Taos: The Sacred and Profane

In this year of “Return to Sacred Places,” it is only fitting that elected leaders and their appointees see the customs and laws affecting Church and State in different ways. Just as the denizens of downtown Manhattan are having their debate about the role of an Islamic Center—despite the common cultural ancestor for all three great Mid Eastern Monotheisms–so, aqui en Taos, we must roil and argue the merits of prejudice and policy—though the overwhelming background of the residents is more Catholic than other?

Prayer, St. Jude, and Roman Catholicism are under attack at the Taos Municipals Schools. The sanctified acequias, historically and currently, in the Town of Taos are being encroached upon by the powerful thirst for mammon, not water, in this the year of celebrating the Return of Blue Lake. At Taos County, however, commission teetotalers are standing up for God’s Holy Roman Church, refusing to allow the consumption of un-sanctified holy firewater within 300 feet of St. Francis de Asis. Is it 282 feet or  305 feet—depending on who holds the tape measure against the wall?

In rejecting the consumption of spirits, the Commissioners are bringing to a close an historic custom, wherein Ranchos residents could have a drink within spitting distance of St. Francis at La Fiesta Lounge or Old Martinez Hall. Not long ago,  profane politicos bellied up to the bar–apparently within 300 feet of St. Francis.

Attorney Anthony Lopez has sent TMS a letter on behalf of the Holy Man of Mora, James Branch, one-time THS basketball coach, for wrongful termination, based on several violations of state and federal law. Ostensibly, Branch was terminated for mentioning that his team might engage in voluntary prayer during half time. The well-known associate of St. Jude (patron saint of lost causes) also, according to the record, may have ignored the Interim Superintendent’s admonition to play her hito as one of the starting five.

For forty years the Town of Taos has ignored what Sylvia Rodriquez’s book, “Acequia: Water Sharing, Sanctity, and Place,” might refer to as the sacred nature of the Spring Ditch. Its origins can be traced, in part, to water originating in the sacred Blue Lake. Taos Pueblo sanctified Blue Lake and its sacred nature was confirmed by  the U.S. Congress and President of the United States back in 1970. The Spring Ditch, like other acequias, has been encroached upon just as Autumn Acres, a Town approved development, also encroaches on historic acequias.  The town may have encroached  on the rights of believers to practice their ancient rites at a local Ashram on Martinez Lane.

The secular humanists at the school and town in terms of practice contrast sharply with the fundamental leanings of the commissioners, who rejected a request for a beer and wine license at Martina’s (aka Old Martinez Hall). The Town, despite contentious debate, ultimately approved a beer and wine license within 300 feet of Our Lady of Guadalupe. Render unto Caesar our GRT! etc. Prayer at St. Francis has lived side by side with revelers at the Fiesta Lounge and Old Martinez for ‘lo these many years. These same progressive commissioners frequently make exceptions in the land-use code and subdivision regs to spur local business, say the “Outlaw Garage” or “Blackstone Ranch.”

One might ask oneself if Martina’s last name were Martinez instead of Gebhardt if the outcome would have been different—or even Vigil, Struck, or Duran? No, that’s not fair. It’s a question of reverence and piety—not mammon or prejudice.

The law, which has codified custom, can’t be wrong unless it affects la familia y los cuates: see development vor outlaw garages in Taos. Except for local theologians, like the monk from Hermit’s Peak in Mora, few understand the relationship between politics and St. Jude.

The Trustees at Kit Carson Coop open each monthly meeting with a prayer but the effect seems ineffable. Once they get Broadband they will, no doubt, communicate more righteously with the members or even God. Pray for us, St Jude. And you, too, James. Now that you working at Mesa Vista High School in Ojo Caliente, you might also consider running for the Coop board. Trustee Art Rodarte of Ojo is term limited.

You can’t have the Sacred without the Profane. That’s the difference between professional public relations mavens and los politicos, who raise a finger to the wind even as they bow their heads in prayer and cross their fingers behind their backs. (Will “He” or “they” catch me out?) You can remember drinking a beer at Old Martinez Hall even as Father Bill blesses the holy wine and performs the miracle of transubstantiation each Sunday at St. Francis de Asis—the oft painted local tourist attraction.

The Church and the Cantina have a sacred and profane relationship in the American west. No sinners? The return to the Garden of Eden won’t happen anytime soon–despite commission disapproval of sin.