la fiesta de colores 2012

PUBLISHED BY THE CIBOLA BEACON • MAY 11, 2012

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GRANTS - Artists from Grants, Espanola, Santa

Fe, Medanales and across the region displayed their

creations at Fiesta de Colores this past weekend.

The three-day fiesta opened with an art show on Fri-

day afternoon at the St. Teresa Community Center on

High Street. The Cibola Arts Council hosted an after-

hours reception that evening, which was an opportu-

nity for community members and the more than 40

artists to socialize.

Many of the artisans return every year for this show,

which is by “invitation only,” explained Jerry Mon-

toya who coordinates the event with Paul Milan.

“Any time we come to Grants, it’s nice,” said Debbie

Carrillo, who has created micaceous traditional cook-

ware since 1991. “This fiesta is the beginning of the

art show season.”

Charles, her husband, agreed. He has been creating

traditional New Mexican santos for decades. “The

santos were made to tell stories,” according to the Car-

rillos.

By Rosanne BoyettBeacon Staff Writer

BEACON / CHAVEZ

Aztlan dancers lead the way of the the La Fiesta de Colores pro-cession on High Street in Grants on Saturday, May 5.

Cont’d on PAGE 5


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1500 N. 3RD STREET • GRANTS NM • 287-7891www.grants.nmsu.edu


Charles won the Bishop’s Award.

“We were asked to depict the

blessed image of Kateri Tekak-

witha, an Algonquin woman who

will be canonized by the Catholic

Church in October,” he explained.

Arturo Montaño, from a small

village near Abiquiu, won Best of

Show with his depiction of the

Lady of Guadalupe that he carved

from moose and deer antlers. This

was the artist’s first time at the

Grants’ event.

Arlene Cisneros Seña, a tradi-

tional artist from Santa Fe, won

fourth place with her three altar

panels, which will be installed in

the Bishop of Gallup’s private

chapel. The completed work in-

cludes seven panels by Cisneros

Seña along with two pieces by a

stained glass artist.

The community center was filled

with booths selling everything from

hand-woven tapestries to Central

American textiles, silver jewelry,

retablos, bultos and santos, plus a

variety of wooden creations.

But there was much more to the

celebration besides artwork.

The annual celebration of His-

panic culture included recognition

of the state’s centennial. Saturday’s

processional, from Riverside Park

to St. Teresa’s Guadalupe Park,

featured Aztlan dancers and prizes

for Best Centennial costumes.

The Ballet Folkloric del Valle,

strolling musicians, Aztlan

Dancers, Alma Flamenca, along

with the NMSU-Grants Salsa

Dancers performed.

Roberto Mondragon, an accom-

plished New Mexico storyteller,

fascinated community members

with his lively tales.

Youngsters had opportunities to

“strut their stuff ” with the Zumba

Dancers, and many also partici-

pated in the student talent show.

There were numerous chances to

win prizes, in addition to those

awarded to the artists. The top

three state centennial costumes and

student talent show winners re-

ceived cash prizes.

“There were numerous entries

representing the state centennial in

the procession,” recalled Milan fol-

lowing the event. “A group from

San Mateo, a Grant’s prayer group

and the Knights of Columbus

claimed the prizes. It was the best

procession in the six years we’ve

had one.”

On-going crowds of “motor

heads” strolled through the car

show across the street. Several food

and beverage vendors supplied a

variety of menu choices.

Sunday featured a silent auction,

which was followed by a Mariachi

Mass that included “Marichi

Raices de America.”

“Often people don’t realize how

closely this area’s culture is tied to

Spain and Mexico,” noted event

coordinator Paul Milan. “This is a

chance to learn more about His-

panic traditions, renew friendships

and meet people who share the

same interests.”

He acknowledged the Catholic

Church’s role in New Spain, the

Spanish crown’s name for this re-

gion and Mexico in the sixteenth

century. The first Europeans, in

what is now northern New Mex-

ico, were Spaniards sent north

from Mexico City to explore the

land. Catholic priests were part of

on-going expeditions, which con-

tinued for several centuries.

The “conquest” included open-

ing trade routes, introducing Chris-

tianity to Native American tribes,

and the search for gold and other

forms of tangible wealth.

The Spanish explorers’ religious

beliefs formed the foundations for

future generations’ lifestyles. Now,

centuries later, these traditions are

the focus of numerous fiestas.

“We’re all family,” said Felipe

Rivera, whose santo won third

place. He has participated each

year since 2007. “The fiesta just

keeps getting better each year.”

Coordinator Montoya agreed and

said on Monday morning, “It (the

three-day show) went very well. I

feel really lucky that all these friends

come to Grants every year to help

us celebrate our Hispanic culture.

Most of these are award-winning

artists, many of whom have their

work displayed at museums and at

the Vatican in Rome, Italy.”

BEACON / CHAVEZ

A unique piece of Hispanic

art offered at the 18th annual

La Fiesta de Colores.


GRANTS- When Arturo Mon-

taño heard the news that he had

just won “The Best of Show” at the

La Fiesta De Colores Spanish

Colonial Art Show, he looked at

his fellow artists and thought,

“These people are just spreading

the love.”

Montaño won the top honor for

a beautiful and intricately carved

piece named, “Our Lady of

Guadalupe.” The statuette, fluidly

dressed in draped clothing, was

carved from moose antler with sun-

rays made from the tips of deer

antlers, but the figure looks like it

was made from ivory.

Montaño has been carving bone

since 2001, and proudly noted that

his first art show was at the La Fi-

esta De Colores.

Twenty-nine years ago, Montaño

said he was in a bad car accident

and survived. When he got out of

the hospital, he realized he got a

second chance.

“I had this weird feeling that I

was going to be carving these fig-

urines,” he said, looking at his fin-

ished artwork.

He remembered hiking in the

mountains and finding a deer

antler. “I flipped it over and saw a

natural ‘crown of thorns’.” Look-

ing at the antler, he wondered if he

could carve a face into it. “It

looked kind of cool,” said Mon-

taño. The idea prompted him to

start carving antler crosses.

He recalled one artist approach-

Bone Carver wins ‘Best of Show’

BEACON / CHAVEZ

Arturo Montaño, is standing next to his artwork that won Best of Show. His “Our Lady of Guadalupe,” a

beautiful and intricately carved piece, earned top honors at La Fiesta de Colores in Grants last weekend.

By Bob TenequerBeacon Staff Writer


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ing him who said, “You are a one-

trick pony, and this is the extent of

what you can do?”

“The artist challenged me, and

I like challenges, so I tried carv-

ing the whole figure,” explained

Montaño.

Montaño said that he lives in a

little community about six miles

south of Abiquiu.

The carver said his inspiration

comes from his daughter,

Gabrielle, who is 22-years-old, and

has cerebral palsy and is confined

to a wheel chair.

“When my daughter was born,

the doctor wanted us to take her off

of life support,” recalled Montaño.

“We asked ‘why’?”

The doctor said, “Because your

child will be severely handicapped

or mentally retarded.” My wife and

I said, “So what, she is still our

daughter.”

“Sometimes, people tell us they

feel sorry for our daughter’s disabil-

ity,” commented the artist. “I say

‘no, no, no!’ We have been given

the opportunity to keep one of

God’s angels.”

The couple named their daughter

Gabrielle. In Hebrew, this trans-

lates, “God is my strength.”

Montaño said proudly, he brands

his daughter’s name on his pieces.

The artist said he brands her name

on the pieces to have people re-

member children with special

needs. “When they see the brand,

‘Made by Gabrielle’s dad’, they

will ask, who is Gabrielle’s dad,

and then they will learn her story.”

In explaining his approach to his

art, Montaño said, “I just create

the pieces as I go. I have an idea…

and just take off.”

“Coming to art shows and see-

ing someone doing quality work in-

spires me and makes me want to go

home and try harder,” expressed

the artist.

Montaño said, historically,

when the Spaniards came to this

country, the sheepherders would

carve utensils like spoons for eat-

ing and little trinkets to pass the

time. “This is a real old art form,”

said the bone carver. Montaño

said that he is among three bone

carvers that participate in Spanish

Market in Santa Fe.

“This is all I do for a living. It’s a

good thing that my wife has a day

job,” said Montaño. Before devot-

ing his talent to carving Montaño

worked as a contractor for 22 years.

Back 2001, the artist recalled, “I

told my wife that I was going to re-

tire – I think this is what I am sup-

posed to be doing. My wife’s

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response was, ‘How will we pay the

bills?’ I told her, I am not a lazy guy, but

I have faith in God, and if it didn’t work

out, I would go back to work,” Mon-

taño remembered. “I had total faith that

God was going to take care of us.”

Montaño remembered one of the

biggest compliments he received was

when a Native American came up to

him and said, “In my tribe, we don’t be-

lieve in cutting antlers because they still

have life. But I think they (the tribe)

would have agreed with what you have

done by continuing the life of the ani-

mal.”

“When people call me an artist,” he

said, pointing up to the sky, “He is the

artist, and I am just His instrument.”

The bone carver said he would con-

tinue to carve as long as he could. “I just

love the way a polished antler looks.”

Montaño said thoughtfully, “I think

my biggest legacy is going to be that I

honored Christ and my religion.”

BEACON / CHAVEZ

Vicente Telles, 2nd Place


GRANTS - Many of the artisans return every

year for this show, which is by “invitation only,”

explained Jerry Montoya.

He and Paul Milan coordinate the annual Fiesta

de Colores, that is celebrated on the first weekend

in May each year.

“Any time we come to Grants, it’s nice,” said

Debbie Carrillo, who has created micaceous tra-

ditional cookware since 1991. “This fiesta is the

beginning of the art show season.”

Her husband, Charles, agreed. He has been cre-

ating traditional New Mexican santos for decades.

Santo, the Spanish word for "saint,” is a tradi-

tional New Mexican genre of religious sculpture.

Santos are carvings, either in wood or ivory, that

depict saints, angels, or other religious figures, ac-

cording to online sources.

“The santos were made to tell stories,” accord-

ing to the Carrillos, both longtime Santa Fe resi-

dents who have participated in the Spanish

Market for more than two decades.

Charles won the Bishop’s Award. This special

category was made at the request of Bishop

James Wall, Roman Catholic Diocese of Gallup,

according to event organizers.

“We were asked to depict the blessed image of

Kateri Tekakwitha, Kaia'tanó:ron, an Algonquin

woman who will be canonized by the Catholic

BEACON / CHAVEZ

Charles Carrillo, a Santa Fe traditional New Mexican artist, is standing on the left of his santo, Saint Kateri

Tekakwitha, that won the Bishop!s Award at the Fiesta de Colores in Grants last weekend.

Bishop Award: Charles CarrilloBy Rosanne BoyettBeacon Staff Writer


Church in October,” Charles

explained. See Page 12.

Carrillo described his santo,

“The piece took a lifetime of

experience and about 30 hours

of hard work.”

The artist’s used alder wood

and made his own gesso, a

vegetable-based sealant. He

also made his own pigments

from vegetable dyes, clay, and

minerals.

“I grow my own marigolds

and gather chamiso (also

known as saltbush) blossoms to make the yellow

colors,” explained Carrillo. “The red coloring in

this piece is made from clay that is gathered near

Abiquiu.”

The winning artwork was designed to be placed

in niche at the Gallup church. The artist said he

did not know if there would be an installation cer-

emony.

A number of the artists at last weekend’s event

referred to Carrillo as a mentor. The Santa Fe

artist modestly responded, “I don’t claim to be a

mentor. I have shared the traditional arts with

many people during my life.”

He referred to other traditional New Mexican

artists and added, “I call them ‘fellow artisans’

that I share with. If we don’t share the traditions,

they die.”

“We’re all family,” said Felipe Rivera, whose

santo won third place. He has taken part each

year the Grants’ show since 2007. “The fiesta just

keeps getting better each

year.”

Coordinator Montoya

agreed and said, “I feel really

lucky that all these friends

come to Grants every year to

help us celebrate our Hispanic

culture. Most of these are

award-winning artists, many

of whom have their work dis-

played at museums and at the

Vatican in Rome, Italy.”

The three-day fiesta opened

with an art show on May 4 at

the St. Teresa Community Center. An after-hours

artist reception, hosted by the Cibola Arts Coun-

cil, allowed community members to visit with

more than 40 artists who had their pieces dis-

played in individual booths.

Everything from hand-woven tapestries to Cen-

tral American textiles, silver jewelry, retablos, bul-

tos and santos, plus a variety of wooden creations

were showcased last weekend.

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About Saint Kateri Tekakwitha,Saint Kateri Tekakwitha,Kaia'tanó:ron, has

been called Flower of the Algonguins and

Lily of the Mohawks.

Feast Day

July 14 in the United States

April 17 in Canada

She was born in 1656 in Ossernenon, NY, and

was baptized on April 18, 1676, at Saint Peter's

Mission in Caughnawaga, NY.

She received her First Communion on Christ-

mas Day, 1677, at Saint Francis Mission in La

Prairie, Canada.

She died Wednesday of Holy Week, April 17,

1680, in Kahnawaké, Canada, and was declared

Venerable by Pope Pius XII January 3, 1943.

She was declared Blessed by Pope John Paul II

June 22, 1980.

Her parents were a Catholic Algonquin mother

and a Mohawk father.

The young woman was influenced by the fer-

vent Christianity of her mother and by the Black

Robes to live a life of remarkable virtue, at heart

not only a Christian - "a praying Indian" - but a

Christian virgin.

Her extraordinary sanctity impressed not only

her own people, but the French and the Jesuit mis-

sionaries, according to online sources.

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an Hispanic cultureCibola County

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GRANTS – Last weekend’s

La Fiesta de Colores was a suc-

cess, according to participants

and organizers.

More than 40 artists displayed

their pieces in individual booths,

which featured hand-woven tap-

estries, artwork carved from

antlers, Central American tex-

tiles, silver jewelry, a variety of

wooden creations and other art

forms including retablos, bultos

and santos

Many of the artisans return

every year for this show, which

is by “invitation only,” ex-

plained Jerry Montoya who co-

ordinates the event with Paul

Milan.

One of those invited was Juan

Lopez, whose silver filigree

statue received the 2012

Guadalupe Award.

The prize for the best repre-

sentation of the Lady of

Guadalupe has been presented

by Guadalupe Vineyards, in San

Fidel, for the past seven years.

Lopez has attended the La Fi-

esta since 2000, when it had

been held in what is now the Ci-

bola County complex in down-

town Grants.

This was the first time his

BEACON / CHAVEZ

Juan Lopez, whose silver filigree statue received the 2012 Guadalupe Award,

is very proud to stand beside his winning artwork. The silversmith was one of more than 40 artists that

took part in La Fiesta de Colores last weekend in Grants.

Guadalupe Award: Juan LopezART FORM IS

4,000 YEARS OLD

By Rosanne BoyettBeacon Staff Writer

Cont’d on NEXT PAGE


work had received this particu-

lar award.

“I’ve done concho belts and

other pieces, but nothing as in-

tricate as this,” said the silver-

smith. “I started with the center

point at the back of the figure.”

He spent uncounted hours

creating the 11-inch tall silver fil-

igree figure, which includes an

angel at its base.

The artwork was his first at-

tempt at carving. He used

moose antler for the Lady’s face

and hands, and deer antler for

the angel.

“My first try at the face was

pretty bad,” laughed the artist.

“I made another one, and then

wondered what to use for the

hair. I tried my own hair but it

was too thin. Then I asked my

five-year-old niece if I could

snip a little piece of her hair. She

said, ‘Uncle Johnnie, you’re not

cutting my hair!’ So, I ended up

getting some from a salon.”

The artist generally has several

different pieces in progress at

one time. Lopez worked at a

steady pace to be certain that his

entry was ready for the Grants’

event, which is the first art show

of the season.

“I have no idea how much fil-

igree I used,” recalled Lopez,

“but it seemed like at least 500

miles by the time I was done. It

seemed like every time I turned

around I needed to buy more

(silver) wire.”

His statue includes semi-pre-

cious stones that represent the

stars on the Lady of

Guadalupe’s robe. Lopez re-

called that after he finished the

piece, he realized that the fili-

gree needed a background.

The silversmith solved that

problem by making a black

wooden display “stand”. “It

needed the background contrast

so the filigree details would

show up,” he said.

A self-taught artist, he ex-

plained that much of his knowl-

edge is based on museum visits.

After each trip he would go

home and try to duplicate what

he had seen. “I melted a lot of

silver before I finally figured out

how to do filigree,” said a laugh-

ing Lopez.

“This is an ancient art form,”

noted the artisan. “The Phoeni-

cians were making silver filigree

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4,000 years ago. I can’t imagine

how they did it. I mean, they

couldn’t run out and buy more

wire or go and pick up a set of

tweezers whenever they need

another pair.”

“Most art is not new - we just

put our own twist on something

that’s centuries old,” Lopez

said. “I think this statue belongs

in a church or a museum.”

About Our Lady

of GuadalupePatron of the Americas

Feast day: December 12

Missionaries who first came

to Mexico with the Spanish

conquistadors had little success

in the begin-

ning. Christi-

anity was not

p o p u l a r

among the

Native peo-

ple.

Then in

1531 certain unexplained events

began to happen.

The first was Jesus' own

mother, Mary, who appeared to

Juan Diego, a humble peasant.

The signs that were called

“miraculous” --- such as the sud-

den appearance of roses grow-

ing on barren ground, a man

who was inexplicably cured of a

deadly illness and especially the

image of Mary on Juan's mantle

--- convinced many people that

there was something to be con-

sidered in Christianity.

Within a short time, six mil-

lion Native Mexicans had them-

selves baptized as Christians,

according to online sources.


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Celebrating the Hispanic CultureLa Fiesta de Colores

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