There is a huge amount of artistic talent in the Espanola Valley.  Countless numbers of artists live in and around the town, holding open studios during art tours and coming to the annual art shows.  Even for all of this, there is a lack of community places that provide classes and work space for the arts in Espanola, particularly where performing arts are concerned.  In the near future, this gap will be filled, as a new project is currently underway; The Ol’ Mel Patch Art Space.

The Mel Patch was a bar and dance hall until the early 1990’s.  The building then became a tire and body shop.  It sat empty and neglected for some time after that.  Dust and grime from the years cover the hardwood floors.  Walking across the old barroom was a complete hazard, with the rotting boards bowing and giving way at a moment’s notice.  There are makeshift bridges leading the way to the sturdy patches.  The ceiling needs repairs, the upstairs windows are broken, and the whole place is in disarray, but not for long.

It’s no secret that the American diet is terrible; fast food, gobs of sugar in everything, and little regard for being healthy, so long as we’re not hungry for the moment.  Clearly things like obesity, heart disease, and diabetes have been linked to diet, but would you believe that many more health problems can be contributed to what we eat?  Some people will ask how foods could possibly cause things like headaches, fatigue, or menstrual cramps.  Remember the old saying “you are what you eat”?  This may be truer than any of us realize.

Every single thing we put into our bodies is digested, which most people understand at least in the sense of stomach and intestines.  So what does the body uptake and keep?  Vitamins are obviously kept, but what about harmful things that can’t be flushed out as fast as we would like?  Everyone knows that alcohol can attack the liver, but can other refined sugars have similar effects in excess?  Could an upset stomach or fatigue be caused by an allergy to something as simple and common as wheat?  In our instant gratification society, it’s hard to look past the quick (and temporary) solutions to see what could be the cause of the problem in the first place and learn how to prevent it.

Every culture has its common sayings, little words of wisdom that are passed long through oral traditions.  They give insights to the outlook and wit of people in a culture.  Dichos are expressions that often rhyme and are commonly used in Spanish speaking areas.  The dichos below have been translated to be best of the ability of the Horse Tail Trails staff.  We have done our best to keep the translations as literal as possible while still making them understandable in English.  It has not been verified that all of these are specifically used in New Mexico, but their meanings can be universal.

Anyone who has lived in New Mexico knows that there is something about the chile.  Many people who leave the state find themselves longing for the spicy food in one form or another.  Chile elsewhere just doesn’t have the same taste.  So how can a New Mexican outside of their state survive?

Enter Chimayo To Go, a mail-order chile distributor.  Located in Ojo Sarco, it is run by Terry and Mary Cordes and has been in business since 1998.  This couple personally packs and ships a wide range of products, from chile powder to ristras to salsas.  A lot of what they sell they make themselves.