Books by "Ray John de Aragon"
4 books found
This study by an author with intergenerational ties to the Penitentes--the deeply religious group called Hermanos de la Luz (Brothers of the Light)--ties the santero folk art of New Mexico, the Penitente Brotherhood, and the Penitente religious hymns together. (Christian)
Pull on the uncanny threads from the legendary tapestry of New Mexico's Native American heritage. Ancient Indian history and present Native American cultures are woven together in the Land of Enchantment. The threads of these tales stretch back to Mimbres burial grounds and prehistoric trade routes. Stories and traditions tie the land to its people, in spite of the cycles of slaughter and theft that have threatened to pluck them apart. Descend into the kivas of Chaco Canyon or seek out the high mountains where the clouds mark the stones. From legends of the Salt Woman to the legacy of the Ghost Dance, Ray John de Aragon examines the mysteries of the mesas.
A study of the legend of La Llorona, the ghost of a woman whose wailing is thought to be an omen of death. The author has woven together the many variations of the legend he discovered in interviewing residents of many New Mexico towns.
“Surprisingly lively . . . An absorbing tale about the land shenanigans that took place in New Mexico after the Mexican-American War ended in 1848.” —Albuquerque Journal At the end of the Mexican-American War, the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo guaranteed previous Spanish and Mexican land grants, as well as rights for Native Americans to their ancestral homelands. However, organized property theft began soon after. People were methodically dispossessed of their homes through manipulation, conspiracy and even organized crime rings, leading to widespread poverty and isolation. Then in 1967, the Tierra Amarilla Courthouse Raid, led by charismatic civil rights leader Reies López Tijerina, brought the age-old struggle over these stolen lands to the national stage. Author Ray John de Aragón brings to light the suffering brought to New Mexico by land barons, cattlemen and unscrupulous politicians and the effects still felt today. “The history of stolen land in New Mexico is a convoluted one and the myths surrounding Tijerina have given rise to falsehoods. In his latest book, de Aragón aims to set the record straight.” —Akron Beacon Journal