Chasing Dichos Through Chimayó

Winner of the 2015 Southwest Book Design and Production Award for Gift Book from the New Mexico Book Association

Silver Winner of the 2015 PubWest Book Design Award for Historical/Biographical Book

2015 Southwest Books of the Year

The poetic proverbs known to nuevomexicanos as dichos are particular to their places of origin. In these reflections on the dichos of the Chimayó Valley in northern New Mexico, native son Don J. Usner has written a memoir that is also a valuable source of information on the rich language and culture of the region. Illustrated with black-and-white photographs that Usner, who is also known for his photographic work, took of the people and places that he writes about, this book is a one-of-a-kind introduction to the real New Mexico.
Usner has known Chimayó since he was a boy visiting his grandmother and the other village elders, who taught him genealogies going back to family origins in Spain. The Spanish he learned there was embedded in dichos and cuentos. This book is the result of Usner's research into these memorable sayings, and it preserves a language and a culture on the verge on dissolution. It is a gateway into a uniquely New Mexican way of life.

Author: Don J. Usner
Publisher: University of New Mexico Press
Published: 11/15/2021
Pages: 240
Binding Type: Paperback
Weight: 0.9lbs
Size: 9.80h x 8.00w x 0.50d
ISBN: 9780826363374

About the Author
Usner, Don J.: -

Don J. Usner has written, coauthored, and provided photographs for several books, including Sabino's Map: Life in Chimayó's Old Plaza, ¡Órale! Lowrider: Custom Made in New Mexico, and Valles Caldera: A Vision for New Mexico's National Preserve. He lives in Santa Fe, New Mexico.