Today citizens of the small rural villages of Northern New Mexico are making great efforts to preserve, or at least not forget, a way of life that is being altered as the modern world encroaches into these treasured communities.   This is a place of cultural richness and deep traditions as witnessed in its language, agriculture, food, architecture, art, song, faith, and lifestyle.  From birth to death, this has been a lifestyle of hard work and devotion in harmony with its environment.  Arturo’s early years would influence his objectives of assisting the people of norte New Mexico, which he did by representing his beloved cultura on a local, state and national level.  By doing so he was able to create needed jobs for thousands of northern New Mexicans, many benefiting from all his efforts to this day. 

Speaking mostly Spanish, Arturo would grow up in the 1930s with all the old traditions of la gente/the people of Chimayo.  He assisted his grandfather with the daily chores on the farm, which included working with the mayordomo (guardian of the irrigation ditches) to secure water to irrigate their land.  Arturo helped harvest the orchards and planted, picked and strung the chilé for which Chimayo is so well known—chilé made into ristras which were hung to dry on the outside walls of the house.  He would assist his grandmother can the foods as well as his grandfather watch after the farm animals—caballos, vacas, borregas, gallinas. 

As a boy Arturo studied by kerosene lamparas and bathed in water fetched in the nearby acequia. In a large room of the house dedicated for weaving, he would assist his grandmother spin yarn and his grandfather weave on a large loom he had built himself—a traditional Chimayo style herga, which is a skill handed down from his early ancestors who settled in the area in the 1600s.  Arturo would also participate in farm chores with the older sons, Willie a weaver, Ruben and Joe craftsmen, and Levi a carpenter.  Besides being a farmer and a weaver, his grandfather was a builder and roofer whose work you can still see today in Chimayo and nearby villages.   His grandfather worked on the repair of the Santuario including restoring the roof on the church.  This was the chapel where his family worshiped and partook in the passages of family life:  Baptism, First Holy Communion, weddings, and funerals.  This was the early life, which would shape Arturo’s destiny.

Chimayo has long been a site of great international interest.  In the early 1940s it was featured in an award-winning documentary, Sons of the Conquistadors.  Arturo grandparents were chosen to play the lead roles.   Arturo, who was just a young boy of thirteen when it was filmed, was made further aware of the specialness of the life he knew growing up in Chimayo.   The film showed daily life as it was during the time he was a child.   Later as an adult, he would have the opportunity to meet the Hollywood creators of the documentary as well as some of the actors.  He would bring the film to the attention of people in various fields, private and public, as an example of the need to protect and preserve the area and the cherished way of life.  Shortly after the film was completed, his grandmother passed away in the family home.  His grandfather, still strong and able, remained farming, ranching and weaving.

Arturo Moves to Santa Fé to Complete His Education 

Soon after, Arturo moved to Santa Fé to attend St. Michael’s High School where he quickly became a popular classmate, strong academic student, and accomplished athlete.   He lived with my mother, then single, and later with my parents when they first married upon my father’s return from Germany during WWII.   From his high school days through the decades that followed, my mother proudly saved newspaper articles chronicling the achievements of Arturo’s inspiring life.  The following is one from his high school days, giving an example of his strength and character.

Arturo graduated from St. Michael’s High School in 1950 then joined the U.S. Navy, which took him far away from the life he had known.  He became an aeromechanic working on planes used in battle.  His final station was in Hartford, Connecticut.  It was there that he met and married Florence Poulin whose family roots were from French Canada.  A daughter, Laura, was born during that time.

In 1959 his grandfather, who had been living independently on the family farm, passed away during a routine surgery.   This sudden event would bring Arturo back home where he was missed greatly by family members.   Unable to care for the large acreage of farmland following his grandfather’s death, the family persuaded Arturo to stay by offering the property to him if he could develop it, mindful of the memory of the beloved Hermenejildo and Trinidad Jaramillo. 

By then in his late thirties, Arturo had seen much to make him appreciate from where he had come, what was important to hold on to, and what he could do to make a positive difference in Northern New Mexico, the foundation of his early years.  What was to follow would become the impetus to many other accomplishments, which would engage his time in business, agriculture, conservation and public service.   

Rancho de Chimayo 1965-present

Arturo contemplated alternatives for both honoring the family house as well as bringing needed economic assistance to the Chimayo area.  After a few years of great labor and sacrifice the home of his beloved grandparents was converted from a farmhouse to a restaurant.  In 1965 Arturo and Florence opened the doors to Rancho de Chimayo.

How could a restaurant, which in the early 60s seemed like an unlikely success, far from any major city, become one of the iconic businesses of New Mexico, recognized by the National Restaurant Association?  Those who know the family know it is because of the love and devotion of Arturo to his roots.  And it was because of the character of Arturo.  In 1985 he was honored as Restaurateur of the Year by the National Restaurant Association based in Chicago.  Providing the quality of food his grandparents made and preserving their spirit, the restaurant has become internationally known, attracting locals, celebrities and high officials alike.

The basketball ring made from the rim of a tin can and nailed to the front yard catalpa tree has now been grown around since the years he would play ball during his childhood.  The corner of the room where his grandmother cooked tortillas, calebacita, chilé and frijoles, on a wood-burning stove is today the location of the host desk for the restaurant.  The large room where he would watch his grandmother spin yarn and his grandfather weave has been the kitchen to the successful business.  And the room where Arturo would study by kerosene lantern now one of the dining rooms; the ground where he would help his grandfather with chores by day and chase fireflies by night is the parking lot for the internationally known Rancho de Chimayo.

Through this vision, dedication and hard work, Arturo was able to accomplish the following with Rancho de Chimayo being the force that got him there:

Celebrities like Elizabeth Taylor, Robert Redford, and Jimmy Stewart have visited Rancho de Chimayo, as well as high officials like the King of Spain.  However, most appreciative of Arturo’s dream are his family, who have an opportunity to more personally connect with Heremenejildo and Trinidad’s memory, as well as the local people—the people of Chimayo, Truchas, Cordova, Rio Chiquito, Santa Cruz.  Those small villages were positively affected by Arturo’s vision, since over the decades tens of thousands have been able to work at the restaurant as well as the many other enterprises created by Arturo.  These gave many the opportunities to support their families and their dreams as well as afford higher education. 

In 2010 and 2011Arturo returned to host at the Rancho de Chimayo during the summer months.  The reaction of the people was like that of seeing a beloved son come home—more delight than seeing a Hollywood celebrity!  Continuously greeted with joy and interrupted by those who wanted to have their photos taken with him, Arturo was caring and gracious as he was as a boy--El hijo de Chimayo had come back home!

Gracias, Tio, on behalf of all the Jaramillos,

Maria Jaramillo Montez-Skolnik

In the ‘red room’ where his mother and my mother were born, Arturo receives a framed photo of his grandparents thanking him for keeping true to his devotion to la familia y la gente de norte New Mexico.

In the photo the chilé strings hang as they do today and the catalpa tree is strong as the memories.

Arturo returns to host at Rancho de Chimayo during the summers of 2010 and 2011

Pictured here with Benjamin and Zachary Jaramillo Montez Skolnik and with Maria Montez-Skolnik in 2011

To view the documentary, Sons of the Conquistadores:  http://digital.library.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metadc13664/