A survivor of a car accident that killed three people Saturday in Capulin improved Monday at Memorial Hospital in Colorado Springs. Pamela Maestas, 17, of Manassa, was listed in fair condition Monday afternoon.

Alcohol and drug use are suspected in the crash of a pickup truck that killed three people early Sunday and left two others hospitalized, according to the Colorado State Patrol. Ermidia Gonzales, 17, of Sanford,and Derek Martinez, 28, of Capulin, were pronounced dead at the scene, and Joshua Rousey, 29, of Capulin, died later at the Conejos County Hospital in La Jara.

Alex J. Chávez was born in Capulin, Colo., on November 9 (1922 according to his obituary, 1923 as noted on his album covers). "Born on a farm two miles east of the village of Capulin, Colorado, in the San Luis Valley." He attended La Jara High School. In 1965 he financed and recorded his first LP, El Testamento - Spanish Folk Music of Northern New Mexico and Southern Colorado (Century Custom Records 22376), a collection of 14 traditional songs of the region

The number of children under the age of 18 who live below the poverty line in the United States increased by 9% between 2000 and 2006. In Colorado, the number of children living in poverty grew by 72%, the highest rate increase in the nation. These are the stories of some of those children. This Denver Post documentary project provides a window into the lives of eight families living below the poverty line.


Jozif Martinez, 4, drinks Kool-Aid at the dining room table in his family's home in Capulin. He had tortillas and ham for dinner in the bowl.

The Martinez Family, Photos by Judy DeHaas
Sherry and Eli Martinez, ages 40 and 39, are raising eight of their nine children in an adobe home and an adjacent building on their property. The adobe house was built by Eli’s father more than 75 years ago. Sherry earns $21,000 a year at a hospital nine miles away, but Eli, a war veteran, is unable to hold a job. Poverty has been a way of life for generations in this part of the San Luis Valley. But Eli is too proud to accept food stamps. Instead, he spends time with the children, hunts for meat and takes seasonal jobs in nearby potato farms. All the kids pitch in to fix meals, feed the animals and gather firewood for the stoves. Watch Video.


Three-year-old Wyatt Motter tries to help with the yardwork.

The Cook Family, Photos by Joe Amon
Eight people, including three children, live in Rodney and Kalin Cook’s two trailers, which are boarded together with plywood near the tiny town of Hooper in Saguache County, the poorest in the state. They use an old truck to generate electricity for the property, and they haul water – for drinking, bathing and cooking, and for the animals – from a neighbor’s well and an artesian well. They live off welfare, unemployment and disability checks. But they’re happy. The children play with the 10 dogs, two cats, four horses and other assorted animals on the Cooks’ 40-acre property. “We like it out here,” Rodney Cook says. Watch Video.

For the first time young people from the Saint Joseph’s Catholic Church, in Capulin, organized and staged a Good Friday Processional to celebrate the Easter season.

Eppie Archuleta’s weaving has earned her national recognition as a folk artist and after weaving for over 75 years she still enjoys spending time with children and teaching about her craft. On Monday, Archuleta, whose work earned her a National Heritage Fellowship from the National Endowment for the Arts in 1985, joined fourth and fifth grade students in Jill Wasinger’s art class at Evans Elementary to talk about weaving and answer questions from the students, who are working on weaving projects in the class.

The Rocky Mountain News features 5 who served for love of country, including Bill Medina from Capulin.

Frank Martinez, 38, is a candidate for Conejos County Sheriff.

This historic photo of the Braiden Cow Camp in the La Jara Canyon was taken early 1920's. Raymond Braiden is mounted and Samuel Braiden is holding the baby. View larger image.

The Braiden Cow Camp has also been captured by Mogote Artist Rick Howell in a painting displayed on his web site.

Historic photo courtesy of Russell Braiden of La Jara

Freecycle group is open to all who want to recycle that special something rather than throw it away. Nonprofit groups are welcome to participate! There is one main rule however: EVERYTHING posted must be FREE. This group is part of The Freecycle Network, a nonprofit organization and a movement of people interested in keeping good stuff out of landfills.

Check out Freecycle for:

Alamosa

Conejos County

Monte Vista

Christmas Eve midnight mass took place at the stroke of midnight at St. Joseph's Catholic Church in Capulin and brought folk from all over the Valley.

Work is underway on the second section of the first phase of the Alamosa River restoration project, a few miles northeast of Capulin.

An abandoned adobe farmhouse returns to the field from which it was constructed near Capulin under an SLV sky.
Photo by Jay Packer

Adams State College alumna and Capulin native Marie Gallegos, second right, volunteered in Ecuador for two years with the Peace Corps.

Fred Haberlein created many murals throughout the San Luis Valley over the years.

Ruben Archuleta recently completed his third book, "Eppie Archuleta and The Tale of Juan de la Burra," which he describes as a "Hispanic fairy tale." The book, "Eppie Archuleta and The Tale of Juan de la Burra" is available at local bookstores or through the author's Web page.

The hymns of the faithful pierced the chilled spring wind yesterday as members of St. Joseph's parish commemorated the crucifixion of Jesus Christ.

Although a subscription is required, High Country News has a recent article about how "local ranchers and farmers in southern Colorado's San Luis Valley are working to restore the Alamosa River, site of the infamous Summitville mine cyanide spill".

For San Luis Valley residents, drought meant moving two portable toilets up against the building on the parched north lawn of Our Lady de Guadalupe in Conejos, Mary Flores closed her mobile home west of Capulin about six months ago and moved her family to an apartment in La Jara so they would have running water and Janice Coombs' primary domestic well on her farm northwest of La Jara, went dry about a year ago.

The simple truth is that more users are competing for water in what is at least the fourth consecutive year of drought, and with tragedy looming, battle lines are forming for a new water war in the San Luis Valley.

Bittersweetly, three-quarter-inch hail was mixed with rain across Alamosa Friday, with small accumulations of water, but with damage to trees and plants.

Residents of the Alamosa River Basin also empowering themselves by being part of the technical advisory groups that the state and federal government have set up to dialogue with the community about Summitville Superfund clean up efforts, water purifying, and the reintroduction of aquatic life to the river.