PRESERVING NEW MEXICO'S HISPANIC CULTURE - La Herencia del Norte, a unique, quarterly magazine, published in Santa Fe, New Mexico, contains warm and memorable stories written by Hispanics.
In the 70s, Ana Pacheco was a free spirit. "I was always a wild, high energy kid. The only thing that kept me in high school was my drama class teacher in Santa Fe," Ana said. "She took me under her wing and that's how I found out that I really did like acting."
Ana, 42, is the publisher and editor of La Herencia del Norte (The Heritage of the North), a unique, quarterly publication written in English that is "dedicated to the preservation of the Hispanic culture of New Mexico and the region." The warm and moving stories told within its covers are written by Hispanics and "mostly read by middle class, middle age Hispanics. They are like myself. They speak more English than Spanish, but can understand and read Spanish. A lot of seniors also read La Herencia," Ana continued. "Many of the stories are about the good old days. It provides comfort for them." Not all of the writings are penned by professionals, she says, "but also by those who have memories to share. In my last publication, a 93-year-old woman contributed." La Herencia, which averages 70 pages, includes chile "recetas" or recipes as well as the stories behind them. Carrie Hamblen, producer of Images, a program that airs on KRWG FM (90.7) on Saturdays from 5 to 6 p.m. recently interviewed Ana for a segment.
Ana's journey from acting to editor to publisher took more than 20 years and began early. "I knew I wanted to be an actress since I was 9 or 10 years old. The person who made the most profound influence on my life was Kim Stanley also known as Patty Beth Reed. She was one of the most renowned actresses in the world during the 1950s. I took a class from her at the College of Santa Fe and she inspired me so much that I decided to take a chance at acting and moved to New York."
For three years Ana worked shows and waitressed. "I did off-off Broadway shows but I was one of the hundreds of people that showed up for the 'cattle calls' - auditions. I'm not the type to get the leading pretty lady roles, so I moved from front stage to back stage - managing lights and working on costumes. I never had a problem getting those types of jobs. At the same time, I cleaned apartments to make money."
After three years back stage, Ana realized she needed to go back to school "to learn something." She took classes in journalism and magazine writing and discovered that writing, "was another creative outlet."
Ana's first writing job was with SALSA, a New York Latin publication that focused on music. "But then I found out that writers (like actors) have a difficult time making a living. To help support myself, I became a telemarketer, selling the New York Times over the phone. I realized I was really good in sales so I proposed to SALSA that I'd like to start selling their advertising."
It was only when she began working in the Latin media that Ana learned that "not all Hispanics were the same. It was a cultural shock to me. I grew up in Santa Fe, a small town. I found out that Puerto Ricans and Cubans weren't the same as Hispanics. They don't like chile and they don't speak Spanish the way we speak Spanish. I never knew Jewish people and was never exposed to African Americans. Living in New York, I was exposed to so many different people. It was such an experience."
After 15 years in Manhattan, Ana was ready to return to Santa Fe. "By that time I was married. I became tired of living that New York life and fighting all that day-to-day nonsense but I felt like I could never leave. I was being held hostage by my apartment," she laughed. "I lived in a rent controlled apartment. I was only paying $450 a month for a one bedroom in Manhattan, which, if you know the prices in New York, it's unheard of."
But when Ana, then 34, learned her mother was ill, "That was the catalyst. Mom had breast cancer and fortunately I had 16 months with her before she passed away. I was with her when she went through radiation and chemotherapy. I was with her when she died. After she was gone, I had this hole in my life. I had just given birth to a daughter and my mother was gone."
Rather than dwell on the loss of her mother, Ana looked upon it as "a new era. I wondered how my daughter was ever going to know the things my mother taught me. That's when I came up with idea for La Herencia. There wasn't anything like [La Herencia]...and I wanted to keep the culture going. For the first time in the census of Santa Fe, Hispanics were no longer the majority.... It was a cultural shock to come back home. When I was living in New York, my mother would phone and tell me about the million dollar homes that were being built and all the beautiful people who lived in them. I didn't realize how drastically my hometown had changed. My cousins were leaving because they could no longer afford to live there. People were no longer speaking Spanish.
I knew I wasn't going to go back to New York, so what I could do was to stop this cultural loss by starting La Herencia," which she says has stories mostly written by Hispanics in northern New Mexico but "I welcome writers from southern New Mexicans. I wish I had the resources to 'bang the drum' here (in southern New Mexico) but it's hard when my office is in Santa Fe."
Ana put together a prototype for La Herencia and hired a designer and networked, searching for writers. "I pay everyone who contributes. I'm $250,000 in the hole and I'll never recoup it. But the project comes from the heart. I've learned too many things...it's overwhelming. Stories I took for granted when I was little...I never understood how important they were to our culture or where they originated." For years, Ana had a distribution rate of 40,000 but that was when it was a free publication. "I was going broke so I had to start a subscription fee... the number then dropped to 10,000 but that's okay. It gives me more time to be an editor and I don't have to spend so much time selling advertising."
Her "real job" is marketing director for Global Custodian, a quarterly publication published by Asset International. The magazine covers financial news and the global economy. "Ninety-five percent of my clients are outside this country. I travel a lot...all over the world. On my office wall I have clocks that tell the different times in the different countries. I get up at 5 a.m. and work on Global Custodian until 2 p.m., when it's 4 p.m. in New York and the stock market has died down. Then for the rest of the day I focus my attention to La Herencia. New Mexico has such a unique culture and I love sharing it," Ana said.
To subscribe to La Herencia, mail a check or money order for $19.99 to PO Box 22576, Santa Fe, NM 87502. Visa/MasterCard are accepted by calling 505-474-2800. All gift subscriptions are sent with a personalized card in your name. La Herencia's web site is located at http://www.herencia.com.
Ana shared several favorite recipes with me but I have only room for one, which Ana's father, Jesus Pacheco shares. The other recipes will be posted at my web site or give me a call and I'll mail them to you.
Salsa de Chili Piquin - Jesus Pacheco
5 or six chili piquin peppers
2 16-oz. cans crushed tomatoes
1 medium white or yellow onion
1/4 cup vinegar
1/4 teaspoon sugar
Salt to taste.
Toast the chili pepper for thirty seconds in the oven. Cool the peppers and coarsely crush. Dice the onion. In a large bowl, add the crushed peppers to the tomatoes, onion, vinegar, salt, and sugar and mix thoroughly. Refrigerate in a large jar for two or three days before using.
