"It is what it is".....

I picked Española on a map and moved here from Seattle in 1993. If I'd listened to the Santa Fe gallery owners or many "well-meaning" out of towners, I might never have come.
Española is what it is. No apologies. It is the punch line of jokes and the bearer of some grim tales. It doesn't pretend to be anything that it isn't. Sprawled across the Rio Grande river, it isn't tidy or trendy. But it is very real and its location is perfect - surrounded by the Sangre de Cristo mountains on the east, the Jemez mountains on the west, Taos to the north 40 miles and Santa Fe 20 miles south! Española sits in the very heart of northern New Mexico!
So why do I think Española is special? Lots of reasons!

The travel guides call Española the "low rider capital of the world". Only here you can see Our Lady of Guadalupe painted beautifully on one side of a car and a rising Christ on the other. Circling continually between the two Sonic Burgers on Riverside Drive, low riders provide quite a show evenings and weekends.

One of the best things about Española is LOCATION! Española is right in the center of northern New Mexico and within 45 minutes of all of these places of interest.

• Taos - Galleries, Shops, Museums, Restaurants
• Santa Fe - Galleries, Shops, Museums, Restaurants
• Española - Low rider capital of the world
• Ojo Caliente hot springs - Old, sacred hot springs and mineral baths
• Truchas (of Milagro Beanfield Wars fame)
• Six of the eight northern Indian Pueblos
• Los Alamos - the labs, museum, etc.
• Bandelier National Park (Anasazi ruins)
• Abiquiu (home of later artist, Georgia O'Keeffe)
• Plaza Blanca - one of O'Keeffe's favorite painting places
• Ghost Ranch - first home of Georgia O'Keeffe in New Mexico, hiking, swimming, horseback riding
• Echo Canyon - hiking trails, wonderful picnic spot
• Chimayô, a traditional weaving community
• El Sanctuario de Chimyô - a church known for the healing dirt found there.
• Santa Fe Flea Market
• Skiing - at Taos Mountain, Santa Fe Ski, Pajarito Mountain in Los Alamos
• High road to Taos - and the hispanic villages of Truchas, Las Trampas, Ojo Sarco, etc.
• Four casinos
• Rio Grande River - rafting, scenic whitewater river
• Velarde - home of the champagne apple orchards
• Several Wineries
• Towa Golf Course, Pojoaque
• Black Mesa Golf Course, Española - 1/2 mile down my road - reported to be the best golf course in New Mexico by Golf Magazine, 2006.

Most of the people who live in the Española Valley are proud of who they are, where they live and of a heritage that often extends all the way back to Don Juan de Oñate and the town he founded near the San Juan Pueblo in the 16th Century. Way before the spanish conquered the area, Native Americans known as the Anasazi (Ancient Ones) lived in cliff dwellings nearby, such as Puye and Bandelier. They are the ancestors of many of our current pueblos that surround the town of Española. Santa Clara land lies just across the road from me and on it are the homes built by two of Santa Clara's most prominent artists - Nora Naranjo-Morse, a poet and potter and her brother, Michael Naranjo, famous as a blind sculptor. The Anglos (anyone who is not Indian or Hispanic), arrived only two hundred years ago, largely as artists hired by the railroads - to paint and entice others to visit. Santa Fe and Taos remain as one of the 4 major art markets in the U.S.

Three of the eight northern pueblos surround Española - Santa Clara, San Ildefonso (known for Maria and her famouns black pottery) and San Juan Pueblo.

Española is a loose conglomeration of communities brought together by the old Chile Line railroad in the 19th century. The communities include Santa Cruz, Guachupangue, San Pedro, and a few others. Centuries-old Santa Cruz church sits at the center of a parish that has remained active for more than 300 years and houses remarkable carvings, altar pieces and other artwork. A few miles further east, not far from the gallery/workshop of the renowned Ortega weavers, is the Santuario de Chimayô, a shrine that draws visitors from around the world. Along the roads from as far away as Albuquerque, one can see hundreds of people walking to the Santuario each Good Friday in early spring. Some carry crosses; others walk along with family and friends. The dirt at the Santuario is reputed to have miraculous healing qualities, a fact attested to by many. Near the Santuario one can even purchase Holy Chile, grown in the fields nearby. * .

A major tradition in Española is devotion to the basic cuisine common to the area for hundreds of years. Most of the town's restaurants cater to local taste first, which offers travelers something they might have trouble finding in downtown Santa Fe or Taos: authentic local food short on frills and long on taste. You know you're in northern New Mexico when your waitperson replies to your order with, "Red or Green?", asking for your preference in chile. If you'd like to try both the acceptable answer is "Christmas". If you'd like neither, think again. New Mexico is the only state in the union with a legislated state question - and "Red or Green?" is it. My personal favorite restaurants in Española include Angelina's (best red chile anywhere), El Paragua (a favorite of Robert Redford, who visited often while directing "The Milagro Beanfield Wars" filmed in nearby Truchas), Anthony's at the Delta (more upscale), and Dandy Burger (for the best frito pie anywhere!). And if you don't know what a sopapilla is - come taste!!! Also worth mentioning are La Cocina and Mathilda's, both of which have been here since the 50's! * For some recipes, click here.

For the adventurer and traveler, Española is an perfect and an ideal base from which to venture out and explore incredible northern New Mexico.