NEW MEXICO SANTOS

The Santos (saints) of Northern New Mexico evolved with the Spanish Colonial settlers of the 1700's. In isolated and remote mountain villages, still in existence today, this unique religious folk art was created from the spiritual needs of the people.

The Santero (saint maker) created retablos, images painted on wooden panels. Bultos (statues) were carved from the roots or branches of the Cottonwood tree. Reredos (altarscreens) were carved and painted from hand adzed pine or other available woods.

Materials for painting were scarce, but the resourceful Santero mixed his own pigments from trade items such as indigo, vermilion, and the cochineal insect from cactus, as well as the local clays, minerals, and plants such as Chamisa. The wood was primed with gypsum that he ground by hand and mixed with water and glue made from rabbit skins and animal hooves. After the santo image was painted on the wood, it was then sealed with varnish made from the sap of pines.

The role of the Santo was that of protector, healer, and intercessor in a distant and unfamiliar world that often threatened the very existence of these settlers far removed from their homeland. Every village had its patron saint. The Spanish people were deeply devout and many families had an area set aside in the home for private worship. A practice that continues to this day.

Individual Santos could be called upon for special favors in times of need. San Isidro, the patron saint of farmers, was prayed to for a bountiful harvest. St. Barbara, patron of the home, could be called upon to ward off dangers during thunderous lightning storms. St Anthony could be counted on to find husbands for unmarried girls and for fertility.

The Santero was usually paid for his work by trade or livestock. The works of the Santeros thrived well into the mid 1800's, after which traders and merchants began to introduce commercially produced plaster of paris statues, and slowly replaced the need for the craft of the Santero, which at that time was considered crude and primitive in the eyes of the French priests newly assigned to the region in the 1860's.

By the beginning of the 20^th century the Santero's craft had virtually disappeared. In 1925, the Spanish Colonial Arts Society was founded in Santa Fe to encourage and promote Spanish Colonial arts and crafts and to inform and educate the public about traditional art forms, designs, and techniques.

Contemporary Santeros now utilize more modern methods while still adhering to the traditional ways of their ancestors. In the last decade, some Santeros have pursued new interpretations and approaches that are in part fostered by our changing times but irrevocably linked to the Santeros of old.

The New Millenium is an exciting time for Santeros and Santeras whose works can now be found in major collections throughout the world including the prestigious Smithsonian Institution.

The annual Spanish Market in Santa Fe has become the mecca for serious collectors and enthusiasts alike. Each year, in greater numbers they are drawn there to seek out their favorite Santo and perhaps to meet with a third or fourth generation Santero or Santera who inspired by the Santeros of old assures the survival of this unique religious folk art, and thus contributes to the ever flowing thread of cultural expression.