Being raised in a community where your history connects to every part of your present, it is difficult to find the courage to leave. It is similarly difficult to forge a path and stay. Questa del Rio News is committed to highlighting different members of our community, both those who have created their paths and planted their own roots in the community that raised them, and those who have pursued lives outside of the community—through our Representando series. This series is dedicated to those who are Representando communities in northern Taos County, in various facets of life.
Ronnie Gallegos, a Questa native and 1982 Questa High School graduate, attributes his successful career in the military, education, and public service to the bedrock values instilled by his parents: his mother’s patience and his father’s leadership.
Born in Questa in 1964, Ronnie is one of nine children born to Adonario “Horsie” and Petronila “Peggy” Gallegos. He grew up near La Cienga Elementary School, experiencing a childhood ingrained in community and faith. One of Gallegos’s favorite things about Questa is how the community comes together in times of need and in times of celebration. “When someone is hurting, the whole community comes to their aid,” Gallegos said, recalling several memories from his childhood and as a young adult.
Growing up, church life was central to the Gallegos family. “I was an altar server and a Peregrino (pilgrim) all through my youth. I spent a lot of time growing up in the church and we always went to midnight mass,” he recalled. During Christmas, he remembers walking up Flag Mountain to find a Christmas tree and decorate it with his family. His mother’s famous mountain bread was a staple, often packed into his pockets along with potted meat or Vienna sausages on days exploring the mountains.
Gallegos’ father, Adonario, a World War II combat veteran, was a quiet man. “When he spoke, we knew to listen,” Gallegos said. “My parents were awesome. Gallegos and his siblings quickly learned the value of respecting their parents. “We just had to get one look, and we knew to behave.” He describes his mother’s extraordinary patience. “She would get up so early to make us breakfast, and I would just sit and watch her,” he said. “When I’d mess up, she would just look at me and wait for me to speak and then respond. She never put me down.” Gallegos notes that his mother had to step up and help raise her siblings after her mother died young. “I don’t know anyone that has the maternal instinct like my mother.
Growing up, Gallegos and his siblings were not taught Spanish, as their parents had faced punishment for speaking it in school. He learned the language later in life, recalling his desperate desire to converse with his Spanish-speaking grandparents. He was able to have a conversation with his grandmother shortly before she died, informing her that, despite her prayers, he would not be a priest. “My parents and grandparents always prayed for one of us boys to become a priest,” Gallegos chuckles.
While in high school Gallegos was a four sport athlete and student body president. After high school, Gallegos briefly attended the University of New Mexico in Albuquerque but found the college scene intimidating. He returned to Questa. A wake-up call came when his partying led to crashing his mother’s car and his father issued an ultimatum: “Straighten up or get out.”
Gallegos joined the Marines in 1984 mostly on a gut feeling but his interest peaked after his sister secured a scholarship with the Marines. His military career spanned 28 years: eight in the Marines, 10 in the National Guard, and 10 in the Reserves, including five Combat deployments and receiving some of the Nations highest Decorations; The Bronze Star with Valor and the Purple Heart for being wounded. He was deployed on a Western Pacific Tour in 1987, and then in Desert Storm, and went on two deployments to Iraq. Gallegos was wounded in action and received the Purple Heart in 2003.
Gallegos recalled teaching on Sept. 11, 2001, when he saw the planes hit the World Trade Center. He remembers telling his students they were witnessing history and informed them he would be leaving to fight for the country, leading to a deployment in 2003. Gallegos recalled when his brother, Joey, died while serving in Iraq in 2009. “It was so sad for our family when Joey died. I was chosen to be his Military Escort from Dover Air Force Base in Delaware because I was still part of the Military.” Of his surviving siblings, four currently reside in the Questa, one in the Española area and one in El Rito. His first sibling, younger brother Johnny, passed away in 1993.
Gallegos recalled that after his first deployment, the village of Questa held a parade for him, bringing him in on a fire truck from the bridge south of town. “Culture is one of those things that should never leave our little town. Our community comes together at the time of need and I’ve never seen that before while I have traveled the world.”
With college credits from UNM and Highlands University, Gallegos earned a bachelor’s degree in history and political science. He eventually fell into teaching after being a substitute teacher and realized that teaching was his calling. He taught high school and middle school until 2012, specializing in history and biology. Gallegos credits his teachers with having a profound impact on him, beginning with his very first day of school. At just three years old, he was not yet officially old enough to attend, but because his older brother, Donald, was going, Gallegos was allowed to join his aunt Loveida’s class.
Gallegos has an extensive coaching career beginning in 1992, starting with girls’ basketball at Española Valley High School, then football and baseball. He then coached football and baseball at McCurdy leading teams to three State Runner up placements. His final years were coaching football at Taos High School and after 30 years coaching in 2023 he retired. He credits his father, who coached him in Little League, for demonstrating when it was time to step down and let someone else lead.
“Teaching and coaching are a calling and I loved it,” he said. “Every morning in my classroom, I’d have a different quote, and I’d let the students decipher it.” Gallegos, who has lived in Española for 34 years and married to Mary Money-Gallegos and has two sons Andrew and James, now focuses on public service. He is involved with the Santa Cruz Irrigation District and serves on the Española Planning and Zoning board. One thing Gallegos loves to do is a sports recap that airs on the Native Winds Radio in Taos, covering northern New Mexico sports.
Besides sports, another passion of his is helping other veterans. He holds a recurring coffee and tea date with fellow veterans at a Burger King in Española and while he attended Northern New Mexico Community College he started the Veterans Resource Office which assists Veterans with benefits, college and trade programs.
Gallegos’ life mantra, inspired by his time in the Marines, is “Leave no one behind.” He also lives by the saying, “To teach is to learn and to learn is to teach.” He draws inspiration from his family, recalling his grandmother splitting wood until she was 90 years old. “I don’t have a wood splitter. My arms are my wood splitters,” he laughs, planning to follow her example.
For many locals who have left Questa and return on occasion to see family and friends there’s nothing like coming down the hill and crossing the bridge into town. It allows you to relax your shoulders and take a breath. For Gallegos, Questa remains his touchstone. “When I’m coming down the hill into Questa I can finally breathe and say I’m home.”
