In the early morning kill of the high desert, nearly 100 Indian craftsmen, most of those jewelry makers, stood in line for one of the 68 numbered sales places on the Blocklong veranda in the palace of the governors.
It was the first winter day, and although the temperature was just above freezing, the prediction called for sunny skies and hotels of the city full of tourists. That was a promising combination for the suppliers in the hope of setting up what the Portal (Por-Tahl) is called, an excellent location for the central Santa Fe Plaza.
Artisans in the Portal program – who have to meet rigorous requirements To participate – usually start at 7 o’clock and place a folded cloth to claim a desired place; At 8 o’clock they can spread the canvases and make their displays. (Tables are not allowed.)
But if there are more suppliers at 8 o’clock than available spaces, as can happen during peak tourism seasons, their location will become a matter of chance for the day.
And so on this December morning, the Artisans took turns in turn numbered poker chips from a bag to see where, or if they could land a place. One pumped his fist when he saw his number. “I’m going to earn a million dollars today,” he told no one in particular.
Jeanelle Whaler, a bead worker from Santo Domingo Pueblo (a community southwest of Santa Fe, also known as Kewa Pueblo), attracted an empty chip. Normally she and her Silversmith, Army, Avelino Whaler, would have bad luck, but a few dozen extra spaces were made available along the west side of the building and a second drawing was held for them. Eventually all the craftsmen who stayed in the neighborhood were given a place.
The whales settled a cold morning-the low winter sun would not reach those western places for a few hours, but at least it would not be a wasted journey. By the time they pack in the late afternoon, they said, they had sold about 20 pieces, ranging from a small $ 20 bead bracelet to a silver bracelet of $ 350 with a turquoise stone.
The site of this distinctive, open-air market is rich in history and in fact the Adobe building of one floor is part of the New Mexico History Museum. The Palace of the Governors dates from 1610 (it was the local seat of the government in the Spanish colonial era), making it the oldest continuously used public building in the United States, according to the executive director of the museum, Billy G. Garrett . The porch was added a few centuries later, he said.
When New Mexico became a state in 1912, the building underwent the renovations that would give it the “Santa Fe -Stijl” it has today, with his excellent wooden trusses or Vigas, Mr Garrett said. The Spanish word portal, which can mean that entrance, veranda or porch was probably used more at that time, he said.
Indigenous American craftsmen probably sold their wares on the portal in the 1800s, Mr Garrett said in an interview, and in the 1920s practice would have become more common, with the growth of tourism in the southwest.
The Portal program, founded in the 1970s, is managed by the museum with a seller committee of 10 regular members and four alternatives that handle basic activities and ensure that compliance with the rules for the quality and authenticity of goods arranges. Every piece for sale must have the brand of a maker and every seller must display a identification card issued by the museum.
Judy Charley is a silversmith raised by her grandparents of the Navajo mothers side. Now 63, she has sold on the portal for more than 30 years. She sometimes makes silver cuffs with a representation of the palace of the governors stamped on the inside.
“This is the only place I am selling,” she said.
No flea market
Almost everyone who visits Santa Fe stops at the square at some point and is signed by “the intrigues of the portal”, says Randy Randall, director of Santa Fe and Interim -Stadsmanager. “It’s just something that people don’t miss.”
Shows or festivals with the work of Indian craftsmen are periodically held in a number of cities in the United States, but the portal program is unusual – partly, said Mark Sublette, an old gallery owner, because the wealth of the tribal tribal and the tribal of New Mexico and Pueblo cultures means that it runs throughout the year. “I don’t think there is such a thing,” he added.
Mr. Sublette owns the Mark Sublette Medicine Man Gallery in Tucson, Ariz., And had another gallery in Santa Fe. He said that he would often encourage people who were curious about Indian jewelry or pottery to go to the portal, talk to the craftsmen and buy something, because they can be sure it was made by hand.
The History Museum regards the Portal program as a way to get in touch with local communities and to recognize a complicated history. “This entire site is part of an area used by native people before the Spaniards arrived and established Santa Fe,” said Mr Garrett. “A part of what we can do in terms of recognizing the history of our own place is to continue to support native art and culture in this way.”
Jewelry is good for most merchandise that is nowadays offered on the portal, although some craftsmen sell pottery, paintings, dolls and other items.
And although it is possible to find items for less than $ 50, pieces have also been equipped with a high level of craftsmanship that are priced in thousands.
“Some tourists who are not familiar with Santa Fe and the Portal can see it as a flea market environment. But it certainly is not, “said Greg Toya, 64, a jeweler maker who was recently chosen by fellow craftsmen for the 10-person committee.
“Not only someone can be there,” he continued. “You have to prove that you can make what you are selling.”
A member of Jemez Pueblo began to learn to learn jewelry after retiring a career in law enforcement. He said he was authorized to sell in the portal about a year ago, after three committee members had seen him make a ring, a bracelet and a pendant.
With rare exceptions, all craftsmen must be members of federally recognized tribes or Pueblos in New Mexico. (A lawsuit in the late 1970s confirmed the state’s right to limit the program to Indian suppliers.)
The pool of the participants is large – 1,200 to 1,500, according to Mr Garrett’s estimate – but not all of them sell them regularly or are dependent on the portal companies for their livelihood.
The portal is open almost every day, including holidays, although the craftsmen donate space for two art shows for two weekends, the Santa Fe Indian Market and the traditional Spanish market. And the activity at the portal tends to follow the rhythms of tourism in Santa Fe, which means that it is the busiest in the summer months and is slow in January and February.
Under the wide overhang of the portal, shoppers can find jewelry that are made in a large number of styles and materials – and talk to the person who has made a certain bracelet or earrings. Redey Guerro, a 67-year-old silversmith whose mother was Diné (Navajo) and father was Apache, said that people were increasingly interested in making a bond with the portal artists and learn about the pieces they had made.
“They want to know who it is, what it is and how it is made and what we represent in New Mexico,” he said.
That was the case with Beth Strickland, an artist from New Zealand on her first trip to the United States, who bought a silver ring of $ 175 with a turquoise stone with thumb-large turquoise stone from Dennis Ramone, a diné silversmith. “He told me how he makes his work, which really makes the experience interesting,” she said. “It’s just a very special memory for me.”
Shopping in the portal is a tradition for Kolt and Julie Moreland from Lubbock, Texas, who were on holiday with their baby daughter and other family members. “My grandfather took me here for the first time when I was 6 years old,” said Mr. Moreland, who is now 30.
Mrs. Moreland ended with a few elegant dangling earrings with green turquoise from Northaria after the jeweler, Wayne Bailon from Santo Domingo Pueblo, reduced the price from $ 325 to $ 275. (“Occasionally I play a good dude and I give They some breaks, “Mr Bailon said when he was asked about the transaction.)
Patricia Anderson, 74, learned to make silver jewelry from her Navajo father and said that at least five generations of her family, starting with her grandparents, sold in the portal. One of her great wholesaler is now learning the vessel.
“I love talking to people and meeting people,” said Mrs. Anderson, adding that she had sold her work to tourists from all over the world – and recently met a visitor to the nation of the Pacific Ocean of Vanuatu.
But one of Mrs. Anderson’s granddaughters, Maya Pino, 34, said she had initially been so timid that she would hardly make any eye contact with visitors. “I just had to learn how to deal with the customers,” she said, “and, in a sense, to let them inside to see my family, history, symbolism and seeing.”
And occasionally something happens to life.
Ellouise Toya, from Kewa Pueblo, remembered a bitter cold day in March 1991, when she was a single mother (she is now married to Greg Toya).
A stylish customer who didn’t seem to want to talk, and whose name Mrs. Toya never discovered, took her time to look at all the jewelry before she bought a selection in cash – a windfall of $ 8,000, so that the wrestling mother caught her in her in her bills to be obtained and buy materials.
“I did a prayer for her in my language,” said Mrs. Toya, 56, who torn when she remembered the moment. “I cried because I needed that money. I had a hard time being a single parent. And she just looked at me and she said, “Everything will be fine.”
