First of all, my apologies for the cutesy title. What I mean is, I’m going to offer a mixture of notes on a trip to Santa Fe. Here goes . . .
The trip starts in Albuquerque, about which I’ve always heard one thing: Unbeautiful city, beautiful surrounding mountains. I don’t know whether the former claim is true, because I don’t go into the city: I land at the airport, then leave for Santa Fe. But the latter claim, about the mountains, is certainly true.
Of all the accents in English, I think the Mexican is one of the nicest — musical, pleasant.
The accents of native Spanish speakers in English vary wildly: the Cuban, the Ecuadoran, etc. You can hear them all in New York.
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Is not the New Mexican flag one of our most striking? That yellow-and-red western job? As a result, the license plates are very nice too. In addition to the regular, there is a special plate this year: honoring the state’s centennial.
And you can’t praise New Mexico without saying — what a nickname! (The Land of Enchantment.)
No doubt, articles on the state’s woes are entitled “Land of Disenchantment.”
Everywhere you go in the West, you see things named after Cesar Chavez (or César Chávez, if you like). I’m not a big fan, although I could stand to know more about him. Yet I also suppose that people have the right to name things after people they admire.
Too bad (sometimes).
I pass a sign for National American University. Don’t you hear a redundancy in that, or is it just me?
I drive up the Turquoise Trail from Albuquerque to Santa Fe — a passage that’s supposed to be quite scenic. It’s okay, yeah. (I’m being ungenerous, I’m afraid.)
I get a kick out of Madrid, N.M. — such a big name, in a way, for such a dinky town. (I think of Berlin, N.H. Also of Paris, Texas. We could go on . . .) (Have not been to Rome, Ga. Would like to. The first Mrs. Wilson, Ellen, was from there.)
The thought occurs to me, “I’d like to live in one of these little Turquoise Trail towns for a couple of years, then write some stories, à la Faulkner.” But that takes a particular kind of talent, you see. Bummer.
One store has a charming, surprising name: Gifts That Are Just Too Cute.
I see a Lone Mountain Ranch, which, confusingly, is set amidst several mountains. At least it appears that way to me.
Every now and then, you’re invited to use a Scenic Pullout. I’m thinking — more ungenerosity — “Really?” I mean, a Scenic Pullout should be reserved for something that makes you go, “Whoa.”
But maybe whoa is in the eye of the beholder.
Sandoval County reminds me of something: It used to be, when I heard “Sandoval,” I thought of the trumpeter. Now I’m likely to think of the governor of Nevada.
Everyone says that the light in Santa Fe is extraordinary — Santa Fe is famous for light. I believe it. But, on the days of my stay, the skies are overcast.
A sign for the Indian school reminds me: I have the impression that Indians say “Indian” and white people “Native American.” Just an impression, mind you . . .
Funny to see St. John’s College, with Annapolis Harbor nowhere in sight. And the mere thought of the school makes me think I should be speaking Latin or something.
Santa Fe reminds me, in some respects, of my hometown of Ann Arbor, Mich. The hemp shop. “War Is Not the Answer.” “My Other Car Is a Bicycle.” A branch of Project Tibet.
Let me give you an idle question: Is Tibet the only anti-Communist cause the Left, generally speaking, has ever embraced?
I see an older lady, probably early 80s, with one of those big, old-fashioned buttons that say “Keep Abortion Legal.” She is wearing a most self-satisfied smile, too. Makes me kind of homesick: The streets of Ann Arbor are, or were, paved with such ladies.
A lot of the women in Santa Fe have a weathered look — they’ve been out in the sun and other elements for many years. I like that look.
And the people are friendly, very much including the slackers, the hacky sackers. The “Hey, dude” culture can be sniffy or friendly, in my experience. Friendly is better, of course.
Wouldn’t you like to take a trip with Bill and Ted?
"Let me give you an idle question: Is Tibet the only anti-Communist cause the Left, generally speaking, has ever embraced?"
The left embraces not only Tibetan, but all hypoxic mysticism. They part from their communist cohorts on this issue not to criticize but to instruct.
Albuquerque isn't ugly. It is, however, a real city. Unlike Santa Fe, we have industries here, and shops for ordinary life, and people can afford to live here.
Remember this dialogue?
Don Pedro: Will you have me, lady?
Beatrice: [pauses] No, my lord, unless I might have another for working-days. Your Grace is too costly to wear everyday.
Santa Fe is too costly to wear every day, by design.
Ugh! Cesar Chavez. Before we left CA, after being raised there 30+ years, the state was renaming EVERYTHING after CC – parks, streets, buildings. It got to a ridiculous stage, to where it wasn't even an honor anymore. It was as though you were bludgeoned into submitting that Chavez was the most important Latino in history. And in my eyes, the practice of renaming everything diminished the potential for Mexican Americans by cementing them in minds of Californians as migrant farm workers, not as upwardly-mobile citizens.
As far as my experience goes, your observation about "Indian" vs. "Native American" is on the money. Do you know what Indians (particularly those in the west) call liberal whites who go west to "help" them?--Lone Rangers.
Re: Tibet, I've often wondered whether all the Leftists with their "Free Tibet" bumper stickers know just who it is that Tibet needs to be freed from? Of course, I'm pretty sure that "Free Tibet" paraphernalia is the ultimate in moral preening: those who carry it around would be horrified if we decided to do any of the things that would actually be required to free Tibet.
I've also wondered occasionally what percentage of the economy of Tibet is devoted to producing handicrafts to send to places like Santa Fe, Boulder, Berkley, etc. so that all the moral preeners can own something "Made in Tibet."
Where is the appreciation for Santa Fe's history? Why didn't Jay use his great writing skills commenting on the Palace of the Governors, oldest continuously occupied building in the US? About Santa Fe being lived in by Native Americans, Spanish, Mexicans, and Americans. Terminus of the Santa Fe trail? The fabulous New Mexico History museum? Art gallery lined Canyon Road -- what did he think of the art? Nearby Apache Canyon where the Mexicans might have prevented Kearny from taking Santa Fe, Pueblo ruins at Pecos, Glorieta Pass Civil War battlefield. So much could have been said. So little was said.
MrMandias is right. I have lived both in Albuquerque and in the wilds northwest of Santa Fe. Albuquerque is as real as it gets, while Santa Fe reminds me of nothing so much as Solvang, California: A very expensive, highly regarded tourist trap, but a tourist trap nonetheless.
I think seats of government have a way of attracting the crazies.
Cesar Chavez. You may be right about everything being named after him deminishes his true work. But his true work was righteous. Helping his fellow man. It doesn't get any better than that.
My mother used to live just outside of Albuquerque. Can't speak for Santa Fe, but there were tons of great Mexican restaurants. Five bucks always got you a ginormous plate of delicious something-or-other.
Northern New Mexico is fun but you gotta get out of Santa Fe. The only honest thing in Santa Fe is the churches. There's one with an altar that came over in the 1500's with individual wooden statues even older; one with the conquistador's initials carved in the beams; and best of all the chapel at the Sisters of Loretta convent where there is a circular staircase with no visible means of support. The nuns prayed a novena. St Joseph appeared on a mule , built the thing and then left on his mule, never to be seen again. A miracle, or so the sisters said.
Toas is much neater. Much more a real place and not a display. Lot's of local art on the square and in the shops. Get a four wheel drive and go up to Truchas and buy a rug. Then follow the main street out of town, up past the ranches and into the mountains. It goes on for miles. Lots of folks live up in there. Be careful with a car, though. Last time we went, the Accord came back with a really weird noise in the front end. Got a nice rug, though.
While you're up there, participate in the battle of local New Mexican restaurants in Espanola and see the Santo Nino de Atocha chapel in Chimayo. But Santa Fe is really only worth a day. Over done and inauthentic.
The New Mexico State flag is definitely one of the best, aesthetically speaking.
When one of my sons was about 11, we did a review of all the state flags, as a sort of bonding exercise. We agreed, for instance, that the flags of Texas, New Mexico and Arizona were cool, and that California's was kind of embarrassingly simple (but not remotely as bad as the California quarter-that HAD to be the work of a commitee).
I got a little snarky about the flags of the midwestern farm states; I thought that they all looked the same, as though the designers were really just mailing it in, and my son, who had recently gotten the lecture on how hard working on a farm 'back in the day' was, pulled me up short by saying "Maybe they had to go plow their fields." The kid already knew that getting the crops in is more important than your logo.
Well, even then, I doubt if the flags were being designed by folks out on the farm. But any flag that does more than simply slapping the state seal on a solid-color field deserves some credit. Personally, I think the best are NM, AK, and RI, which are simple, clean, and distinct.
Jay, you're right on target with Indians. They call the reservations "Indian Country." I did a lot of work with Hopi and Sioux (Lakota). I heard Hopi elders that they hate the term Native because it conjures up images of barbarians running around in their underwear.
I believe you could ask Victor Davis Hanson about Chavez. I just finished Mexifornia (I'm a little behind on my reading, apparently), and his opinion was that Chavez was going after power and money for himself (and that his strategy reflected that).
Enjoyed your comments about Madrid, having driven through there, and stopped, three different times. It's not pronounced like Madrid, Spain. The accent is on the Ma, which is pronounced as is the a in mat. I have good friend who owns an Historic Inn up in Cimarron, NM--not far from Kit Carson's old ranch. We have spent many a pleasant day in New Mexico.
As I recall, I've eaten at Maria's a few times, but I don't think I remember the food -- why bother remembering the food when you can pick from 120 different types of tequila!
To those of you hatin' on Santa Fe for being a tourist trap, I'd just like to say that it is a beautiful place, and well worth a weekend getaway from time to time. Sure, maybe it's a tourist trap, but once in a while it's nice to be a tourist. Aspen, CO and Prague come to mind.
(Speaking of which, don't forget Prague, OK on your list of towns in the US with grand names!)
"St. John’s College...the mere thought of the school makes me think I should be speaking Latin or something."
The language you should be thinking of is ancient Greek. Two years of it required at St. Johns for every student (plus 2 years of French, the modern kind). They don't teach or even read Latin at all. But the diplomas are written in Latin, oddly.
The trip starts in Albuquerque, about which I’ve always heard one thing: Unbeautiful city, beautiful surrounding mountains. I don’t know whether the former claim is true, because I don’t go into the city: I land at the airport, then leave for Santa Fe. But the latter claim, about the mountains, is certainly true.
