Audio
ELCA Martineztown A Community Spirit Wayside AD
Transcript
You are at the intersection of Roma Avenue and Edith Blvd. In front of you is a slanted wayside panel. The sign is 42 inches by 24 inches. Southwest Pieta sculpture is on the right in front of you. The acequia is behind you across the sidewalk. Wayside Title A Community Spirit. Red banner at the top of the wayside panel has the triangular logo of El Camino Real de Tierra Adentro National Historic Trail. Along with credits for the City of Albuquerque, Bureau of Land Management and National Park Service. The wayside has a historic bird's eye view photograph of Martineztown, and additional historic photos of the neighborhood and the acequia. Text is in both English and Spanish. Text in the upper left of the panel, paragraph title, A Place to Rest. Like the park today, early Martineztown was a resting place. Weary travelers could relax, restock and regain their strength for the next leg of their journey. They left behind supplies and stories from their homelands. Black and white photograph of Martineztown from above. North is marked at the top of the photo to help orient the scene. Labels and arrows pointing out sites still visible on the ground today such as the historic roads we now call Edith Blvd, and Dr. Martin Luther King Jr Avenue. A dot at the corner of Edith Blvd and Roma Ave is labeled, “You are here”. Text below photograph reads, South Martineztown. The Acequia Madre and El Camino Real are visible in the photo circa 1931. The “Sand Hills” are to the right in the photo. Photo by Hawks. From the Albuquerque Museum Photo Collection. Paragraph on the right below the red banner, paragraph title, Rooted in History, Text reads, Life in early Martineztown was not easy. Travel on El Camino Real was tough. Together, settlers and travelers helped each other survive. That spirit of unity exists in Martineztown today. More than just a place to live, this neighborhood reflects the blended culture, connection to the land, and community spirit upon which it was founded. Photo below paragraph, a black and white photograph, with desert brush in the foreground, several single-story adobe buildings and sandy hills beyond them. Text below photograph reads, South Martineztown, circa 1900, with the “Sand Hills” in the background. A gray box in the center of the panel has a quote, “...of bleating goats, the wheezing, protesting bray burro, and the rhythmic thunk, thunk of an ax biting into sticks of firewood. On all sides could be heard the bubbling noises of children at play and the occasional yowling of an infant. From neighboring houses issued the rasping sound of women grinding corn on stone metates and the bump and clack of weavers at work on heavy Spanish looms.” This quote comes from Marc Simmons’ Hispanic Albuquerque, 1706-1846. University of New Mexico Press: Albuquerque, 2003. Photo on the right side of panel, black and white photo of children playing alongside the acequia or agricultural ditch when the water is flowing. A boy kneels in the grasses along the ditch bank and a girl is standing next to him. Adobe buildings are in the background and other people are standing around them. Text below photo, Children play along the acequia madre in South Martineztown circa 1900. Quote on the right side of the panel “[The lands] are watered by the said river (Rio del Norte) through very wide, deep irrigation ditches, so much so that there are little beam bridges to cross them. The crops taken from them at harvest time are many and good... [...] The citizens are of all classes and walks of life, as in other places I have mentioned, and they speak the local Spanish. […] From the Spanish transcription of Friar Atanasio Domingues, The Missions of New Mexico 1776. Translated by Eleanor B Adams and Friar Angelico Chaves. University of New Mexico Press 1956. End of wayside description.
Description
Audio Description of A Community Spirit Wayside along Martineztown walking tour in Albuquerque, NM. Part of an ELCA retracement.
Credit
NPS
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