By Jim Farber
Visitors to New Mexico whose ultimate destination is the chicly historic town of Santa Fe tend to hightail north out of Albuquerque up Interstate 25 as fast as they can go. Unfortunately, in doing so they tend to whiz right by off-ramp 242 at the town of Bernalillo, passing up an opportunity to visit one of New Mexico's most fascinating state parks, the Coronado Historic Site.
It's not altogether surprising because you can't see the park from the highway. You have to drive west on state Route 550 for about a mile and half through a dreary landscape of strip malls, gas stations and fast-food shops before you cross the Rio Grande River. Once you've done that, however, you'll see the park and its adobe structures sandwiched between the wooded banks of the river and a gaudy tribal casino.
It's certainly not the vista that Francisco Vasquez de Coronado beheld in 1540 when he arrived at the prehistoric pueblo of Kuaua, which means "evergreen" in the Tewa language. First settled around A.D. 1325, the pueblo would have been occupied by approximately 1,200 people at the time of Coronado's arrival.
"One of the reasons this place is so important historically," said Constance Silver, conservator, " is that this is one of the first contact points for the European incursion."
The pueblo, which was gradually destroyed over time by wind, rain and blowing sand, was unearthed in the early part of the 20th century, she explained. But it was not until the 1930s that the federal government (through the Works Projects Administration) gave money to excavate the site. It was during this excavation that archeologists from the University of New Mexico uncovered a square kiva — a large subterranean ceremonial religious chamber. What they soon realized was that the walls were covered in prehistoric mural paintings depicting scenes of hunting and religious deities.
The university decided they were going to do everything they could to save the murals. And the work they accomplished, in Silver's estimation, represents one of the most amazing — and little-known — early American art restoration projects.
"They actually cut the walls of the kiva into pieces, jacketed them in plaster and put them into wooden crates," Silver said. "Then they loaded them onto trucks and took them into Albuquerque. What they discovered was that the paintings were actually in multiple layers, which they were able to separate and mount as 100 individual panels."
Fourteen of the panels are here on display at the Coronado Historic Site's museum. The rest are in Santa Fe.
The paintings, which are open to the public, line the walls of a small chapellike museum designed by John Gaw Meem, the father of the Pueblo Revival school of architecture. They depict the fantastical spirit figures known as the kachinas, expressively animated animals and hunting scenes, and symbolic representations of the changing seasons.
As you gaze at these paintings, it's fascinating to realize that they were painted at the same time Michelangelo was illustrating the religious beliefs of his people on the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel.
"They're one of the great art treasures of America," said Silver. "And very few people know anything about them."
But that's not all. As radio personality Paul Harvey used to say, let me tell you "the rest of the story."
After the excavation and preservation of the murals, the directors of the WPA project decided that the new state park and its museum should also include a replica of the original kiva. They hired a young artist from the Zia Pueblo named Ma-Pe-Wi, whose Spanish name was Velino Shije Herrera (1902-1973) to re-create the wall paintings exactly to scale and in true fresco — the same technique used by Michelangelo.
"In fact," Silver said, "Ma-Pe-Wi created his own interpretive renderings of the originals."
When the re-creation of the kiva was unveiled in 1940, visitors were allowed to descend into it to experience the frescos. Unfortunately, some of these visitors were less than considerate of what they found and left a graffiti record of their visit behind. The harsh New Mexico weather wasn't kind to the site, either. Water seeped through the ceiling hatch and was gradually absorbed into the walls. Over time the kiva and its second generation of precious frescos deteriorated.
In 2005 Silver was hired to evaluate the damage to the kiva and its artwork and develop a comprehensive plan for its restoration. The project took seven years to complete.
"The condition of the site was horrendous," she explained to me as she proudly displayed marvelous results of the restoration effort. "What we did was painstakingly restore the frescos using the same technique originally employed by Ma-Pe-Wi. Years were spent stabilizing the slumping west wall, developing exact color matches, blending the old with the new. And it never could have been done without the assistance of one of the world's greatest experts in fresco, Henry Pospieszalski. Now, as you can see, the images have been restored to life in all their mystical glory. I think Ma-Pe-Wi was the greatest Native American painter. What he was able to achieve was remarkable."
Today visitors to the Coronado Historic Site (escorted by one of the park's rangers or docents) are allowed to descend a 17-step wooden ladder into the shadowy depths of the fully restored kiva. The descent, the effect of moving from the blazing New Mexico sunshine down into the shadowy spirit realm below and beholding Ma-Pe-Wi's frescos is a magical experience.
Because of issues of tribal sensitivity, photography of the interior of the Kuaua kiva and Ma-Pe-Wi's frescos is not allowed. The only approved photograph that can be shown here is of one of the ancient wall paintings that hang in the museum depicting a yellow rabbit pierced with a red arrow. To fully appreciate the Coronado Historic Site, you'll just have to slow down on your way to Santa Fe and visit it for yourself.
WHEN YOU GO
Open 8:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. Wednesday through Monday. Closed Tuesdays. Also closed New Year's Day, Easter, Thanksgiving and Christmas Day. ?
Admission is $3. Children 16 and under are always admitted free.
For additional information: (505) 867-5351 or www.nmstatemonuments.org/coronado.
Jim Farber is a freelance writer. To read features by other Creators Syndicate writers and cartoonists, visit the Creators Syndicate website at www.creators.com.
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