Historias de la familia, amor, aventuras, y desventuras dichas por la gente de nuestro país

Voces de Nuestro País ~ Voices of Our Area are monthly story gatherings celebrating local voices and culture. Featured local guests share stories of family, community, history, love, land, work, adventures, and misadventures.

Voces de Nuestro País ~ Voices of Our Area are monthly story gatherings celebrating local voices and culture. Featured local guests share stories of family, community, history, love, land, work, adventures, and misadventures.
Coming up: On Saturday, September 11, 2-4 pm at Questa Library, Voces de Nuestro País will feature Bobby Ortega and his son and musician Dwayne Ortega in our fifteenth episode.

Coming up: On Sat, Oct. 17, 2 – 4 p.m. join us at the Screamin’ Bull Outfitters Lodge for this month’s event, Amalia, Ventero & Costilla Community Memory Gathering, with Chris, Gloria and Louie Lucero, and their relatives, friends and neighbors. They will reflect together on early days in their communities, experiences with their families, local schools, teachers, traditions and more.

“Many people we grew up with have left town or left this world, so we are excited to get together, reminisce and put our memories together,” expresses Gloria Lucero.

Louie Lucero established Screamin’ Bull Outfitters in Amalia in the late 1970’s with his wife, Gloria as lodge manager. It was not long after that his son, Chris Lucero, joined his father in the business of outfitting private land elk hunts on the Rio Costilla Park Ranch. They have both been instrumental in helping to shape not only the management of the area elk herd but also its other natural resources. Chris now runs the business and Louie and Gloria support the guiding business with hospitality and cooking at the lodge.

The Luceros have deep roots in Amalia. Chris Lucero describes: “Being born and raised in the valley gave me the blessing of family and a childhood of security, happiness and support in a community where friends and family were all watching and “babysitting” as my brother and I rode our banana seat pedal bikes up and down the dirt road. We always knew there was security in this community. Enjoying the outdoors of fishing and camping drew me to the passion of hunting and guiding. Carrying on the tradition of hunting has become part of my world. Life in Amalia is like no other, a grounding rod you might say.”

Find Screamin’ Bull Lodge at #761 NM Highway 196, Amalia, NM, for this special Voces de Nuestro País event.
Looking Back: Our Sept. 12th event featured Bobby Ortega and his son, musician and football Coach Dwayne Ortega. Bobby reflected on the local mountains and canyons that inspire him and “La Otra Vanda” where they run cattle. Dwayne performed traditional music, including mariachi songs and “la entrega.” He explained that understanding lyrics was essential to conveying emotion behind the music; for him this was the path to also becoming fluent in Spanish. The heart of the conversation centered on family history and cultural preservation.

They traced their lineage through the Rael and Ortega families, described the matanza, and recalled the early 20th-century sheep herders, including Bobby’s grandfather who left tree carvings in what is now National Forest and Wilderness. Discussions touched on the Catholic church as a cornerstone of Questa’s community, culture, and history. The conversation concluded with tributes to the heritage of the Northern Rio Grande region, and the sense of shared duty to pass traditions on to the next generation.

Save the date: On Sat, Nov. 7, 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Voces de Nuestro País is teaming up with The Paseo Project, Del Fuego, and the Forest Stewards Guild to bring the “Disturbance” project to Questa. Fire Ecology Day at the Wild Rivers Visitor Center is a day-long event exploring wildfire as both a destabilizing force and a generative ecological process with art exhibits, talks, family fun activities, music and food and our Fire Stories Open Mic. Come share your fire story!

Each “Voces” event is recorded and released as a video and audio podcast on YouTube, Apple Podcasts, Spotify, and Amazon Music; search “Voces de Nuestro País” to find these new sessions. By sharing these stories virtually, we hope to extend and multiply the sense of community connection and understanding that is felt during the live gatherings. Please tell your friends and family!

MC Michael Rael and Claire Coté host these monthly gatherings and podcast episodes, in collaboration with Questa Library and Voices of the Northern Rio Grande, a program of local nonprofit, Localogy. Audio recordings, videos, and images from “Voces de Nuestro País” events are also added to the growing digital community archive, a local repository and resource established by Voices of the Northern Rio Grande and Questa Public Library with support from the LOR Foundation, Taos Community Foundation Chevron Grants for Goodpast and the Manitos Community Memory Project. Thanks to Wyman Edwards for Video Recording and Dan Kuehn for website design and media upload. Learn more about the community archive and listen to community stories at QuestaStories.org.

If you have stories you’d like to share, please contact Michael Rael or Claire Coté. Email Michael at rael870@gmail.com or Claire at QuestaStories@gmail.com or call or text (575) 224-9066.

Voces de Nuestro País

Amalia, Ventero & Costilla Community Memory Gathering
Saturday, Oct. 17
2 – 4 p.m.

The Amalia, Ventero & Costilla Community Memory Gathering is a live community event hosted by Voces de Nuestro País. Attendees will gather with Chris, Gloria, and Louie Lucero—along with their relatives, friends, and neighbors—to reminisce and share stories about early life in their communities, family experiences, local schools, traditions, and local history. The event is recorded and later released as a video and audio podcast.

Where: Screamin’ Bull Outfitters Lodge,
#761 NM Highway 196, Amalia, NM

Contact:
Michael Rael: rael870@gmail.com
Claire Coté: QuestaStories@gmail.com
Phone/Text: (575) 224-9066
Website: QuestaStories.org