Digital Cuentos

The Digital Cuentos project is a compilation of audio visual narratives published by students enrolled through the New Mexico Villages and Cultural Landscapes and New Mexico’s Literary Landscape classes under the supervision of Levi Romero, an Assistant Professor in the Department of Chicana and Chicano Studies at UNM.

Students were asked to interview a family or community member in a resolana style dialogue. The primary focus of the assignment was to foster conversations between students and people in their lives whose knowledge, wisdom, and histories have been overshadowed by the student’s emphasis on academic study.

Inspired by course readings in Resolana: Emerging Chicano Dialogues On Community, students reclaimed personal histories through platicas with family elders and plain ordinary folk who had lived remarkable lives. These written documentations were then transformed into digital stories that reflect current creativities in Chicano/a Studies.

The interdisciplinary and documentary studies initiative in CCS addresses contemporary issues and concerns of preservation and sustainability through the physical and cultural mapping of the human terrain. We hope you will enjoy the digital cuentos and be inspired to reflect, document, and most importantly, engage in a platica with someone who is dying to tell you their story.

Spring 2015


Selenah Kaiser Tortillas de Harina: A Recipe (5:06)

Greg Garcia 12 Generations in New Mexico (2:30)

Brianna Waggoner The Tafoyas (4:46)

Edith Garcia No es tan malo como lo cuentan (6:33)

Shannon Bungart Albuquerque: Behind the Scenes (4:46)

Ken Detro A Peñasco Life (5:35)

Elisa Cedillos Home (5:02)

Victor Martinez When I Was Really Young (4:37)

Signe Feddersen New Mexico from an Outsider's Point of View (4:36)

Yarrow Perea Flamenco Cuentos en la Vida de Eva (5:04)

Julie Bustamante La Resolana (5:11)

Raquel River The Town of Bernalillo, NM: How Water Has Influenced the Cultural Landscape (3:56)

Joel Wiglesworth Charlie's Memories of Vaughn, New Mexico (5:04)

Fall 2014


Joel Wiglesworth Charlie Gauna's Vaughn, NM (5:11)

Alanna Oldfield Voices of the Undocumented (3:45)

Mark Fisher Fragmented Whole: The Poetic Body of New Mexico (5:00)

Sherre Franklin Grace Trujillo (4:45)

Chris Beaty Some Poetry and Music from the Beaty Twins (5:00)

Victoria Roybal My Heart and Soul, My Home Espanola, NM (5:15)

Selenah Kaiser Currents: A Project for New Mexico Literary Landscapes (4:40)

Stephen Romero Chupadero: The Small Valle I Call Home (4:00)

Joy Pfeil John and Sheryl's Legacy (5:11)

Toribio Garcia Making Posole (5:00)

Spring 2014


Ryan Newbill Village in a Village (4:36)

Ashley Leyba Francis Sanchez (5:26)

Cindy Boutelle The Good Fight (5:04)

Chris Baca Saboyeta and San Mateo (5:38)

AJ Beach Kyle Fast Wolf Santero Artist (5:13)

Ray Ruiz Hard Work (4:32)

Bridget Llanes Sanctuaries of Northern New Mexico (5:11)

Terrence Baker The Village of Alvarado Train Station (4:49)

Alanna Ofield A Village in the City (5:30)

Angelica Padilla Bienvenidos a mi Historia (6:06)

Camilo Montano In Search of the Four Religions of Northern New Mexico (4:57)

Margo Tucker A Hoosier Story (5:04)

Ryan Martinez Surviving Espanola (5:28)

Nicolas Flores The Ortiz Family Legacy (5:14)

Jeff Fredine Homebirth: A Traditional Practice in a Modern World (4:54)

Stephen Romero Sile: Grandma Jenny and her Memories of the Ranch (4:57)

Anthony Maestas The Village is in the Family (5:14)

Antonia Romero Let's Walk to Montoya's and Get Some Carne Seca (5:40)

Tony Tafoya Private Video

Jonathan Schneider 19499 Hidden Valley Road (5:54)

Toribio Garcia Mi Querencia (5:08)

Cassandra Sanchez A Little Bit of a Love Story (5:29)

Fall 2013


Maria Alicia Monclova The Fiestas of San Lorenzo (4:46)

Terence Baker Beats, Rhymes, and La Gente de Cultura Fuerte (5:00)

Andrea Valenzuela The Fleeting Artwork of Ismael O. Valenzela (5:21)

Mercedes Avila Carving Historia (5:34)

Ben Martinez Americo Paredes: A Biography (5:41)

Leslie Plata El Nayarita (5:54)

Angelica Padilla The Old Man's Love Story (7:08)

Sara Eiker La Música en mi Familia (6:02)

Elias McEntire Recuerdos (4:00)

Alexandrea Pena Always Messin' With Them Boys (5:26)

Meghan Brown Interview with Bron (5:01)

Denna Orr Growing Up In Old Town (5:08)

Cristina Cervantes Eduardo "Lalo" Silva: A New Mexican Musician (4:36)

Ebhen Reed Poor los no deseados A journey through death and living memory (11:14)

Tere Baca ¡Viva la Causa en la Historia! (5:06)

Spring 2013


Mark Fisher Digital Cuento (8:23)

Lucia Wilfon Video No Longer Available

Marisa Pankey The Village That Disappeared From the Map... Torres, Colorado (3:35)

Laurence Tratalos Resolana (5:23)

Alina Gallegos Frances Gallegos and Her Shared Memories (5:30)

Andrew Cordova My Grandpa (4:38)

Alyce Ramos Lisa Spencer: Las Vegas, NM (4:55)

Andrew Herring Alimentando el Alma Nuevo Mexicano (4:43)

Bertha Gomez A Story about Chicano Activism in New Mexico (5:23)

Ashley Wegle Las Vegas, New Mexico: A Town Split By A Railroad (6:02)

Benjamin Martinez Churches as Symbols of the Community (5:15)

Brittany Herrera Los Beneficios de las Plantas Nativas Reconnecting with the Forgotten Foods of our Landscape (5:47)

Carl Quintana Journey to Palma (4:58)

Gloria Martinez An Oral History of My Family (6:01)

Daniella Rodarte Gutierrez-Hubbell House (5:00)

Estevan Meyer A Brief Tour of Las Vegas (3:52)

Brennan Clarke Resolana en el Valle Norte (4:17)

Jessica Stevens La Resolana Moderna (5:07)

Kathy McCully Larry's Barber Shop (5:02)

Mariah Maestas A Story of Española, New Mexico (3:32)

Michel Wingard Expressions (4:38)

Stephanie Zuni Whif'tushuh (5:32)

Tere Baca A Digital Cuento by Tere Baca (5:41)

Tara Freelander The Salazars (5:45)

Fall 2012


Vincent Spiak Franc Chewiwie and the Latin Jazz All Stars (3:32)

Alex Donaldson Leslie Marmon Silko (6:42)

Ben McCallum Un Trip down to the South Valley (4:26)

Nataly Mijares El Lenguaje Español? (4:52)

Alina Gallegos Nuestra Casa (4:53)

Tania Martinez Estanislado (Tannie) Martinez (5:17)

Jed Webb La Angostura (5:46)

Laurence Tratalos A Cultural Trip into the Heart of New Mexico (5:58)

Carl Quintana I am Joaquin (5:18)

Alejandra Parilla-Paz Rudolfo Anaya (4:56)

Tyler Mundy Wheels (3:21)

Sage Vogel The Pathetics (6:20)

Patricia Valderrama La Fería y La Lana (3:31)

Adam Alvarez How I Met Your Mama (3:03)

Griffin Arellano B. Ruppe Drugs (7:02)

Spring 2012


Susan Aranda Abeytas, New Mexico (4:17)

Pamela Lunderman Journey to the Past (6:13)

Marcus Lucero Trujillo, New Mexico (4:50)

Anna Cabrera Grandma & the Lost Boys: Refuge at St. Kate's (5:!6)

Melissa Gallegos My Resolana -- THe Life of La Cat Eyes (5:50)

Stephen Weinkauf An Interview with Great Grandma Sena (5:36)

Cynthia Killough Una Historia de Amor Nuevo Mexicana (3:33)

Pete Domenici, Jr. Visions from Bocce's Place (5:31)

Melissa Saenz Those were the good old days by the Perea Family (6:44)

Olivia Romo Vivir por la Raza (6:18)

Crystal Quintana Photography Documentation (3:45)

Denise Rincon My Parents (2:42)

Rachel August My Family History (6:06)

Alejandrina Padilla Don Alejandro de Armijo (5:12)

Philip Marlowe Johnson Home Again: A MOM Story (7:11)

Adriana Baca The Branches I am From (5:40)

Mimi Maynard My Sweet Grandmother, Alice Maynard (2:38)

Jamie Hensley Conexiones con Grandma (4:56)

Marcos Lujan What do you consider yourself (5:06)

Natalie Brigance Jóse Domingo Sandoval (6:06)

Jordan Moore Mantanza Thing(4:24)

Marron Cooney A Dobro and a Dream (4:08)

Check out Professor Romero’s interview about the Digital Cuentos project with the Albuquerque Journal .

The Digital Cuentos were produced as class projects and are not intended for commercial purposes of any kind.