Rudy Fernández was born in Peñasco, a small village near Taos Pueblo where for decades Spanish has been the primary language. He has been best known as ´Froggie´ since he arrived in Santa Fe to look for new opportunities when he was 15 years old. Nowadays, Rudy dedicates his spare time to acting in theatre plays and occasionally in movies, as he says, `it helps him to exercise his memory.´

Rudy can picture a smaller Santa Fe where the plaza was the meeting point for the locals. Today, he is part of the `Caballeros de Vargas´ a collective that preserves the cultural aspects related to the historical figure of Diego de Vargas. He is a proud New Mexican and feels that his roots are found in Spain. He explains in this interview some of the similarities he sees between the New Mexican and Spanish cultures.

Last week I had the opportunity to visit David Roybal at his home in Cundiyo, in northern New Mexico. After driving through miles of stunning landscape and finally crossing the bridge where two little streams meet at the bottom of the hill, we found the mighty cottonwood tree that he had beautifully described. As soon as I step into his house I felt warm & comfortable, at home.

David has worked as a news reporter, editor and political columnist mainly for the  Sanfa Fe New Mexican and the Albuquerque Journal. In this interview he provides us with an insight into the history of his family home that over generations has stored the memories shared within its thick adobe walls.

David Roybal talks about his time in Cundiyo and what he knows about his ancestors, the Roybals. He also has strong links with Mexico, especially with the region of Nayarit, near Puerto Vallarta where we found the inspiration for his new book `Manuel of the Americas´, a story of loyalty and love found within a courageous family from Mexico.

I then had the pleasure of talking with David’s uncle, Carlos Vigil, one of the elders of the village. Afterwards we continued our journey north passing Cordova before arriving into Truchas, a community that began with a Spanish land grant in 1754 and where many artists have settled and now live.

On the way back, we passed Chimayó and visited the Santuario briefly. Unfortunately a few miles later we ran out of petrol somewhere on route to Española. Our thanks must go to David Roybal, who came to the rescue, for which we are eternally grateful.