The Ortega Family of Santeros

Here in New York City, the word santero has a questionable connotation among many Christians.  It can imply a follower of the Yoruba faith, or even a roots worker who is casting spells for people.  In New Mexico it refers to the artists who create devotional objects such as paintings and carvings of the saints, altar screens, plaques for the Good Friday stations, etc.  As with the icons of the Eastern Church, in New Mexico these works are not idols but are windows to the spiritual world that is just beyond sight.  Many families of New Mexico santeros have been doing this work for many generations.  During the period of rule from Mexico City especially, there was a real shortage of priests in New Mexico and Church worship had to be carried on by lay leaders.  The objects of devotion in the Churches and in the chapter houses of the lay brotherhoods also had to be local, and a local style developed.

Over twenty years ago we were in Santa Fe for a conference of school leaders.  On a free day we were driving north toward Taos when we encountered a candy store next to an elementary school, El Dulce Hogar.  The yard was filled with large wood carvings, mostly of St. Francis and St. Pascal.  We stopped in and met the world-renowned santero Ben Ortega.  Unlike other artists in this genre he was first generation.  He was generous with his time and we spoke for over an hour, mostly about his children, of whom he was very proud, and who had followed him into this work.  The encounter haunted me, and I carried a photo of Judith with Ben and one of his works in my wallet for years.  I only took it out when I first got an iPhone and digitized that photo.

Years later we were in Santa Fe during the summer Spanish Market.  The first tent we saw was for a young artist named Mateo Ortega.  Judith got excited about the surname, but I -- being a big idiot -- warned her not to make too much of the coincidence.  It was not a coincidence: Mateo is Ben Ortega's grandson, working still in a family style as well as creating his own original work.  That day we went on to meet nieces, nephews and grandchildren, as well as sons and daughters of Ben Ortega, who sadly passed away a few years after we met him.

The story "Warrior Princess" is about a woman who is refurbishing the carving (or bulto) of St. Michael for his feast day on September 29.  The village is San Miguel del Vado in San Miguel County, New Mexico.  I found a photo of what the original statue, now in a Colorado Springs museum, looked like.  I also found a photo of its late-nineteenth century replacement, a seven-foot tall figure which was probably made in Brooklyn.  In writing "Warrior Princess" I was much more influenced by the older statue.  But I also kept thinking about the San Miguel figures carved by Ben Ortega's son, Pete.  The work of the Ortega's continues to haunt me.