Voces de Nuestro País ~ Voices of Our Area are monthly story gatherings celebrating local voices and culture. Featured local guests share stories of family, history, love, work, adventures, and misadventures. Each event is recorded and released as an audio and video podcast on YouTube, Apple Podcasts, Spotify, and Amazon Music; search “Voces de Nuestro País.” By sharing these stories virtually, we hope to extend and multiply the sense of community connection that is felt during the live gatherings. Please tell your friends and family!

In Apr., Voces de Nuestro País continued its exploration of music, family, church, and community with Billy and John Archuleta of Des Montes. The ninth event in the ongoing series will take place at the Questa Public Library on Saturday, Apr. 11, from 2–4 p.m.

Singer, guitarist, and composer Billy Archuleta is widely known for his many years of music ministry in the Catholic Church. He has composed two complete Masses and recorded the liturgical CD Primero Dios. Throughout the Taos area, he has led choirs and provided music for countless weddings and funerals.

John Archuleta is celebrated for performing the traditional Spanish music of Northern New Mexico and Southern Colorado. A skilled vocalist and multi-instrumentalist, he plays the guitarrón, guitar, and mandolin. He has performed with the Audrey Davis Trio and Aztec Gold, and released the CD Cuatro Milpas.

The brothers have performed extensively in and around Taos for many years, together and in other bands, as well as in solo performances at the Taos Inn and other local venues. This month, the community is invited to hear their music and stories at the Questa Public Library.

Our Sixth Voces de Nuestro País session took place on Feb. 21 with Vito Trujillo Sr. and Vito Trujillo Jr. who skillfully played a variety of songs from diverse genres, norteños to blues to sacred music. In between songs they shared stories and snippets of their lives steeped in music from an early age, playing professionally in LA and NM, founding the St. Francis de Assis Church Choir and Adobe Records and the importance of keeping Northern NM musical traditions alive. The event was infused with their enthusiasm, wisdom and joyful approach to music, church, community and life.

On March 14 Kate Cisneros and Corinne Montoya were featured for the Seventh Voces de Nuestro País event. Their stories reflected their shared experience being raised in Cerro by a strong, intelligent single mother and grandmother and woman before her time. Our mouths watered as they described her cooking and we were surprised to hear that hers was a pilot home for the Peace Corps in the early 1960’s when the program was founded. They transported listeners with humor as they described her ingenuity, work ethic and skill in raising 19 kids (10 of her own and 9 grandchildren and nephews).

Both of these Voces de Nuestro País gems are available to listen to and watch online. We invite you to check them out and enjoy!

Michael Rael is MC and curator for these monthly gatherings and podcast episodes, hosted 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 being added to the digital community archive, a local repository and resource established by Voices of the Northern Rio Grande and Questa Public Library with support from the Manitos Community Memory Project. Learn more about the community archive and listen to stories from community members at QuestaStories.org and QuestaLibrary.org.

Don’t miss our ninth “Voces de Nuestro País” event at Questa Library on Saturday, Apr. 11, 2-4 p.m. We hope you can join us!

If you have stories you’d like to share, please let Michael Rael know. You can often find him at Rael’s Market or email him at rael870@gmail.com.