Category: Civic Engagement

Although it was our last day in Santa Fe, it was a day packed full of eclectic adventures and learning. On tap: A tour of the New Mexico Capitol building; a tour of Allan Houser’s art studio; and a hike up Sun Mountain.

After some coffee at CrashMurderBusiness, we headed to the Capitol, where Marylynn Collins was waiting to educate us on the workings of the New Mexico government. 

As aspiring participants in Sam Houston State University’s SHAIP program (where students are placed in legislative offices in the TX Capitol), this was of particular importance to us. Cinthia and I have been to 5 Capitol buildings between the two of us, so this visit allowed us to compare how the New Mexico Capitol compares to other states.

Mrs. Collins started the tour by taking us to the center of the capitol’s rotunda. In contrast to most other state capitol buildings, the New Mexican capitol is shaped in a circular manner and has no dome. The reason, Mrs. Collins explained,  is to signify the circle of life portrayed in the Zia symbol. The roof of the rotunda is intricately done with stained glass, the shape of which signifies a pueblo basket and the orange and blue colors signify the earth and sky. 

The Zia symbol was adapted by the New Mexican people from the Zia Pueblo tribe and, as mentioned above, it portrays a circle in the middle with four sets of four lines coming out of the circle in four different directions. Each of the sets are symbolic in four different capacities: the four seasons of the year (Spring, Summer, Fall, and Winter), the four stages of life (infancy, youth, adulthood, and old age), four times of the day (dawn, daylight, dusk, and dark), and the four cardinal directions (north, south, east, and west). The symbol is also portrayed in the state flag is seen and used throughout the state.  

Something that also sets this state apart is their official state question, “Red or Green?”. This was strange to us before the trip, but New Mexico is very fond and proud of being the home of the green and red chile, which is deeply engraved in their state’s culture and which we have had the opportunity to try in a variety of dishes and restaurants along the trip. Mrs. Collins also mentioned that this is the only state with an official scent; an aroma of roasting green pepper in the air.  

We then stepped into the second floor of the “Round House” where we were able to admire the huge permanent collection that filled the walls. Consisting of work from regional artists with different styles and techniques, the paintings, even though completely contrasted one to another, represent the state’s cultures throughout the centuries. While admiring the art work, we were able to see some new artists and also recognize some of the artists we have been learning about, our favorite being Anderson’s “Canyon Segundo”… 

Unfortunately, we had to rush from our capitol tour to get to our next stop: Allan Houser’s studio. Even more unfortunately, we learned that because of the massive amounts of snow that had fallen, the Houser Studio was cancelling the tour. But, ever resourceful, we switched gears and visited Houser’s downtown gallery, where we saw 30-40 of the Native American artist’s works. 

We had previously seen his works at the Albuquerque Museum, at the New Mexico Capitol building..

…and, in fact, at Professor Yawn’s house, so it wasn’t entirely new to us. But we appreciated seeing the diversity of his art, and the gallery generously gave us–or, rather, SHSU–a very nice book of all of Houser’s works.

With more time on our hands, we ventured over to the Loretto Chapel, where we were able to see another church and another architectural marvel.

Known around the world as the Miraculous Staircase, this winding spiral staircase has left architects in awe of the pure physics of its composition.

Taking two 360 degree turns, its impossible to say how it has managed to sustain itself with neither support beams nor nails.

As we took a moment to marvel at the beautiful chapel ourselves, we also took the time to look around the many gift shops that are connected to the chapel and picked up a few souvenirs for ourselves and our loved ones.

Santa Fe is a charming town that we have come to cherish over a mere two and a half days.