Isabel was born ten miles south of Abiquiu in a place called Medenales. Her mother was originally from the area, from the Vigiles and the Herreras and she thinks that they mixed with the Utes who lived around Taos, Ojo Caliente and Medenales. Her dad’s family came from Mexico and travelled to Colorado as ‘‘Guerra,’’ but her grandfather felt the need to anglicize his surname to War once he had moved to New Mexico, with the hope of finding a better job.

Isabel wishes that the ‘‘genízaros’’ could retrieve their roots by being federally recognized as a Pueblo. She also hopes that one day the Spanish government recognizes that Abiquiu was a pueblo of ‘‘genízaros,’’ because still today they are connected to their land and their land is what they live for. Isabel believes that now is a good time to claim their heritage because the history is still fresh and the people that remember their oral traditions are still alive.