Innocent Bystanders

Eddie Pacheco, of the Santo Domingo Pueblo October 14, 2009

Posted by Michael in Personal Experiences, Religion, Travel.
64 comments

I’ll get to Eddie eventually, but first some background information.

Cathy and I are on vacation right now in Santa Fe.  I’ve been learning about this area.

First thing I learned about is the geography.  See, I drove north and west from Dallas thinking I would enjoy the fall colors of the stately New Mexico forests.

Boy was I wrong.  Turns out that Santa Fe is basically a desert valley surrounded by low mountains.  Here is the view from the patio and garden behind our “casita”  about five miles out of town, which means we are in the boonies and there are coyotes howling every night.

We’re staying at Casita Venado.  I think “casita” means “little house.”  Just guessing — I don’t really know Spanish.  I have no idea what “venado” means.  This place is actually an adobe-style cottage which is the guest house in the back yard of this humungous adobe mansion.

Cathy and I actually got access to this mansion a few hours ago.  The property manager gave us the keyless entry code so that the WiFi tech could get in and fix the broadband access for the property.  (This is why I have been offline since Saturday.)

We walked around this place with our mouths hanging open.  Everything is brand new. It is one story, all 14′ open beam wood ceilings.  The beams are actually all perfectly hewn  and evenly proportioned round logs.  It has a cistern system to conserve rainwater from the roof and gardens  to water the yard when it’s dry.  Heating is radiant warming of the floor tiles, just like in our casita.  I estimate the construction cost alone of the main house, exclusive of furnishings, is over $1.5M.  On top of that, it is professionally decorated throughout and has super high-end appliances.

Long story short — Cathy and I still have the entry key code and we are now in a position to host a fabulous party at an adobe mansion in Santa Fe this week.  We can accommodate 80 to 120 people.  There is a hot tub.  BYOB.  Let us know if you are interested.

Aside from the geography, I have been learning about the culture and history of Santa Fe.  It boils down to this — there are a lot of Catholics here.  Lutherans are very scarce.

No seriously, I am not making this up,  This town is pretty small, and it is lousy with Catholics.    They are everywhere.  Despite it’s small size, it rates an archbishop because of its historical significance.  Apparently the Catholic missionaries got here early, before the Lutherans.

That picture was taken by Cathy from the second-floor outside deck of a bar where we stopped for refreshment.

The church dates from the early 1700s.  It’s worth a visit, just to go inside and see the art and the unusual two-tier baptismal font.  When we were leaving, Cathy put some money in the offering box, even though I was giving her the stink-eye,

To be honest, I did not really mind.  Cathy and I have visited fabulous cathedrals all over the world.  Most of them give off the vibe of a museum.  This one in Santa Fe was different.  It gives off the vibe of a lively and active Christian community.

A block away from that church is The Plaza, originally the heart of colonial Santa Fe.  One side of the plaza is now dedicated to Native American artists, the side that is actually the back portico of of the Governor’s Palace.  By long-standing tradition, that portico is treated as reservation property where you can buy crafts, mostly jewelry, free from sales tax, and closely regulated so that you are actually buying from the artisan.

We bought a  bracelet for Cahy from Eddie Pacheco, from the Santo Domingo Pueblo.  The bracelet is beautiful, and the price was modest at this market.  Cathy and I were both attracted to an unusual stone he uses.

Eddie was an engaging and informative jeweler.  The stone we liked is called Picture Jasper, and it is only mined at a single ranch in Oregon.  Eddie considers it a challenge, because it is so hard that it burns up his diamond saw blades, and you have to cut it just right to get the sky-land picture.   He had a chunk of the ore on display, just in case anyone asked about it. According to Eddie, there are only three local artisans who even try to work with this stone.

After Eddie does the  cutting, his uncle has to process these stones in a water-sand agitator. Eddie says it takes three days to polish them, which is more than usual.

Maybe Cathy will post a picture of her Picture Jasper bracelet. Not me. I am trying to make a point.

Eddie Pacheco of the Santo Domingo Pueblo is the paradigm of the American entrepreneur. He was totally engaging as he talked about his art and his family. He is the antithesis of Obama’s vision of America, as he sits in the portico of The Plaza, patiently waiting for a tourist to notice the work of his hands, a tourist that will give him a chance to explain what he has done, and negotiate a price.

See, that’s what I love about traveling.  If you slow down, take a little time, and show some respect, you meet some awesome people.

My life is better because I met Eddie Pacheco of the Santo Domingo Pueblo.