On December 27, the community of Alcalde, New Mexico celebrates its feast day. At this time, the villagers perform the ancient poetic drama, Los Comanches written in 1780. Reciting in Spanish, the performers gallop around the plaza on horseback with great bravado. During their feast day, the villagers also perform the dance drama, the Matachines. Many Hispanic and Native American communities continue to perform the Matachines. However, Alcalde, just north of Espanola, is the last New Mexico village that performs the original 18th century poetic drama.
Los Comanches, Poetic Drama, Alcalde, New Mexico
Preceded by the musicians, the performers enter the plaza on horseback. The drama they perform portrays the defeat and death of the legendary Comanche chief, Cuerno Verde. In the play, Don Carlos is the Spanish leader who defeats Cuerno Verde. As evident in the quote below, each leader challenges the other in his assumed power.
Quote from the Poetic Drama in “Nuevo Mexico Profundo” by Miguel Gandert, p. 18
Cuerno Verde:
Desde el oriente al poniente
Desde el sur al norte frio
Suena el brillante clarin
Y reina el acero mio.
From sunrise to sunset
From the south to frigid north
My shining trumpet sounds
And my steel reigns.
Don Carlos:
Que no sabe que en la Espana
El señor soberano
De los cielos y la tierra
Know you not that in Spain
Is the Sovereign Lord
Of the skies and the earth
Although the death of Cuerno Verde itself, is not portrayed, there is much excitement as the drama unfolds. Don Carlos provokes Cuerno Verde, and they dart around the plaza on their steads.
In the final scene Cuerno Verde is overwhelmed, and the Comanche wars in New Mexico come to an end.
The Matachines, Dance Drama, Alcalde, New Mexico
The dance drama, the Matachines, most likely has moorish origins. The drama includes 12 dancers wearing masks of fringed and jeweled scarves and tall headdresses decorated with silk ruffles.
The performers also include the abuelo with a whip, a young boy portraying the bull, the chief dancer, Monarca, and a young girl, la Malinche. The dance is accompanied by violin and guitar music.
A Disclaimer
I saw the Los Comanches drama performed in Alcalde in 2010 and 2011. I marvel that this Spanish drama written more than 240 years ago, is still presented in a small Hispanic village. While I cherish these little known remnants of cultural tradition, I recognize that the play depicts a period of terrible violence and bloodshed in New Mexico.
The Entrada is no longer performed in the Santa Fe Fiesta. Its insensitivity to cultural issues and biased historical interpretation have been offensive to many people. Although I believe the Entrada needed to go, I believe Los Comanches should stay. It is not a reinterpretation or reenactment of history. Los Comanches is history, an actual artifact of the past that contributes to, rather than detracts from, the New Mexico Mosaic.