LPD Press & Rio Grande Books

The stories of tragedy and sadness shared by old-timers (viejitos) in Fe y tragedias: Faith and Tragedy in Hispanic Villages of New Mexico are as diverse as the voices behind them. Each bilingual (Spanish and English) account personifies faith, fortitude, compassion, and buoyancy. Without these human attributes, people beset with tragedy would have succumbed to tragedy itself.

The high point of interest in this book is not to promote or engage in doom and gloom. Rather, it is to acquaint and educate readers on how humble but strong and devout folks living in isolation—in most cases far removed geographically from an urban environment—coped with tragedy and despair. The net and psychological effect of murder, drowning, the Rangers’ indiscriminate and callous slaughtering of poor people’s cattle, bewitchment, or the quirks of nature (e. g. , baby born with frog features) on the human psyche was profound but not daunting. Tom Chávez’s eloquent words in his Preface summed up best the old-timers’ poignant past when he said, “These are real people talking about real lives. They are witnesses to their own history.” If the victims of misfortune became heroes in their community, then the aggrieved surely could be categorized as tragic heroes. A more praiseworthy tribute could not be accorded these courageous and remarkable men and women who believed in redemption.