In Abiquiu last Saturday I had the chance to meet some of the people I interviewed in late March such as  Sofía García, who was presenting her painted retablos as part of the Abiquiu Artists Tour. Also, whilst visiting the Library  I got introduced to Cipriano Vigil a New Mexican musician and folklorist who first learned traditional music by listening to older musicians who performed at dances, weddings and fiestas. Born in Chamisal and now resident of El Rito, Cipriano has been making cigar box guitars and other sort of instruments which he plays beautifully. Cipriano also has played an important role in preserving the traditional songs shared within the communities of New Mexico and has collected the lyrics and melodies of romances, entregas, décimas, cuandos, corridos…

 

In the evening we visited Abiquiu lake and afterwards we hiked to the Monastery of Christ, where at 4pm the Benedict monks that live there gathered at their church to sing for 10 minutes their prays.