<center>Stiletto Soul: Santa Fe, New Mexico</center>

February 4, 2013

It was spontaneous, but my excuse to visit Santa Fe was to watch the Ravens defeat the 49ers in the Super Bowl at Chelsea's house. Thank goodness the Ravens won, I was not about to share the title of 6 time Super Bowl Champs (Steelers) with anyone!

Why is Chelsea in Santa Fe? Chelsea is in Santa Fe as an intern during the legislative session. I took this as a convenient opportunity to explore my own backyard.

Santa Fe Plaza

As I was strolling around the plaza, I found many sculptures, paintings, statues and the like. Below are a few of the pieces I happened upon. Not much of a story to tell here, but I thought the pieces were great additions to the area.

San Miguel Mission

The Chapel of San Miguel is the oldest church in Santa Fe and the United States. It was originally built around 1610, but the Pueblo Revolt left the Church burned to the ground. It was completely rebuilt in 1859. Click on the link for a San Miguel Mission blurb. Many of the pieces are from Spain, such as the bell pictured below.

Confessional

Loretto Chapel

The next stop was the Loretto Chapel. If you have not heard about it, the Loretto Chapel is home to the Miraculous Staircase. Prior to its completion in 1878, the Chapel had no access to the choir loft twenty-two feet above the rear of the Chapel. Many carpenters were called to assess the project, but all concluded that the loft would have to be entered via ladder because a staircase would take away from the already strained seating area in the Chapel.

What I learned was that the Sisters of Loretto prayed a novena to St. Joseph, the patron saint of carpenters. On the ninth and final day of prayer, a man came to the Chapel looking for work. He would go on to build the staircase in a few months. Before he could be paid or thanked for his beautiful work, the carpenter disappeared. There was no trace of this man anywhere. Some have believed that it was St. Joseph himself who was the carpenter.

The design was very innovative for its time. The staircase has two 360 degree turns and no visible means of support. The staircase was also built without nails, but used wooden pegs. There are 33 steps to the choir loft.

Today, there are supports on either side of the staircase to preserve the work in case of earthquakes or other means to which the staircase could be destroyed.

To visit the Loretto, you must pay $3.00 at the door. It is a small donation to help with the upkeep. It is worth the few dollars to see a masterpiece! The doors open at 9:00 am.

Cathedral Basilica of St. Francis of Assisi

You are probably wondering why it is called Cathedral Basilica of St. Francis of Assisi, emphasis on both a Cathedral and a Basilica. Don't worry, I did too, so I looked it up. A Cathedral is a church where the archbishop of an area leads and conducts mass. A Basilica is a church that is honored by the Holy Father by adding historical value and its history of spreading Catholicism. Because the Archbishop is in Santa Fe and presides over the matters in this area, it is a Cathedral. It is a Basilica because Pope Benedict XVI in 2005.

The Cathedral Basilica is the place to be if you want to see New Mexican/southwest decor and architecture. The entry is free and opens to the public at 9:30 am.

These bronze doors were installed in 1986. They depict the various scenes and events in the history of Catholicism in Santa Fe. They were made by artist Donna Quastoff.

The Baptismal Font is made of Brazilian granite. It has eight sides for the eighth day (Easter), Christ's resurrection.

The altar screen, Reredos, was carved for the 100th anniversary of the Cathedral in 1986. In the center, there is a statue of St. Francis. Surrounding the statue are paintings of Saints of the New World. It was painted by artist Robert Lentz.

The Catholic faith came to what is now New Mexico through the Franciscan Friars in 1598. The Friars traveled with the Spanish colonists. In 1610, when Santa Fe was founded, the first church was erected. The Pueblo Revolt destroyed this church and was rebuilt in 1714.

When the Cathedral was put under construction, the new Cathedral was built around the former adobe church and, when the new walls were complete, the old church was torn down and removed through the front door. The only remaining adobe is in the Chapel a la Conquistadora.

The pool is in the shape of a crucifix with three steps to remind us of the three days Jesus spent in the tomb. The grill has symbols of the four Evangelists casting the net for the fishing of men.

The stained glass windows in the lower bay are from France and depict the twelve apostles.

Georgia O'Keeffe Museum

The exhibit open at the Georgia O'Keeffe Museum is "Georgia O'Keeffe and the Faraway: Nature and Image." This exhibit will be up through May 5, 2013 and the doors open at 10:00 am. The works are inspired by the desert surrounding her home. Much of her work has been criticized for its sexuality, which you can see where people are coming from, but O'Keeffe simply says that those thoughts are your personal meaning of the work. I am a big fan of her abstract work. It was really neat to see signs in Rome advertising for her exhibition. I was a proud New Mexican.

When I was on an elementary school field trip to the Georgia O'Keeffe Museum, there was a piece that was essentially a thin line next to a thick line. "I can do that!" were the thoughts in my mind and have stuck with me ever since. I guess you can say her work had an impression on me. You can view some of her work by clicking the link I have provided above.

New Mexico State Roundhouse

While I was in the Capitol, it would be un-New Mexican if I did not visit the Roundhouse. Granted I had Chelsea to gave me a short tour with our friend Monika. I sat in on a few minutes of a discussion about a memorial that eventually went unsupported because of horse slaughterings in the House. This conversation lasted my entire visit and probably occupied the rest of the day.

No pictures were taken, but we ate lunch at Rio Chama. It is a nice place, but not somewhere to go on a budget. Chelsea had the Chama Chile and I had the Grilled Pepper Hummus. Both were wonderful! You can't go wrong with anything on their menu.

What is great about our Roundhouse is that it displays many works of art by New Mexico artists. It is a very interesting place to visit. I recommend everyone visit their local government because it gives you new perspectives and will give you insight to your culture.