In conversation: Chimayo: A Tradition of Faith

Please join Historian and Professor Emeritus Enrique Lamadrid, Professor Emeritus, University of New Mexico, and Documentary Photographer Sam Howarth, as they discuss documenting the annual pilgrimage to the Santuario de Chimayó in Northern Mew Mexico. 

The Santuario de Chimayó draws the largest religious pilgrimage in the US during Christian Holy Week. More than 30,000 people make the annual journey through the winding mountain villages of Northern New Mexico to the small adobe church. Many come to obtain the famous “holy earth” for healing within the sanctuary. Learn more from Enrique Lamadrid and Sam Howarth about their experiences documenting this pilgrimage, which is featured in the New Mexico History Museum’s exhibition, Chimayó: A Tradition of Faith. The exhibition captures the essence of the pilgrimage through the lens of four photographers and also includes oral histories and a recreation of the Santuario’s ex-voto rooms

Enrique Lamadrid is a historian, known for his studies of Chicano, Mexican American, and Hispano cultures. He is Professor Emeritus for the Department of Spanish and Portuguese at the University of New Mexico.

Sam Howarth is a documentary photographer who spearheaded the documentation of the pilgrimage to Chimayó.

About the Speakers:

Enrique Lamadrid is a literary folklorist and cultural historian who retired from his teaching career in UNM’s Spanish Department of UNM in 2014. He now edits the award winning Querencias Series at UNM Press. His research includes ethnopoetics, regional literature, folklore, religion, and music. His monograph Hermanitos Comanchitos: Indo-Hispano Rituals of Captivity and Redemption (2003) was awarded the Chicago Folklore Prize. His anthology, Nación Genízara: Ethnogenesis, Identity, and Place (2019) was awarded the 2020 Heritage Publication Award, NM Office of Historic Preservation. Lamadrid has published articles on pilgrimage and a book entitled The Pilgrimage to Chimayó: A Contemporary Portrait of a Living Tradition (1999).

Sam Howarth is a documentary photographer who has been interested in pilgrimage since his youth, first observing the Pilgrimage to Chimayo as a young boy in Ojo Sarco, New Mexico, then participating in the pilgrimage numerous times and, ultimately, documenting the pilgrimage as part of the team that created this exhibit and the accompanying book, The Pilgrimage to Chimayo: A Contemporary Portrait of a Living Tradition.

Image credit: El Descanso (Resting on the Truchas Road), 1996. Sam Howarth, photographer. Palace of the Governors Photo Archives Collection. New Mexico History Museum/Department of Cultural Affairs #HP.2024.14.12

Bottled water only please.