Corina Gonzales

Date2014

MediumPhotograph printed on aluminum

Dimensions36 x 36 in. (91.4 x 91.4 cm)

ClassificationsPhotography

Credit LineGift of the artist

Object number2017.8.1

Label TextMoving Forward, Looking Back: Journeys Across the Old Spanish Trail is a multidisciplinary artistic project focused on identity, based on memory, and inspired by travel. Intrigued by the expeditions undertaken by the Spanish explorers in the Southwest of the United States in the 19th century, and driven by her quest for insightful knowledge of that world and its remains, the Spanish photo-journalist Janire Najera took the Old Spanish Trail accompanied by her camera, her assistant Matt Wright, and a 1984 RV named Orwell.

Corina was born in Taos, in northern New Mexico, and now lives in Santa Fe. She works as an accountant for the Los Alamos National Laboratory and also serves as a Major and Logistics Officer for the U.S. Army Reserves, for whom she has traveled to Iraq twice.
She is from many cultures, with one ancestor from France and some from Spain, who arrived via Mexico, finally settling in Rancho de Taos on what was then the frontier of New Spain. Some of the descendants of these first conquistadors were mixed blood with Native Americans from the surrounding area. Others were mixed with the "genizaros" that settled in the area. They traded with the nomadic Navajos, Apaches, Utes and speak Spanish. Corina is not totally sure about where exactly in Spain her ancestors came from, but she proudly celebrates her shared roots.
She has formed a traditional folkloric group with her twelve-year-old daughter and they dance together at many fiestas in and around Santa Fe. Each New Year's Eve, she joins here family in Taos to dance traditional "Comanche dances," which honor the arrival of a new period. "Sometimes I feel a bit too old to be part of this festivity, but when my father starts to play the drums I cannot resist generations of tradition."
From the Spanish customs that have been introduced and preserved in New Mexico, Corina emphasizes the dance of "flamenco" and the annual theatrical representation that commemorates the peaceful arrival of Don Diego de Vargas for Santa Fe.

Status

On view

Location