reinstated as an officialbranch of the Catholic church, but by that timemembership had dramatically declined (Weigle1976). “As the New Mexican folk move to thelarger population centers and through educationand acculturation abandon extreme forms of

religious worship, the Penitentes dwindle innumbers” (Campa 1979, 210). Today the Peni-tentes continue to exist in the isolated Hispano-dominated communities of northern NewMexico and southern Colorado.

The greatest challenge facing research on thePenitentes is that, due to previous condemna-tion, many of their activities are relatively clan-destine, and non-member Hispanos arereluctant to talk about them. As a result, deter-mining the full areal extent of Penitente mem-bership is difficult. However, one culturalartifact which reflects their presence is themorada (plainly colored chapel/meeting house)(Fig. 4). Carlson contends that “no buildingdistinguished the Spanish-American vernacularlandscapes more than the Penitentes’ unpreten-tious . . . morada” (Carlson 1990, 142). Theheight of morada construction occurred be-tween 1890 and the 1920s (Carlson 1990; Wallis1994), and nearly every Hispano community innorthern New Mexico and southern Coloradohad a Penitente chapter meeting in its ownmorada (Tate 1967; McConnell-Simmons1992). Presently, Penitentes and their moradasare found only in those settlements which retaina strong Spanish-American culture. On the

Figure 4: Typical Penitente morada. Source: Author, July 1996.


other hand, where the Anglo culture has beenintroduced to community life, governmentalagencies, and non-profit organizations have as-sumed the responsibilities once performed bythe Penitentes.

The San Luis Valley’s first Penitente moradawas constructed in Lobatos in 1860 (McCon-nell-Simmons 1992). Prior to its completion,members of the local Brotherhood were forcedto make the arduous journey back to their homemorada in northern New Mexico. Around theturn of the twentieth century, nearly every His-pano-established settlement in the valley had itsown morada, with the Penitentes providing val-ued services to the communities in which theylived.

Fieldwork, a review of the literature, and in-formal interviews have revealed that in the early1900s seven active moradas were distributedthroughout the southern portion of CostillaCounty (Garcia, San Francisco, Los Fuertes,San Pedro/San Pablo, Chama, San Luis, andViejo San Acacio) (Fig. 3). In their heyday, theChama and San Francisco moradas claimedmemberships approaching 80 and 300 peoplerespectively (McConnell-Simmons 1992). Withthe exception of the Garcia morada, the SanPedro/San Pablo morada served as concilio (re-gional Penitente headquarters) for all CostillaCounty moradas. The Garcia morada is affili-ated with the district 3B concilio of northernNew Mexico (Steele and Rivera 1985). The onlyCostilla County Hispano-established commu-nity never to have its own Penitente morada isJarosa. Hispano men in this community weremembers of the Garcia morada.

One might expect that the Penitente Broth-erhood would continue to have a strong pres-ence in the southern portion of Costilla County,considering the sizeable Hispano populationthat continues to reside there. However, theimportance of the Penitentes has waned with theinflux of Anglos bringing their religious, social,civic, and judicial services. Furthermore, as theabove quote by Campa indicates, few of theyounger Hispano males feel compelled to jointhe Brotherhood as they embrace Anglo culturalnorms.

Today, only three of the seven moradas arestill active in the southern portion of CostillaCounty (Garcia, San Francisco, and San Pedro/San Pablo) (Fig. 3). The changing distributionof moradas indicates that Penitente influence

and presence within Costilla County has de-clined. Those communities which retain astrong Spanish-American culture and have notexperienced the full impact of Anglo culturalintrusion are the ones which still have an activemorada.

Community CemeteriesCemeteries are a third religious landscape fea-ture that inform us of cultural change. Cemeter-ies are a microcosm of the real world, reflectingthe work not of professional builders or religiousarchitects but of average citizens who uncon-sciously objectify the cultural customs that haveaccompanied them throughout their life(Kniffen 1967; Francaviglia 1971; Stilgoe 1978).Drawing on years of fieldwork and the results ofother necrogeographers, Jordan (1982) un-earthed a list of “truths” about graveyards:cemeteries are culturally unique and defining; asan artifact cemeteries tend to resist culturalchange, since they are the most conservativeaspect of the religious landscape; and yet ceme-teries are not static—they are constantly re-worked by prevailing cultural conditions.

As one of many sources of information, grave-yard headstones list the names of families whoinhabit an area. Furthermore, surveying newersections of a cemetery is a good approximationof the community’s current residential compo-sition. As such, a community rich in Hispanocultural tradition should continue to have acemetery with a high percentage of Hispanosurnames. On the other hand, an Hispano-es-tablished community which has experienced agreat deal of Anglo influence and a diminishedHispano cultural identity will exhibit a notice-able presence of non-Spanish surnames.

Another geographical expression common incommunities inhabited by two or more diverseculture groups is segregation within the villagecemetery. Where differing cultures live segregatedin life, so too are they segregated in death (Mil-spaw 1980). On the other hand, graveyard seg-regation is absent where cultural homogeneitywithin a community prevails. Numerous studiesreveal the patterns of segregation commonlyfound in cemeteries. Some cemeteries have acorner of the grounds reserved for a less domi-nant group, while in other cases a fence is con-structed between plots of differing culturegroups, with access gained only through a sepa-rate gate (Jordan 1982; Struble and Wilhelm


1992). In the most extreme examples of segre-gation complete exclusion prevails, with a dis-crete cemetery being constructed adjacent to theother (Francaviglia 1971).

In Hispano-established communities, segre-gation within the cemetery tends to be alongreligious lines. There is no segregation wherethe Spanish-American culture is dominant andCatholicism prevails. On the other hand, whereAnglo, non-Catholic denominations have takenroot, segregation within the community ceme-tery develops. Of the eight Hispano-establishedcommunity cemeteries examined, six had His-pano surname percentages greater than 97%,and in Viejo San Acacio’s cemetery traditionalSpanish family names were found on 100% ofthe plots (Table 3). The percent of Spanish-American surnames decreases in those Hispano-established communities where the Angloculture has had a greater impact. In San Luis andJarosa the percent Hispano surnames drops to79.5% and 11.9% respectively. Likewise, whilethe Jarosa area was first settled by two Hispanofamilies from northern New Mexico, the town’ssuccess was not realized until 1914, when anAnglo land speculator persuaded a congrega-tion of midwestern Seventh-Day Adventiststo move in (Griswold 1984). Today, just over88% of the surnames on the headstones areAnglo. The Hispano culture is felt throughoutthe southern portion of Costilla County, yetthe Mesita community cemetery (an Anglo-established settlement) has a very small per-cent of headstones with Spanish-Americansurnames, 2.9 %.

While local variations exist, communities thathave maintained their original Hispano culturaltraditions tend to construct exclusively Catholicnon-segregated cemeteries. In Viejo San Acacio,for example, the Catholic church is the solereligious provider in the community and thereis no segregation within the cemetery. However,segregation based on church affiliation developsin communities where cultural blending occurs(Fig. 5). In San Luis, the local population isserved by both Catholic and non-Catholicchurches, and there is pronounced religious seg-regation within the cemetery. In fact the ceme-tery has four discrete areas: two large sectionsfor Catholics and two smaller ones for Protes-tants. The other three communities where re-ligious segregation developed are Chama,Garcia, and Los Fuertes. In Garcia a Protestant

church once served the local population, whichhelps explain why segregation exists there. InChama and Los Fuertes, the Catholic church isthe only local house of worship, but residentProtestants are served by churches in San Pe-dro/San Pablo. Four Hispano-establishedcommunities in the southern portion of Cos-tilla County have non-segregated cemeteries:Jarosa, San Francisco, San Pedro/San Pablo,and Viejo San Acacio. In all but Jarosa themajority of the population has always beenCatholic, and thus there has been no impetusfor segregation.

Segregation based on religious affiliation ex-ists not only at the community level but also atthe county level. The community of San Acaciodoes not have its own cemetery, thereby forcingthe local population to choose where they willbe buried. Non-Catholic Anglos are all interredin either the Protestant-dominated Mesitacemetery or in one of the San Luis Protestantsections. Catholic Hispanos from San Acacio,however, are consistently buried in the Viejo SanAcacio cemetery.

Throughout the southern portion of CostillaCounty, cemeteries have a mixture of surnamesand are religiously segregated where the Angloculture has successfully encroached on Hispanocommunities. On the other hand, traditionalSpanish-American community cemeteries havenearly 100% Hispano surnames and no segrega-tion, because they are dominated by the de-ceased of the Catholic faith.

Role of Geographic LocationSituated at the northernmost extent of the Span-ish empire, geographic isolation was one of thegreatest obstacles facing early Hispano residents.

Table 3 Selected Characteristics of CommunityCemeteries in Costilla County, Colorado, 1996

Name of % Hispano ReligiousCommunity Surnames Segregation

Chama 97.8% YesGarcia 98.6% YesJarosa 11.9% NoLos Fuertes 98.4% YesMesita (A) 2.9% NoSan Francisco 98.3% NoSan Luis 79.5% YesSan Pedro/San Pablo 98.1% NoViejo San Acacio 100.0% No

(A) = Anglo-established community.Source: Fieldwork 1994–1996.


Prior to Anglo intrusion Hispano villages werealmost completely disconnected from the out-side world, due at first to hostile Indians and laterto impassable roads (Knowlton 1969). Villagersrelied on their own devices outside the largerpopulation centers of Albuquerque, Santa Fe,and Santa Cruz. Geographic isolation physicallychallenged the Hispanos, yet it became a bless-ing in disguise. Located away from the maintransportation arteries, Spanish Americans inthe remote communities solidified their culturaltraditions, making the Hispanos the last livinglegacy of Spanish colonialism in the AmericanSouthwest. After Anglos began dominatingmuch of the Hispano homeland, the isolatedcommunities became oases of traditional His-pano culture (Campa 1979) because residentsmade only limited concessions to the outsideculture (Hunter-Warren 1987).

For most of the smaller communities in thesouthern portion of Costilla County, the ethniccomposition has remained fairly stable and resi-dents have retained their cultural traditions. Theisolating effect of the Sangre de Cristo moun-tains on the east and the San Pedro Mesa on thewest has left many of the communities as theywere historically. Additionally, few transporta-

tion routes run through the area, offering lessopportunity for the Anglo culture to permeatethat part of the valley.

The two exceptions are the communities ofSan Luis and Jarosa. San Luis experienced con-siderable outside influences, since it is the re-gion’s largest population and commercial centerand serves as the seat of government for CostillaCounty. Jarosa, on the other hand, experiencedmuch Anglo influence, due primarily to its loca-tion on the former San Luis Southern Railroad.Both communities illustrate that Anglo incur-sion is greatest in communities where trade andtransportation routes are well established.

Conclusion

As Spanish Americans of New Mexico andsouthern Colorado celebrate the quadricenten-nial of Spain’s first settlement along the upperRio Grande, attention will focus on the region’srich cultural traditions. This formerly predomi-nantly Hispano region has undergone consider-able cultural change. Anglos have madesubstantial inroads into the core of the Spanish-American homeland since the turn of the twen-tieth century. The corridor between Santa Fe

Figure 5: Religious segregation in Los Fuertes cemetery. Source: Author, July 1996.


and Taos is particularly attractive to Anglos seek-ing the rich natural and artistic amenities of thearea. The Anglo intrusion has largely displacedthe resident Spanish-American populationthroughout this region, with the last remainingHispano stronghold centered on the areaaround Chimayó. Furthermore, as older Span-ish Americans maintain ties to their culturaltraditions, the younger generations are turningto Anglo cultural norms. Anglo intrusion haschanged the homeland forever, yet ironicallyAnglos are thrilled to celebrate the 400th anni-versary of the culture they are responsible foruprooting. Notwithstanding this, culturalchange is distinctly different on the periphery ofthe homeland. Larger settlements along majortrade and transportation routes have experi-enced pronounced Anglo encroachment, result-ing in a loss of traditional Hispano culturaltraits. On the other hand, the smaller isolatedcommunities remaine culturally homogene-ous. Isolation allows the Hispano populationto thrive, and it is continued isolation thataffords many of the Spanish-American com-munities the opportunity to keep their richtraditions alive. As a result, the last bastion oftraditional Hispano culture is not only villagesaround Chimayó, in the heart of the home-land, but also the isolated communities on theperiphery.

This article has focused on changes in thereligious landscape in Hispano-establishedcommunities on the Spanish American home-land’s northern periphery. As a microcosm ofHispano culture, the southern portion of theold Sangre de Cristo Land Grant serves as anintriguing empirical case study. Future researchis needed to compare traditional and Anglo-influenced Hispano-established communitiesto understand the degree to which the symbolicmeaning of the built environment is changingdue to Anglo intrusion, and how this impactsHispano place attachment. ■

Note

1The brotherhood gained national notoriety when theunsympathetic Anglo press repeatedly reported actsof self-flagellation, mock crucifixions, and accidentaldeaths among Penitentes emulating Christ’s suffer-ing. The negative publicity led the Catholic churchto excommunicate the brothers, driving them under-ground (Horka-Follick 1969; Weigle 1976; Carlson1990).

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JEFFREY S. SMITH is a Visiting Assistant Pro-fessor of Geography, Kansas State University,Manhattan, KS 66506. E-mail: [email protected] research interests include cultural geography,rural land use, U.S.-Mexico borderlands, and eth-nic landscape analysis.


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Anglo Intrusion on the Old Sangre de Cristo Land Grant* · tions, an upscale sophisticated Santa Fe lifestyle that builds upon the region’s cross-cultural and artistic amenities