The Upper Penitente Morada Chapel, Arroyo Hondo, Taos County, NM. Library of Congress, Prints and Photographs Division, Historic American Buildings Survey. Part of the cultural documentation found in New Mexico's Local Legacies projects.

New Mexico

The collections of the American Folklife Center contain rich and varied materials documenting the Native American and other folk traditions of New Mexico. Among this material are early cylinder recordings of Zuni songs and folklore, collected by Jesse Walter Fewkes in 1890 and 1891; many hours of songs and spoken narrative from the Acoma, Cochiti, Isleta, Jemez, Laguna Picuris, San Ildefonso, Santa Clara, Santo Domingo, and Taos pueblos; materials from the Mescalero and Chiricahua Apache peoples; the John Donald Robb collection of Spanish-American folksongs; and cowboy music.

Collections

Finding Aid: View a complete list of our New Mexico collections.

Local Legacies: This project provides a "snapshot" of local culture as it was expressed in the year 2000. View New Mexico's Local Legacies projects.

Veterans History Project: Browse state collections from the Veterans History Project.

Songs of America: Browse an interactive state map for selected songs from the American Folklife Center’s collections, as well as songs from the Library’s Music Division and Motion Picture, Broadcasting and Recorded Sound Division.

Online Presentation: Hispano Music and Culture of the Northern Rio Grande: The Juan B. Rael Collection: Selections of sound recordings and manuscript material collected by Juan Bautista Rael, a pioneer Hispano folklorist. The material he collected documents the religious and secular music of Spanish-speaking residents of rural Northern New Mexico and Southern Colorado including alabados (hymns), folk drama, wedding songs, and dance tunes.

Concert Webcast

Dineh Tah Navajo Dancers: Dances and songs of the Navajo Nation. Recorded November 16, 2005: [catalog record] [webcast and event flyer]

Additional Resources

Educational Resources: View a list of educational materials related to New Mexico from A Teacher's Guide to Folklife Resources.

Folklife Resources: Find state folklife-related agencies, societies, archives, higher education programs, and more, in Folklife Sourcebook: A Directory of Folklife Resources in the United States.

Publications: "Finding the"True America" Ethnic Tourism in New Mexico During the New Deal," Folklife Annual 88-89. [catalog record]

The Federal Cylinder Project: A Guide to Field Cylinder Recordings in Federal Agencies, Volume 5. [catalog record]

Published Recordings: Pueblo: Taos, San Ildefonso, Zuni, Hopi, Library of Congress AFS L43. [audiocassette]