By George C de Baca
My Cieneguilla Connection
The family of my maternal grandfather, Maximiliano Romero, was one of the original settlers of La Cieneguilla. He was the son of Jesus Maria Romero and Maria Josefa Zamora. Maximiliano and his wife, Fulgencia Baca, raised eight children there; one of which was my mother Aurora Romero. One of my grandfather’s aunts, Maria Trinidad Romero, married Martin Mora, son of Antonio Jose Mora from the Mora family of La Cieneguilla.
Aurora married my father, Tomas C’ de Baca, from La Cienega, which was about 3 miles east of La Cieneguilla. Tomas was the son of Francisco Tomas C’ de Baca and Manuelita Gallegos. There was a close connection between the C’ de Baca, Romero, and Mora families due to the closeness of the two villages, and because of the marriage connections.
Both of my grandfathers were farmers and made their living by farming the land and growing all the necessary foods required to support their family. They irrigated the crops by using an acequia system diverting water from the Santa Fe River and La Cienega River. (They are two different rivers; there are some who think that the Santa Fe River is the La Cienega River).
My grandfather Romero and his brother Epifanio Romero, who also had a farm next to my grandfather’s, grew many of the crops necessary to sustain the family. They also had fruit orchards with different fruits but I mostly remember the crab apples because of their smallness. His was probably the only Crab apple orchard in the areas.
Sometime in the early 40’s my grandfather moved his family to Santa Fe where he owned some property on Romero Street off Agua Fria Street. Romero Street is named after him. Even though he lived in Santa Fe he still maintained the farm in La Cieneguilla and during the summer he would move there and farmed many of the crops necessary to live through the winter.
By this time the only ones living in La Cieneguilla were Jose and Rita Mora; brother and sister. They lived on the first house as one approached La Cieneguilla from La Cienega. They also farmed the land but mostly they had a herd of goats which they milked and also made goat cheese (requeson). Many from La Cienega would buy goat milk and cheese from Rita and Jose. I was living with my grandparents in La Cienega at the time and occasionally my grandmother would send me to La Cieneguilla to buy cheese from the Mora’s. I would walk the three miles and sit there for a while talking to them. Since they were so isolated they were curious to know what was going on. I told them what little I knew before Rita would wrap a round loaf of cheese and I would be on my way – anxiously waiting to get home so I could get to eat some. It was a great tasting cheese and my favorite way to eat it was to smother it with honey or syrup or whatever type of jelly was available. What a delicious treat it made and if it wasn’t for my grandmother who carefully rationed it out, I could eat the whole thing in one sitting.
A technical point to be made about this cheese. The Spanish word is requeson, for which there is no English translation. Requeson is not the same type of yellow or white cheese like Colby, or Monterey Jack. Requeson is made from the whey of the milk and it is not aged as the other cheese is. That is why it is called a “fresh cheese”. It is similar in consistency as Ricotta cheese but believe me, it is not nearly as good as requeson, especially the way Rita Mora made it.
The family of my maternal grandfather, Maximiliano Romero, was one of the original settlers of La Cieneguilla. He was the son of Jesus Maria Romero and Maria Josefa Zamora. Maximiliano and his wife, Fulgencia Baca, raised eight children there; one of which was my mother Aurora Romero. One of my grandfather’s aunts, Maria Trinidad Romero, married Martin Mora, son of Antonio Jose Mora from the Mora family of La Cieneguilla.
Aurora married my father, Tomas C’ de Baca, from La Cienega, which was about 3 miles east of La Cieneguilla. Tomas was the son of Francisco Tomas C’ de Baca and Manuelita Gallegos. There was a close connection between the C’ de Baca, Romero, and Mora families due to the closeness of the two villages, and because of the marriage connections.
Both of my grandfathers were farmers and made their living by farming the land and growing all the necessary foods required to support their family. They irrigated the crops by using an acequia system diverting water from the Santa Fe River and La Cienega River. (They are two different rivers; there are some who think that the Santa Fe River is the La Cienega River).
My grandfather Romero and his brother Epifanio Romero, who also had a farm next to my grandfather’s, grew many of the crops necessary to sustain the family. They also had fruit orchards with different fruits but I mostly remember the crab apples because of their smallness. His was probably the only Crab apple orchard in the areas.
Sometime in the early 40’s my grandfather moved his family to Santa Fe where he owned some property on Romero Street off Agua Fria Street. Romero Street is named after him. Even though he lived in Santa Fe he still maintained the farm in La Cieneguilla and during the summer he would move there and farmed many of the crops necessary to live through the winter.
By this time the only ones living in La Cieneguilla were Jose and Rita Mora; brother and sister. They lived on the first house as one approached La Cieneguilla from La Cienega. They also farmed the land but mostly they had a herd of goats which they milked and also made goat cheese (requeson). Many from La Cienega would buy goat milk and cheese from Rita and Jose. I was living with my grandparents in La Cienega at the time and occasionally my grandmother would send me to La Cieneguilla to buy cheese from the Mora’s. I would walk the three miles and sit there for a while talking to them. Since they were so isolated they were curious to know what was going on. I told them what little I knew before Rita would wrap a round loaf of cheese and I would be on my way – anxiously waiting to get home so I could get to eat some. It was a great tasting cheese and my favorite way to eat it was to smother it with honey or syrup or whatever type of jelly was available. What a delicious treat it made and if it wasn’t for my grandmother who carefully rationed it out, I could eat the whole thing in one sitting.
A technical point to be made about this cheese. The Spanish word is requeson, for which there is no English translation. Requeson is not the same type of yellow or white cheese like Colby, or Monterey Jack. Requeson is made from the whey of the milk and it is not aged as the other cheese is. That is why it is called a “fresh cheese”. It is similar in consistency as Ricotta cheese but believe me, it is not nearly as good as requeson, especially the way Rita Mora made it.
Mora Family Stories
Family Stories