The next Mescal Roast will be held from Thursday, May 17 through Sunday, May 20, 2001 at the Living Desert Zoo & Gardens State Park in Carlsbad, NM.

• Cost
• Event Background
• What is a Mescal Roast?
• Mescal Roast - Four Day Cooking Process
• Native Crafts and Pottery Sale
• Mescal Roast Feast Dinner
• Special Performance
• Mountain Spirit Dances
• Mark Your Calendars Now!

2001 Mescal Roast & Related Events  
 

Cost

Admittance to daytime activities from 9:00 am to 5:00 pm during the Mescal Roast will be the usual State Park entrance fee of $4.00 for age13 through adult, $2.00 for 7-12 year olds, and children 6 and under are free.  Admission is free with Friends of the Living Desert membership card. Tickets for the evening’s activities, including Apache Feast Dinner and Dances, are $12.00 apiece.  Tickets are limited to 500 for each night and should be purchased in advance.  Tickets are on sale at the Living Desert State Park (505) 887-5516, (in person, by phone, or by mail).  Personal checks, Visa, and MasterCard are accepted.

Event Background

 
The Friends of Living Desert Mescal Roast and Mountain Spirit Dances held at the Living Desert each year is unusual, even for New Mexico.  It melds together history and legend with colorful costumes and a traditional Dance of the Mountain Spirits around a blazing bonfire.  The purpose is to build a better understanding of the multi?cultural history of New Mexico and demonstrate the importance of preserving and protecting the fragile Chihuahuan desert ecosystem.  

There is no better way to demonstrate this and promote the concept of a "living desert", than by highlighting the native peoples who survived off the land in this harsh environment.  They existed and prospered without the benefit of modern conveniences while respecting and preserving the delicate balance of plants and animals within their surroundings.  

It’s hard to believe, but the Friends of Living Desert Mescal Roast is 14 years old this year.  This event has increased steadily in popularity and today attracts visitors from not only New Mexico and nearby states, but from across the nation.  The Mescal Roast has gone from a small, almost private, gathering to an award winning, premier example of a multi-cultural event sponsoring traditional Native American ceremonies in the Southwest.  It has grown from a simple one-day occasion to a four-day phenomenon attended by over 1000 people and receiving national media coverage.

What is a Mescal Roast?  

The Mescal Roast demonstrates a traditional method used by the Apache people to survive in the harsh desert environment of the Southwest.  Historically, both the Pecos River Valley and Guadalupe Mountains were traditional hunting and gathering territories for the Mescalero Apaches.  It was the Apache's dependence upon the mescal plant, better known as the familiar spiked-leafed agave or century plant, for food which led the early Spanish explorers to call these people the "mescal makers" or Mescaleros.  Their mescal roasting pits are the best known archaeological sites in the Guadalupe Mountains.  

Mescal was a very important and nutritious staple food for the Mescaleros.  The roasted mescal was sun dried and used in much the same manner as the Plains Indians used dried meat or jerky.  Recent tests by New Mexico State University, found that dried mescal leaves contained 85% soluble carbohydrates, 1% protein and 14% insoluble fiber and are roughly equivalent in food value to oats.  The dried mescal had the added advantage of being easily stored over long periods of time.

Mescal Roast - Four Day Cooking Process  
Traditional counselors of the Mescalero tribe come to Carlsbad on the day before the formal opening of the Mescal Roast to harvest and prepare the mescal plants.  Approximately twenty to thirty agave heads are harvested annually, of this number one-half are returned to the Mescalero Reservation by the Traditional counselors.  These are used by the Feast Givers at the annual girls puberty ceremony in early July.  The other half are distributed during the mescal tasting event, held on the last day of the Mescal Roast.

On Thursday, May 17, beginning at about 10:00 a.m., a brief prayer ceremony will bestow a traditional blessing upon the mescal, the participants and visitors and the community.  This ceremony is open to the public and the community is invited to attend.  As part of this centuries old practice, the pit blessing is done by Apache counselors with prayers spoken in their native language.  Included in this blessing are prayers for the mescal and the people who will share in its bounty.  The mescal is then placed in the pit, which is covered with damp gramma grass and three feet of soil to seal in the heat and moisture for the four day cooking process.  

Four days later on Sunday, May 20, starting at about 11 a.m., the mescal pit will be opened.  The roasted mescal is removed and shared among those in attendance.  If its been a good year for the spring rains, the fibrous, stringy mescal is juicy and tastes sweet, like a combination of squash and sweet potatoes. The tasting is followed by short closing ceremonies, which end with a traditional Apache give-away of candies and fruits.

Native Crafts & Pottery Sales

Activities begin at 10:00 am and continue throughout each day.  Featured will be Mescalero Apache Art along with Native American Art from the southern portion of the Chihuahuan desert located in the Mexican state of Chihuahua. These will include the beautiful, contemporary art pottery of Casas Grande and Mata Ortiz.  These remote villages in western Chihuahua have become world renowned in recent years.  Ancient pottery discovered in archeological investigations at Casas Grande has inspired the modern day residents of Mata Ortiz to revive their ancient pottery techniques.  Utilizing local clays and materials, simple hand built kilns and self-taught methods, they now produce dramatic examples of fine art pottery entirely by hand.  

While this pottery is rarely available outside of a few select galleries, Friends of Living Desert has arranged to have a broad selection of both large and small pieces for this sale.  Quality creations from this remote village, located 20 miles down a dirt road from the nearest town, were hand picked and brought to Carlsbad especially for this Mescal Roast presentation.  These will be for sale at very reasonable prices with all profits going to stimulate the growth of our interpretative and educational outreach programs at Living Desert.

Mescal Roast Feast Dinner  

We will host a Mescal Roast Feast Dinner on both Friday and Saturday nights, serving from 6:00 – 6:30 p.m.  In the finest spirit of the Mescal Roast these dinners will provide an opportunity for our guests to meet and share a meal with the Friends volunteers, Park Staff, Mescaleros and other visitors, enhancing the experience for everyone.  
Feast dinners are traditionally served each summer during the coming of age ceremonies for young women on the Mescalero Reservation.  They are prepared by family members of each individual girl sponsored, and are well known throughout the reservation area for both the quality and quantity of food served.  At the Living Desert our Feast Dinner will be prepared by our family, composed of the Friend's volunteers and the Park staff.

The food will be cooked and served outdoors at the Park.  The menu will include various items from the tri-cultural traditions of southeast New Mexico.  Dinner will consist of Mescalero-style boiled beef, pinto beans, hominy & red chili, and coleslaw, drinks, and desert.

Special Performance

A special performance of the Apache War Dance will be held for dinner attendees only.  The War Dance will follow the dinner at 7:00 p.m.  The War Dance will provide an exciting introduction to the Mountain Spirit Dances, which will begin at approximately 8:30 p.m.  The War Dance features Apache children as well as adults dressed in historic costumes and brandishing rifles and spears in preparation to defend their homes against invaders.  

Mountain Spirit Dances  

Following the War Dance will be the Mountain Spirit Dances, the most traditional and sacred of the dances conducted at the Mescal Roast.  The Mountain Spirit Dances are actual blessing ceremonies carried on by Mescalero Apache spiritual leaders in their ancestral homelands.  These ceremonies are not reenactments or staged pageants, but actual ritual observances held to benefit the Apaches, residents of Carlsbad and the guests at the Mescal Roast.  

2001 marks the fifteenth historic return of these sacred Apache rituals to the Carlsbad area.  The costumes and mystical headpieces worn by the dancers have also prompted the name crown dances.  Four spirit dancers painted black with white chest markings and a fifth painted white conduct the dances.  Their elaborate dance steps and gestures are accompanied by Apache singers. These fascinating ceremonial dances take place around a towering bonfire.

An interpretative lecture to further enhance everyone's enjoyment and understanding of these historic Native American ceremonies will be held immediately preceding the dances.  The Mountain Spirit Dances must take place after dark and begin this year on Friday and Saturday nights, May 17 & 19, at about 8:30 p.m.  They are sure to be a distinctive highlight of this year's Mescal Roast ceremonies.

Mark Your Calendar Now  

You can contribute to the Park’s growth by joining Friends, attending this years events, and becoming involved in the future of Living Desert Zoo & Gardens State Park.  So, mark your calendar now and get your tickets early.  Next year’s fun filled event will have something for the entire family.  And don't forget to mark your calendar for the 2002 event on May 16 - 19. For additional information contact the Living Desert State Park at (505) 887-5516 or the Carlsbad Chamber of Commerce at (800) 221-1224.  
 
 
 
 

Home
Park Hours
Park Rates
Friends Information
Mescal Roast
Living Desert Zoo & Park Official Website
 

All photographs on this website are copyrighted.
All rights reserved by Friends of the Living Desert. ©2000