Following the Manito Trail
Exhibition & Programs Generously Sponsored By:
About:
Following the Manito Trail is a cultural heritage exhibition that shares the migration experiences, creative practices, and largely untold stories of Manito (Hispanic New Mexican) families from Taos County and its surrounding area. These families carried their culture with them through their migrations to other states for seasonal and permanent work during the 19th and 20th centuries. These migrations represent Manito family values in surviving, even if it meant leaving the homes they cherished. Their contributions significantly impacted the American West through their labor in sheepherding, coal mining, railroad construction, and the sugar beet fields. Wherever they went, they never forgot their roots in New Mexico, and they shaped their new homes in other states to preserve and adapt their cultural traditions that they brought with them. For some families, the following generations stayed in their diaspora homes, and, for others, they returned to New Mexico. Through their descendents, Manito families carry on the legacy of shaping the northern New Mexico cultural landscape through professions in medicine, the humanities, the arts, linguistics, and agriculture. Through sounds and sights, this exhibition highlights Manito family histories; the significance of storytelling, farming, agricultural, poetic, religious, and culinary practices to Manito families; and the Hispanic art forms of santos and colchas. The exhibition’s Humanities Discussion Panel series offers audiences several opportunities to join the conversation through direct dialogue with the Following the Manito Trail scholars and the project’s cultural community network. This exhibition will travel to two more locations in northern New Mexico, one in Santa Fe County and one in Rio Arriba County.
Exhibition Dates - Traveling Locations Made Possible by Support from the Northern Rio Grande National Heritage Area:
Millicent Rogers Museum, Galleries 9 & 10 (Taos): March 26, 2022 - July 31, 2022
Click here to see photos of the exhibition
Santa Fe Community College, Front Lobby, Main Building (Santa Fe): August 26, 2023 - October 15, 2023 (Opening Reception: Saturday, August 26, 12-3pm - please join us!)
Learn more about the exhibition in the press!
Please download and enjoy this media for the exhibition:
FOR EDUCATORS:
Millicent Rogers Museum Community Events & Programs:
Daytime community programs are included in the cost of museum admission, unless otherwise noted. Note: Taos County residents receive free museum admission each Sunday. Veterans and museum members receive free admission daily.
Opening Reception, Saturday, March 26, 2022, 5:30-7:30pm, free admission for all visitors
Educators Day, Sunday, March 27, 2022, 10:00am-5:00pm, free admission for Taos County residents & all educators with proof of professional ID
Humanities Discussion Panel Series, sponsored by the New Mexico Humanities Council
- Feat. Levi Romero, Dr. Vanessa Fonseca-Chávez, Dr. Patricia Perea, Dr. Trisha Martinez, Jesús Villa; moderated by Dr. Michelle Lanteri
- Click here to watch this program
Creative Arts, Music & Storytelling Presentations, sponsored by the New Mexico Humanities Speakers Bureau
Made possible by the New Mexico Humanities Council which is supported by the National Endowment for the Humanities, the following three events are open to the public and included with museum admission.
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Sunday, March 27, 2022, Music by Dr. Cipriano Vigil, Ritual and Traditional Folk Music and Song of Northern New Mexico, 11:00am-12:30pm
- Please enjoy the YouTube link below for a short video compilation of La Familia Vigil. This program was recorded so that it can reach a greater audience.
- Saturday, April 9, 2022, Paulette Atencio, Traditional Stories from Northern New Mexico, 1:00-3:00pm
Professional bilingual storyteller and author Paulette Atencio
Refreshments and enchanting cuentos (stories) about life in New Mexico.
This event is made possible by the New Mexico Humanities Council which is supported by the National Endowment for the Humanities. This program is free to the public and part of the associated programs for the Following the Manito Trail exhibition at the Millicent Rogers Museum.
- Sunday, May 8, 2022, Music for Mother’s Day, Cipriano Vigil, Ritual and Traditional Folk Music and Song of Northern New Mexico, 1:00pm-2:00pm
Project Team:
Levi Romero
Co-Director, Following the Manito Trail project; Associate Professor, Chicana and Chicano Studies, University of New Mexico
Dr. Vanessa Fonseca-Chávez
Co-Director, Following the Manito Trail project; Associate Professor, English; Associate Dean of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion, Arizona State University
Dr. Patricia Perea
Research Scholar, Following the Manito Trail project; Director, Manitos Community Memory Project; Instructor, Chicana and Chicano Studies, University of New Mexico
Dr. Trisha Venisa-Alicia Martinez
Research Scholar, Following the Manito Trail project; Migrations Manager, Manitos Community Memory Project; Post-Doctoral Fellow, University of New Mexico-Taos and Southwest Hispanic Research Institute
Jesús Villa
Graduate Research Scholar, Following the Manito Trail project; Ph.D. Student, School of Transborder Studies, Arizona State University
Dr. Michelle Lanteri
Exhibition Director, Following the Manito Trail, Millicent Rogers Museum; Curator of Collections & Exhibitions, Millicent Rogers Museum
Karen Chertok
Community & K-12 Programs Director, Following the Manito Trail exhibition, Millicent Rogers Museum; Director of Education, Millicent Rogers Museum
Lily Padilla
Cultural Technology Intern, Following the Manito Trail & Manitos Community Memory Project; graduate of the BFA Media Arts program (Visual Communications), New Mexico Highlands University
Natasha VasquezCultural Technology Intern, Following the Manito Trail & Manitos Community Memory Project; graduate of the BFA Media Arts program (Multimedia & Interactivity), New Mexico Highlands University
Trevonte “Tre” McClain
Graduate Intern, Following the Manito Trail project; Master of Science student, Graphic Information Technology (Internet and Web Development), Arizona State University
Vanessa Reynaga
Graduate Intern, Following the Manito Trail project; Master of Science Student, Graphic Information Technology (Video and Educational Technology), Arizona State University
Mementos:
