Submitted by Salomé Montes Ward, Corrales
Ten years ago, choosing Corrales to find a home was one of the easiest decisions I ever made. My daughters would soon be graduating, and I was eager to return to the endless blue skies and gentle curve of the Sandias in New Mexico. While my girls took riding lessons here at a local stable, I was captivated by the rustic charm of rickety fences, rows of farmland, gnarled cottonwoods, picturesque adobes, dusty corrals with an array of inhabitants both feathered and furry, and throughout it all the meandering lifeblood of the Village, the acequias.
I was so eager to leave after graduating from UNM, but life has a funny way of changing our perspectives and leading us back full circle. In Corrales, there was something spiritual about being close to the Bosque and sandy waters of the Rio Grande, and seeing the imprint of a Hispanic culture that was established centuries ago. It was so familiar to me.
Yet I was also amazed that it had resisted being swallowed up by the urban sprawl of the metropolitan area. Half verdant valley and half sandy slope, an aerial view of Corrales reveals a diamond shape nestled against the bow of the river and the open space of Sandia Pueblo to the northeast, and dense development surrounding the rest.
I found an old adobe for my new life as a nueva Corraleña. I discovered a caring community that values rugged individualism yet volunteers at prolific rates to enhance our lives and steward our history, culture and surroundings. There are also differing views and pressures to grow and change, but not all change is progress. Without care, it can be a pathway to erase the very things we love.
Choosing Corrales was easy, but preserving and protecting her will take the Village.
Beautifully said! So happy you found your home
Beautifully said! So happy you found your home!