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.
For our June issue, we spoke with Antonia (Ortiz) Velasquez. Raised in Questa, Antonia has found her calling as the education coordinator for the Fort Garland Museum and Cultural Center; a career that combines cultural knowledge and traditions with her personal experiences of growing up in Questa.
Antonia has deep roots in the traditions and community of Questa. Her parents, Michael and Ruby Ortiz, instilled in her a strong work ethic through their life on a ranch. Lessons and skills she learned from her grandmother have not only stuck with her, but have made her extremely successful in life.
Antonia’s childhood was significantly shaped by her paternal grandmother, Ofelia Ortiz, who owned and operated Louie’s Cafe in Questa, along with Velasquez’s Tió Herman Ortiz. As a child, Antonia spent much of her time helping out at the restaurant. She has fond memories of peeling potatoes, making French fries, and enjoying meals prepared by her Tió Herman. “I remember getting dropped off by the bus right in front of the restaurant and my Tió having prepared a burrito or burger and fries for me.” Her grandmother and Tió Herman not only fed her but also helped with her homework and taught her how to cook. Antonia also learned to make pies and capulin or chokecherry jelly from her grandmother, a tradition she continues today. Her grandfather, Louie, built the restaurant for Ofelia, and her Tió Herman worked there as a cook. Ofelia ran the restaurant for 47 years and Antonia was lucky enough to have many experiences and valued time with her grandma and Tio growing up.
Antonia’s connection to her family traditions and heritage is profound. She grew up in the same house her grandmother and dad had lived in. The house is the last remaining portion of what was once a “plazuela,” a multi-home unit dwelling with a well in the center right behind Louie’s Cafe. She recalled her grandmother having planted an apple tree on the property, the fruit of which she used to make pies. The capulín harvested for jelly came from the trees behind the house which were once part of an old orchard. These early experiences and the values instilled by her grandmother and Tió Herman have had a lasting impact on Antonia’s life, shaping her drive and direction.
She describes her grandmother as the most influential person in her life, and Tió Herman, along with her parents, as her biggest supporters.
Antonia graduated from Questa High School in 2004 and moved to Alamosa, Colo., where she attended Adams State University. During her first year of college, she was inspired to apply to the education program. After being accepted into the program, Antonia pursued an interdisciplinary studies degree with an emphasis in elementary education and a minor in art and Spanish, graduating in 2008. She went on to earn a Master’s degree in culturally and linguistically diverse education from Adams State in 2012.
Upon completing her student teaching in Blanca, Colo., she continued to teach in the same district for 14 years. Antonia taught third grade for 10 years and fifth grade for three years. She then served for one year as the kindergarten through 5th grade instructional coach and Tier III Intensive Program instructor. In December, Antonia married her husband, Joshua Velasquez, whom she’s been with since 2009. She mentioned that they love cooking, traveling, and hunting together.
After her son CJ graduated from high school, Antonia sought a change and found an opportunity at the museum in Fort Garland, Colo. In June 2022 she became the education coordinator at the Fort Garland Museum and Cultural Center, a role that allows her to continue working with children and engaging with community, teaching cultural traditions and history, both of which she finds fulfilling.
As the education coordinator, Antonia is responsible for all educational programming and outreach programs to schools like Sierra Grande in Blanca, Colo. She creates opportunities for students to learn about their history, hosting Friday programming, school break camps, and conducting school visits where she shares her knowledge and passion about cooking, traditional ways of living, and why knowledge of these things is important to share. Some of her work includes visiting schools in the San Luis Valley and even traveling back to her hometown of Questa, where she visited the cosecha (harvest) at Questa High School to teach students how to make adobe bricks. She also offers classes on creating chile ristras, making tortillas, biscochitos, and posole, calling these courses “abuelita’s kitchen lessons,” teaching students the traditional dishes she learned from her grandmother.
In her free time, Antonia enjoys baking and cooking and listening to audiobooks while crafting and creating floral arrangements. She recalled teaching her son CJ how to make pies and how he has excelled in that.
When asked why traditions are important to carry on, Antonia described how we live in a fast-paced world where physical and in-person connections are becoming fewer and fewer. “You get to the point where you realize that you take time and people for granted, and don’t value or appreciate the time you had with people who are now gone. We have all of these amazing traditions and knowledge and one day they’ll be gone if we don’t learn from the people who know them who are still here with us.”
Antonia expresses deep gratitude for the path that has opened for her, allowing her to pursue her passions. A life mantra she tries to live by is to be present in the moment, savoring and enjoying life, and striving to be the best version of herself in a fast-paced world.
Antonia is truly the result of small town living, soaking up all the good surrounding her and then paying it forward. Her foundation from farm and ranch life to lessons from her grandmother are what set that stage for her career and way of life. Her authenticity and gratitude for traditions that seem at times forgotten make you want to hold on to what you learned from the people who have shaped you and pass it on.
