La Herencia Books

Saints & Seasons - Santeros

Jean Anaya Moya is the daughter of Mary Ann Phillis and José Manuel Anaya. She was born in Santa Fe and raised in the village of Galisteo. Moya began doing devotional art in 1990 and has evolved into an award-winning artist. Her work is in several museums and private collections throughout the world. Photos of artwork by Firefly Studios. The art of Jean Anaya Moya is featured on pages 13, 44, 49, 71, 91, 101and 113.

Charles M. Carrillo is the son of Loretta Torres and Rafael A. Carrillo. His family has been in New Mexico for hundreds of years. He has been a santero since the late 1970s and this past year celebrated his 25th year at Spanish Market. He is an annual award-winner and has received more than 34 ribbons at Spanish Market over the years. His work is exhibited in the collections of major museums, including the Smithsonian Institution in Washington, D.C., the Gene Autry Museum in Los Angeles, the Denver Museum of Art, the International Museum of Folk Art in Santa Fe, the Museum of Spanish Colonial Art in Santa Fe, the National Hispanic Cultural Center in Albuquerque, the Heard Museum in Phoenix and many other institutions and churches. Carrillo is the author of several books, including the most recent, Saints of the Pueblos. Photos of Charles M. Carrillo and his artwork by Adrián A.Aragón. The art of Charles M. Carrillo is featured on the inside front cover and pages 6, 52, 77, 86, 98, 102 and 106.

Polly E. Chávez is the daughter of Ramoncita Gurulé and Abrán Sánchez. Her paternal ancestors have been traced to the colonists who came with Juan de Oñate to Nuevo México in 1598. Her Gurulé ancestors have been traced to Frenchman Jacques Grolet, known as “Santiago Gurulé” by fellow colonists who came to Nuevo México in 1693 with Diego de Vargas. Chávez is a santera who specializes in retablos and has exhibited her work in galleries, libraries and museums throughout New Mexico. She is a frequent speaker on Hispanic arts and crafts, writes a newspaper column for the Ruidoso News and is an arts facilitator for Carrizozo Public Schools. The art of Polly E. Chávez is featured on pages 11 and 111.

Arlene Cisneros Sena is the daughter of the late Fred Cisneros and Elsie Martínez Cisneros. Since her entry into Spanish Market in 1992, Sena’s work has achieved national and international acclaim. A recipient of numerous awards including the Archbishop of Santa Fe’s Award for Excellence, Sena has recently completed a number of prestigious large-scale commissions, among them an altar screen for the Blessed Sacrament Chapel inside Santa Fe’s St. Francis Basilica, as well as an altar screen for St. Anne’s Church and retablos for the churches of Santa María de la Paz and San Ysidro in Tesuque. Photos of Arlene Cisneros Sena and her artwork by Chris Corrie. The art of Arlene Cisneros Sena is featured on the front and back covers and pages 3, 45, 48, 55, 59, 87, 88, 89, 92 and 119.

Horacio Córdova is the son of Epifania Montoya and Anastacio Córdova. He was an educator with 25 years of teaching to the handicapped and to art students. He began his art career first as a potter, then as a sculptor and now he devotes his work to religious art. Because of the prevalence of cancer throughout the country, Córdova paints many San Peregrino retablos. His artwork is sold in galleries throughout the country.The art of Horacio Córdova is featured on page 43.

Gustavo Victor Goler is the son of Gustavo Victor Emilio Goler and Ana María Marcomini. He was raised in Santa Fe, New Mexico, among a family of Latin American art conservators and restorers. Goler’s early years were spent apprenticing in his family’s conservation studios, where he learned wood-carving skills by restoring 18th- and 19-century saints from Latin America. He attended the University of New Mexico and later earned a degree in graphics and advertising from the Colorado Institute of Art. Goler is an award-winning artist whose artwork is featured in museums and churches throughout the country. The art of Gustavo Victor Goler is featured on pages 34, 37 and 51.

Krissa María López-Moya is the daughter of Louise Romero and Felix A. López. She follows in the family tradition of santeros; both her father and brother also create retablos. She has participated in the Spanish Market for the last fifteen years and her work can be found in churches, museums and private collections throughout the world. The art of Krissa María López-Moya is featured on page 67. Arthur López is the son of Jerry Rubén López and Cecilia Peña López. He has been working as a santero for six years and is represented by Parks Gallery in Taos, New Mexico. López is an awardwinning Spanish Market artist.His work can be found in the collections of the Museum of International Folk Art in Santa Fe,NM; the Albuquerque Fine Arts Museum, the Taylor Museum in Colorado Springs, Co., the Denver Art Museum and El Museo Convento in Española, NM and in the Freedom Museum (911 Memorial at Ground Zero),New York City. His work is also featured in numerous private collections throughout the nation. The art of Arthur López is featured on pages 32,56,76,110,112 &115.

Arthur López is the son of Jerry Rubén López and Cecilia Peña López. He has been working as a santero for six years and is represented by Parks Gallery in Taos, New Mexico. López is an award winning Spanish Market artist.His work can be found in the collections of the Museum of International Folk Art in Santa Fe,NM; the Albuquerque Fine Arts Museum, the Taylor Museum in Colorado Springs, Co., the Denver Art Museum and El Museo Convento in Española, NM and in the Freedom Museum (911 Memorial at Ground Zero),New York City. His work is also featured in numerous private collections throughout the nation. The art of Arthur López is featured on pages 32,56,76,110,112 &115.

Ramón José López is the son of Florentina Archuleta and Lorenzo López. He received a National Endowment for the Arts award in 1997 as well as many local awards throughout his 24-year career as an artist. His work can be found at the Smithsonian Institution in Washington, D.C.; Taylor Fine Arts Musuem in Colorado Springs, Colorado; the Gene Autry Museum in Los Angeles; the International Folk Art Museum in Santa Fe; the Santa Fe Palace of the Governors and private collections throughout the world. López’s grandfather, Lorenzo López Sr. was a santero and very religious man. López has followed in his grandfather’s footsteps and prays that he is as proud of him as Ramón is of his abuelo. The art of Ramón José López is featured on the inside back cover and pages IV, 14, 36, 47, 60, 63, 66, 74, 85 and 118.

Frankie Nasario Lucero, born in 1962, is the son of Nabor and Victoria Lucero and a tenth-generation descendant of Capt. Pedro Lucero de Gudoi, who participated in the Entrada with Juan de Oñate. Lucero is an award-winning santero (bultos, retablos and reliefs) whose work is featured in museums and private collections throughout the world. The art of Frankie Nasario Lucero is featured on pages 38, 53, 57, 65, 72 and 99.

Marie A. Luna is the daughter of Jack P.Trujillo and Margaret De La O Luján. Luna has participated in the summer and winter Spanish Markets since 2003, which she considers a blessing because of the opportunity it provides to meet so many wonderful and talented people. She believes good energy must go into creating every retablo because each one has its destination. In the process of painting her retablos she uses homemade gesso, natural pigments, piñón varnish and beeswax. The art of Marie A. Luna is featured on pages 81, 83, 104 and 114.

Richard Montoya is the son of Donelia Esquivel and Daniel Montoya, Sr. His artwork is at the Smithsonian Institution, as well as museums and churches around the world. He has taught the art of retablo painting through the CEED program for several years.The art of Richard Montoya is featured on page 62. Rubén O. Montoya is the son of Dolores Ortiz Kozlowski and is a World War II Purple Heart and Bronze Medal recipient. He retired from Los Alamos National Laboratory in 1973 and since then has devoted his life to religious art. His work is featured in museums in Berlin, Moscow, Oklahoma, Missouri, Arkansas and South Carolina. The art of Rubén Montoya is featured on pages 2 and 107.

Rubén O. Montoya is the son of Dolores Ortiz Kozlowski and is a World War II Purple Heart and Bronze Medal recipient. He retired from Los Alamos National Laboratory in 1973 and since then has devoted his life to religious art. His work is featured in museums in Berlin, Moscow, Oklahoma, Missouri, Arkansas and South Carolina. The art of Rubén Montoya is featured on pages 2 and 107

Arturo Olivas is the son of José Natividad Olivas and Elisa Alva. Olivas has been an exhibitor in the Spanish Market for ten years and is the recipient of many awards for his artwork. His work can be found in many museums, including: the Southwest Musuem, the Gene Autry Museum, the California Craft and Folk Art Museum, the Mexican Museum in San Francisco, the Eiteljorg Museum, the Museum of International Folk Art, the Heard Museum, the Denver Art Musuem and the Copia Museum. His art can also be found in many private and public collections, including the Regis Collection and the Spanish Embassy in Madrid, Spain. The art of Arturo Olivas is featured on pages 39, 70 and 78.

Carlos José Otero is the son of Oralia Chávez de Otero and Ramón Otero. He is a poet, historian and santero from Los Lunas and Tomé, New Mexico. Otero has been an award-winning Spanish Market artist since 1996. He won first place at the 2005 New Mexico State Fair for his work La Reina de Paz.The art of Carlos José Otero is featured on pages 1, 5, 42, 58, 84 and 97.

Nicolás Roldón Otero is the son of Jeanette Madrid Otero and Steven Roldón Otero from El Cerro, New Mexico. His work may be found in several museums and private collections. Otero has received a first-place award in Santa Fe’s Spanish Market. Born in 1981, he has been featured in many publications and has received national and local attention. An avid student of Spanish Colonial art, Otero teaches and lectures on the subject. His work is shown in many galleries and juried exhibitions. He is currently finishing his degree in art education at the University of New Mexico.The art of Nicolás Roldón Otero is featured on pages VI, X, 7, 8, 31, 64, 93, 100 and 108.

Henry Parra is the son of Joaquín Galindo Parra and Guillermina López. He was born in Los Angles to a New Mexican family that, as colonists, long ago lived beside the Río Grande in New Mexico, later to migrate as early settlers of Grant County and the secluded Mimbres Valley.Aformer northern New Mexico administrator, Parra has most recently been an educator in secondary education and with the regional universities. Saint-making became Parra’s healing therapy long ago, following serious illness and open-heart surgery. Parra and his family are included in the book Remnants of Crypto-Jews Among Hispanic Americans. The art of Henry Parra is featured on pages 4, 12 and 50.

Archie Perea is the son of Luis Perea and Adela Felix and is a lifelong resident of La Ciénega. His father was a carver and a carpenter, which inspired Perea to learn his craft. A santero since 1972, he enjoys carving saints and animals. He’s very grateful to the numerous people who continue to collect his artwork. The art of Archie Perea is featured on pages 75, 79, 80 and 90.

Marie Romero Cash is the daughter of the late Emilio and Senaida Romero, traditional tinsmiths whose innovative works earned them numerous awards during their lifetimes. She has created Stations of the Cross for the Basilica of St. Francis in Santa Fe, St. John’s Methodist Church in Albuquerque, and churches in San Luis and Pueblo,Colorado. She has received many awards at Spanish Market, where she has participated for thirty years, including the Master’s Award for Lifetime Achievement. She has been honored by the National Endowment for the Arts, the New Mexico Endowment for the Humanities, and Women in the Arts. Cash has had several one-person shows at prestigious galleries and museums throughout the Southwest. Her works grace many museum and private collections as well. An avid writer and historian, she has published several books about northern New Mexican santos, churches, and women’s shrines. The art of Marie Romero Cash is featured on page I, 17-30, 73, 103, 105 and 116.

Carlos Santistevan is the son of Barbara Olivas and Rodolfo Santistevan. He is an award-winning santero whose work is featured in the National Museum of American Art in Washington, D.C., the International Folk Art Museum in Santa Fe, The Millicent Rogers Museum in Taos and the Regis University Collection in Denver.The art of Carlos Santistevan is featured on pages 9 and 10.

Marie Sena is the daughter of Philip Sena and Laura Hirschboeck. She became a santera nine years ago and is proud to be involved in preserving and innovating this tradition. Currently, she is attending graduate school at the University of Texas at Southwestern Medical Center in Dallas and will receive a degree in medical illustration. The art of Marie Sena is featured on 15, 16, 40, 46, 54 and 96.

Monica Sosaya Halford is the daughter of Victoria Sosaya and Agustín Sosaya, whose ancestors came to New Mexico in 1598. She has been interested in art since childhood and has been part of the Spanish Market since 1979. Among the many honors she’s received are the Master Achievement Award, the Santa Fe Mayor’s Award and the Governor’s Award. Several museums, churches and private collectors include her work in their collections of santos. The art of Monica Sosaya Halford is featured on pages 41, 61, 68, 69, 94 and 109.

Gabriel Vigil is the son of Elizabeth Chávez and Raymond Sedillo. He has been an award-winning artist with the Santa Fe Spanish Market for the past twelve years. His depiction of the Stations of the Cross can be found at St. Thomas Aquinas church in Phoenix, Arizona. His artwork is in private collections around the country, including a retablo that was presented to President Bill and Hillary Clinton that is now part of the Smithsonian collection. The art of Gabriel Vigil is featured on pages XII, 33, 35, 82, 95 and 117.