A Decision... (Part 2)

(Well it's late and I must rise early in the morning, but I had promised a post today, so here it is...)

I had been at the coffee shop known as Ventero for a few hours, and had met a lot of characters from the community already, as well as the other volunteer named Jeremy. I spent the early afternoon talking to Randy and Jeremy about the town, the people, and the not-for-profit organization. In talking to Randy, he mentioned a morada project that they were planning. Right around that time, a weathered old hispanic man walked in and headed over to speak with Randy. I was briefly introduced to Jimmy before they got to talking about an old press that was being donated to the cause, which was to be put in the morada to either be used or sold to support the store (the owner didn't care what happened to it, he just wanted to be rid of it). Jimmy left to go pick it up, and Randy asked if I minded helping out unloading it so I could go see the building.

An hour later, I found myself stood outside a run-down old adobe building, helping unload the huge bulky old printing press from Jimmy's trailer. Unfortunately, it wasn't quite what they expected, so Francis' husband (you remember Francis, right? The lady behind the counter at the coffee shop) took it away on what was affectionately known as the San Luis Forklift, a tiny Caterpillar skid steer loader, and put it in his scrap heap. Making the best of a bad situation, Randy decided to show me around. Unfortunately, he had lost the key to the padlocked morada door that afternoon, so we had to climb through a broken glass window to get in.

Now, a little explaining. A morada is a small chapel of the Hispanic Penitentes. They were used for services, social gatherings, and back-room meetings between the fraternal brothers while the women cooked. At the front of one part of the L shaped building was an altar. There were very few windows, and the ones they had were small and shuttered, hinting towards the slightly shadowy nature of the brotherhood. The adobe walls cracking, and some parts of the structure had collapsed completely. There was dust in the air and dirt covering the old floorboards, but it was beautiful.

The project revolved around creating a not-for-profit cultural center there. It was to be completely renovated, and set up to be a place for people to go to learn all about the old crafts, weaving, cooking, pottery and the like. The aim was to teach children (and again, adults) not only how to create these items and cook this food, but also learn about the history, the culture, the heart of San Luis. The renovated morada would also double as a studio for the students there to display and sell their work, and also a gathering place for community events. I began to see the vision.

I hope to sit down and have a good chat with Jimmy about what happened to this town some time soon and take notes. I'm told that he is the authority on San Luis's history. Just tonight, in fact, it was joked that Jimmy came here with the conquistadors. For now though, I will just say that to drive around the valley, it's obvious that the place used to be a great deal more popular and wealthy. Somewhere along the line businesses left, taking jobs, money, and people with it. There are abandoned buildings throughout San Luis, and just outside of town, one cannot count the amount of abandoned adobe houses, some of which have literally and completely collapsed. This place has seen much better days, but now, with the help of a few people who have a vision and a little passion, one can feel something of a hope. It can be seen in the eyes of old Jimmy. He's seen the best of times here and the worst of times, and his willingness to help shows ever so clearly that he knows he is helping to rebuild this community he so loves.

"This community"... It's not every day one talks about community in any sense other than racial or religious, i.e. "the black community", or "the mormon community", but in my short stay here, I have firmly come to believe that the San Luis valley's community, while poor in financial terms, is rich in spirit. Everyone I have spoken to has a story, a service to offer, a kind word, or a listening ear. I have met and spoken to many people here already, and I don't think I have met a single forgettable person. Many have told me with a genuine smile: "Well if there's anything you need, anything I can do, let me know!"

I'll take this opportunity to get back to the story at hand. We left the morada and headed back to Ventero to hang out for a while longer. Just before the store closed, Jeremy turned up with a 6 pack of beer and asked if I'd like to stay and celebrate St. Patrick's day with them. We sat around the closed coffee shop and chatted over beer. The time eventually came when the bottles were dry, and Randy insisted that I stay in one of the rooms at his inn for the night. I accepted the kind offer, and he ran over to the store to grab some food for an evening meal. Soon we were speeding down the road towards New Mexico, him in his powerful 4x4, and me in my '93 Honda Civic, struggling to keep up. We turned left towards the mountains about a mile after hitting NM, taking us into a beautiful valley. The road wound around the north side of the valley, overlooking the whole place, while gently descending towards the valley floor. After a few miles of this stunning view, we pulled into the parking lot of the inn, a wooden-clad building on the valley floor. As I got out of my vehicle, I could hear the nearby stream rushing, the air was crisp, and the view of the snow-topped terrain all around was tremendous.

Randy gave me a tour of the room I was to take for the night, and we headed to his apartment above the inn. I cooked the meal we were to eat, and we sat and discussed San Luis and Ventero some more over dinner. Finally, exhausted from a full day, I headed to my room and slept like a log. I had very strange dreams that night.

***** I hate to do this to you all again, but I think I'll have to leave it here for tonight as I will need to be up early tomorrow for something of a treasure hunt. I'm sure you all see where this whole "decision" thing may be headed... See you all tomorrow!