We set out for Albuquerque, still traveling along the famous Route 66.
This time, we had an amazing Southwest style breakfast with Huevos Rancheros, Chorizo, Eggs and Coffee before leaving Holbrook, which was really not much of a town. I got my Route 66 passport stamped in the visitor center and received the Arizona Route 66 commemorative certificate after collecting all the stamps along the way. Fun!
About an hour west of Albuquerque is the Acoma Pueblo, also known as "Sky City," It is the longest continuously occupied community in the United States. Archaeologists have dated some of the homes back to 1100 CE, but it's probably even older. As with all Pueblo tours, we had to have a guide, go in a group, and follow certain rules. People are living there, and I felt somewhat awkward about entering their neighborhood and gawking at them. Only one person per group was allowed to have a camera, so I let Matt take the pictures. You had to stay with the group, and there were certain places you weren't allowed to photograph, like the old cemetery and inside the church. You also had to ask for the artists' permission to take pictures of their pottery. Despite this, there was one woman who just ignored the rules. She had two cameras and kept snapping photos the entire time, not listening to our excellent tour guide, Brandon, wandering away from the group and even taking pictures in the cemetery. We were with a group of archaeology grad students and I could tell they wanted to throw her off the edge. I wanted to either turn her in, confront her, or just flip her off. I didn't do anything, but will let the ancient spirits do with her as they will, because there definitely were some at this place. These are some pictures that Matt took
of the San Esteban del Rey church, a very haunting and haunted place. The Spanish first came up to the mesa around 1598, having heard tales of Cibola, the seven cities of gold. They saw the mesa with people living on it, including the mica in the windows, and thought it might be a city of gold. They tried to climb up but were rebuffed several times by the ordinarily peaceful Acoma people. Finally, they used a cannon to blast their way up. Unfortunately, some Spaniards had been killed and of course the governor then "tried" the Acoma for the "murder" of the Spaniards (even though they had just been defending their own homes). The punishment was slavery, and in addition 40 prisoners had either their hand or their food cut off. Then over the following years until 1620, the Acoma people were enslaved by the Spanish and forced to build this church. They had to work without stopping, carrying Ponderosa pine trunks from a mountain 40 miles away. If they died while working, their bodies were interred in the walls of the church. We weren't allowed to take photos of the inside, but when the building was finally finished, Charles II of Spain sent some "gifts" over, including some Stations of the Cross paintings, a big canvas of some souls in Purgatory and a small statue of St. Stephen (hence the name of the church).
During the time of the Pueblo Revolt in 1680, the Acoma people were able to free themselves from the Spanish for a while. They tore down the main altar of the church, but not the walls, because of the loved ones who were buried inside. They went back to their own religion. Inevitably, the Spanish returned and the Indians were again forced to practice Catholicism. It made me really glad that we do teach about the Pueblo Revolt at Northwest.
Despite the terrible treatment the Acoma received in the past, they have gone back to being a very peaceful group of people. They were extremely welcoming to the tour groups, and showed us some amazingly beautiful pottery I wish I could have afforded to buy. There was one man in particular who was combining the ancient art of pottery with some modern painting, and I am telling you his stuff was fantastic. I did buy one very tiny little traditional pot (it's a little bigger than a thimble) from a woman named June. It's a very special souvenir. If you want to learn more about the Acoma Pueblo, here is a link to some history, more pictures, and some stories.
Most Acoma don't live up on top of the mesa the whole time, but they have family homes up there and go up for festivals and other holidays. There is no running water or electricity up there; some of the houses are like a combination of the ancient Anasazi bricks and modern adobe houses.
Now on to Albuquerque, for delicious food, a balloon ride, and, of course, Breaking Bad!
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