In the quiet village of Questa, where mountains hold generations of stories and tradition, many residents grew up guided by the same steady forces: faith, family and the rhythm of small-town living. For lifelong resident Lorraine Duran, those values shaped every memory of her upbringing and every season of her life.
Born Sept. 17, 1942, to Eloy and Emelina Garcia, Duran was raised in a bustling household as the youngest of seven siblings —Gaspar, Marcelina, Norbert, Lino, Conrad, and Florence. The family also raised her nephew, Gilbert, as one of their own. Her father worked long days at the Questa mine and later for the Taos County Department of Public Works, while her mother cared for the home and the children.
Church life defined much of Duran’s childhood. Holy days were never missed, and June — the month dedicated to the Sacred Heart — meant daily walks from the family’s home to St. Anthony’s Church, more than a mile away. She recalled running and playing along the dusty roads with her siblings as they made their way to pray the rosary every day in June.
Life was simple, she said, but full of small joys. Soda was rare, so she and her siblings made a homemade version with baking soda, sugar and vinegar. “It was good and helped with your craving of a soda before we could afford them,” she said. “And when we did have a soda, we drank every last drop and cherished it.”
Winters brought more homemade treats. Duran remembers brittle made from melted sugar and butter, and her mother’s special ice cream — fresh snow mixed with canned milk, sugar and vanilla. Her mother insisted it should always come from the second snowfall, never the first.
One of Duran’s most treasured memories is Las Posadas, a nine-day Catholic celebration widely practiced in Latin American communities across North America and deeply rooted in Questa, Costilla and Cerro. Beginning nine days before Christmas, families took turns hosting nightly novenas. Community members carried statues of St. Joseph and the Blessed Mother from house to house, reenacting Mary and Joseph’s search for shelter before Jesus was born.
Each evening brought prayer, songs and shared refreshments. Early on, hosts offered simple cups of coffee, punch and homemade treats. Over the years, the meals grew into hearty plates of fried potatoes, enchiladas and warm bowls of posole.
“It was such a beautiful tradition,” Duran said. “People opened their homes with such warmth, and we celebrated with prayer, singing and Mass, then shared a meal together. When my husband, Nilo, and I hosted, my sister Florence always helped us prepare. And when she and my brother-in-law, Felimon, hosted, I helped them. It brought our whole family together.”
As time passed, fewer volunteers stepped forward to host, and the tradition became harder for the parish to maintain.
Christmas, Lorraine said, was always a sacred time for her family. “We would go to midnight Mass when I was a child, and later, when my kids were small, we always attended,” she recalled. “We’d leave Mass at two or three in the morning, and it was frigid cold, but that didn’t matter. What mattered was celebrating the sacred birth of Jesus together as a family. When I was younger, I was made to go, but as I got older, I truly enjoyed it. Continuing this tradition with my own children made me feel connected to the memories of my childhood.”
Duran carried the values of her upbringing into adulthood. She raised her children — Monique, Jeffery, Dayna and Shannon — and José, her grandson who she raised like her own. Duran was well-known to many in the community as granny, a nickname she got after José was born. Like her parents, she opened her home to her entire family, reflecting the way Questa families look after one another.
Her life was not without hardship. Her oldest brother was killed in World War II, a loss deeply felt within the family. Duran herself was also widowed young when her husband, Nilo, died Dec. 2, 1988.
Through every joy and every challenge, Duran held close the values she learned on long walks to church, snowy nights of Las Posadas and the simple pleasures of small-town life. Her memories reflect a way of living that shaped generations of Questa families — a life rooted in faith, strengthened by family and sustained by community.
One can still find the tradition of Las Posadas celebrated throughout the parish community beginning on Dec. 16- Dec. 24. If you’re interested in hosting or to find the schedule, you can contact the parish office at (575) 586-0470. The traditional midnight mass on Christmas eve will be held at St. Anthony’s Catholic church in Questa.
