San Geronimo Church
The Tiwa people had lived here for centuries before the Good
News of the Gospel arrived. The
Franciscan friars were attracted by the permanent pueblo settlement and decided
that it was lacking a church. They used
force to convert the natives and more force to encourage them to build a
mission. In 1680 the pueblo revolted,
killed the friars and destroyed the church.
The Spanish were back a decade later and the pueblo was
reconverted to Christianity. The church
was rebuilt. In 1847 the United States
Army occupied the area and sent a territorial governor to Taos. With the Spanish gone, the Native People
including some from the pueblo decided to govern themselves. They assassinated the governor. The United States Army attacked the
pueblo. The church walls were 4 feet thick. Hundreds of women and children sought refuge there. Many of them were killed when the army used artillery
to destroy the church.
The dead were buried in the cemetery next to the
church. The bell tower of the mission
was rebuilt as a reminder of what had happed here. A new church was built nearby and still
stands. The cemetery has been used for centuries. It doesn't have clearly defined plots,
bodies are buried among and on top of other bodies. The simple wooden markers deteriorate and are
removed. The ground is considered holy
ground and visitors are not allowed to enter.
The Sanctuario de Chimayó is known worldwide for its sacred
dirt. The church was built in 1871
following a series of miraculous events.
While the miracles are considerably different in several versions of the
story they all agree on a divine presence at this spot. The church has been
dubbed the “Lourdes of the United States".
Thousands pilgrims visit the church each year. Many have reported miraculous healing during
or after touching or eating the sacred dirt beneath the church. Besides the hole containing the sacred soil,
the church contains hundreds of crutches, casts, and other items that people
discarded when they were cured.
"The
Ranchos de Taos Church," San Francisco de Asis, was completed in 1815 and
provides one of the best examples of Franciscan Old World architectural ideals
combined with New World building techniques. It has walls that are four feet thick and
enormous buttresses. It is built of
dried mud and needs to be recoated with mud on a regular basis.
This church attracts artists and photographers
as well as the church at Chimayo attracts pilgrims. The front of the church is impressive, but
artists are attracted to the back of the building and the way that light
transforms the building. It is the most
photographed and most painted church in America.
Like the
others before me, I wanted to show the building as more than a simple pile of
mud. I photographed the sun at the top
corner of the building. Since the range
of light exceeded the capablity of my camera, I used a series of exposures to
create a HDR (High Dynamic Range) image of the building. The bright sun created a series of internal
reflections within the lens. The number
of exposures multiplied the effect. A pair of birds dropped in to assist with
the composition. The resulting image
combines form and fantasy, and clearly was taken in "the Land of
Enchantment".
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