This is the first major study by a Hispano from New Mexico with intergenerational ties to the Penitentes--the deeply religious group called Hermanos de la Luz, Brothers of the Light. It also ties the santero folk art of New Mexico, the Penitente Brotherhood, and the Penitente religious hymns, alabados, together. De Aragón asserts that one cannot truly function without all three and herein lies the devotional beauty that has been passed down for generations in Spanish folk tradition.

The Penitentes of New Mexico (English and Spanish Edition)

Religion & Spirituality

de Aragón, Ray John

Christian Books & Bibles

Sunstone Press

Willa Cather, in the historical novel Death Comes for the Archbishop, depicts Padre Antonio Jose Martinez as an unscrupulous backward rogue priest and Archbishop Jean Baptiste Lamy as a civilizing, heroic and monumental figure. Countering Cather's assessment and portrayal of these two larger-than-life Southwestern folk heroes, Ray John de Aragon attempts to set the historical record straight. Padre Martinez (1793-1867) is viewed as a genius who was ahead of his time. Recognized as a champion of the poor, defender of the Native Americans and proponent of human rights, it was inevitable that he would clash with Lamy. Bishop Lamy (1814-1888), who also had his followers, emerges as someone whose understanding of native New Mexican cultures was lacking, but one whose intentions were to do good as a missionary in a strange and foreign land.

Padre Martinez and Bishop Lamy

Biographies & Memoirs

Arts & Literature

Pan Amer Pub

The folklore of Spanish America is full of exciting accounts of a wandering, shrieking, tormented spirit called La Llorona, the 'Wailing Woman.' Her eerie spine-chilling cry was said to be an omen of death. This is the first serious account of the frightening tale that has fascinated people for generations. Ray John de Aragón, an expert on Spanish folklore, traditions and myths, traveled throughout the villages and byways of New Mexico searching out the roots of this very popular Spanish phantom. What he found was that every person he listened to had a different version. They sometimes placed her in their own towns as having been a local girl who had lived, loved, and then died a tragic death. She then arose, according to hearsay, and now she searches throughout the countryside for the children she lost in a watery grave. Some villagers even took him to a nearby river or arroyo to show him where La Llorona and her children drowned, but they always cautioned, 'Don't come here late at night because she will appear to you crying, and she will follow you as you try to get away.' The author then took the threads of the stories he heard and has woven them in a full length study of this famous ghost. Noted folklorist Pedro Ribera Ortega called this book in a review, 'The tragic mythic love/ghost story laid out to scare even the bravest of readers.'

Legend of LA Llorona

Politics & Social Sciences

Social Sciences

Pan-American Publishing

Pull on the uncanny threads from the legendary tapestry of New Mexico's Native American heritage. 
Ancient Indian history and present Native American cultures are woven together in the Land of Enchantment. The threads of these tales stretch back to Mimbres burial grounds and prehistoric trade routes. Stories and traditions tie the land to its people, in spite of the cycles of slaughter and theft that have threatened to pluck them apart. Descend into the kivas of Chaco Canyon or seek out the high mountains where the clouds mark the stones. From legends of the Salt Woman to the legacy of the Ghost Dance, Ray John de Aragon examines the mysteries of the mesas.

New Mexico Native American Lore: Skinwalkers, Kachinas, Spirits and Dark Omens

History

Americas

The History Press

New Mexico Fiestas: A History of Music, Dance & Fandango (The History Press)

Arts & Photography

History & Criticism

The town of Lincoln is nestled in the lush green valley of the Rio Bonito in Southeastern New Mexico. It lies on US Route 380 about 57 miles west of Roswell and south of the Lincoln National Forest. Lincoln has been a National Landmark since 1960, and historians often refer to it as the most authentic Old West town remaining in the United States. Spanish settlers arrived in the area during the 1840s. By the 1860s, Lincoln served as a supply center for local ranches, mines, and nearby Fort Stanton. Lincoln merchants vied for lucrative government contracts, and the famous Lincoln County War erupted. As a result, Lincoln holds a unique place in American history, connected with the names of Lew Wallace, Billy the Kid, Sheriff Pat Garrett, and John Chisum. Seventeen historic buildings and four museums highlight the town as well as an annual folk pageant, The Last Escape of Billy the Kid, held since 1949.

Lincoln

Aragón, Ray John De

Photography & Video

Arcadia Publishing Library Editions

Beginning in the seventeenth century, townsfolk and rural dwellers in the remote Spanish colonial city of Santa Fe maintained a provocative interest in mysterious and miraculous visions. This preoccupation with the afterlife, occult forces and unearthly beings existing outside the natural world led to early witch trials, stories about saintly apparitions and strange encounters with spirits and haunted places. New Mexican author Ray John de Aragon explores the time-honored tradition of frightening folklore in the Land of Enchantment in this intriguing collection of tales that crosses cultures in the dark corners of the southwestern night."

Enchanted Legends and Lore of New Mexico: Witches, Ghosts and Spirits

History Press Library Editions

New Mexico's Spanish legacy has informed the cultural traditions of one of the last states to join the union for more than four hundred years, or before the alluring capital of Santa Fe was founded in 1610. The fame the region gained from artist Georgia O'Keefe, writers Lew Wallace and D.H. Lawrence and pistolero Billy the Kid has made New Mexico an international tourist destination. But the Spanish annals also have enriched the Land of Enchantment with the factual stories of a superhero knight, the greatest queen in history, a saintly gent whose coffin periodically rises from the depths of the earth and a mysterious ancient map. Join author Ray John de Aragon as he reveals hidden treasure full of suspense and intrigue."

Hidden History of Spanish New Mexico

New Mexico is a land of shadow and mystery. From the old coal mines near Raton and the isolation of Isleta Pueblo to the peaks of the Sangre de Cristo Mountains and beyond, ghouls and spirits lie in wait. Witches transform into vampire bats, werewolves howl and the undead rise with the light of the moon. La Llorona walks the banks of rivers and roads, her legendary and mournful cries terrifying any who cross her path. They are stories passed down by the fearless Comancheros, devoted Franciscan monks, fierce ciboleros and others to the present day as warnings of the evil in the world. In a captivating exploration of New Mexico's most fearful tales, Ray John de Aragon recounts stories from the state's rich and spine-chilling cultural folklore.

New Mexico Book of the Undead: Goblin & Ghoul Folklore

New Mexico Fiestas: A History of Music, Dance & Fandango

History PR

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