Nasario García

Nasario García grew up in the Río Puerco Valley and began his education in a one-room schoolhouse. His childhood village of Ojo del Padre—now the ghost town of Guadalupe—remains a beloved influence in his writing, which focuses on preserving Hispanic language, culture, and folklore. His recent books include The Naked Rainbow and Other Stories (University of New Mexico Press, 2009) and Brujerías: Stories of Witchcraft and the Supernatural in the American Southwest and Beyond (Texas Tech University Press, 2007). As García tells Irene Wanner, his newest publication and first children’s book, Rattling Chains and Other Stories for Children (Piñata Books, 2009), presents five spine-tingling tales narrated by mischievous Junie López, another boy who lives in a little house near the Río Puerco.

Q: What are your inspirations for writing?

A: My principal motivation for writing is to share with the reading public remnants of my culture that are slowly fading into oblivion as viejitos [older Hispanics] pass on to a better life. Divulging what I inherited from them, especially my family, is of fundamental importance to me as a way of preserving what used to be but is no longer in our midst.

How did you train as a writer?

I have absolutely no training as a creative writer, although, as a critic and student of literature for most of my adult life, I trust I know what constitutes good literature and how it works. As a university professor, I taught courses in Spanish, Hispanic-American, and Chicano literature.

Since I specialized in 19th-century Spanish literature at the University of Pittsburgh while I worked on my Ph.D., I also read the classical works by Tolstoy, Dostoyevsky, Flaubert, Zolá, Charles Dickens, and Eça de Queiroz, all of them 19th-century literati. I should add parenthetically that my favorite authors and/or their works are Miguel de Cervantes Saavedra’s Don Quixote, Dante’s Divine Comedy, the Mexican short-story writer Juan Rulfo, and the Spanish poet and playwright Federico García Lorca.

Describe your writing process.

First of all, I don’t adhere to a prescribed schedule, although my preference is to write in the morning between 7:30 and 10:30 a.m. This time block is more suitable to my creative temperament. I certainly don’t subscribe to the notion that one must write daily for x number of hours, regardless. For me that is foolhardy at best; at worst, it stifles creativity.

Once an idea pops into my head, which oftentimes comes when I wake up in the wee hours of the morning or when I’m at peace with myself while jogging, I begin to ponder setting, characters (main and secondary), and structure, not always in that order. How a story takes off, where it’s bound to lead me, and how it will end are parts of the mystery and creative process. I like Stephen King’s seemingly unorthodox approach to writing: you write first—let the chips fall where they may. Then you worry about all the other technical stuff.

How does living in New Mexico affect your writing?

Immensely! My family roots in New Mexico go back almost 250 years; therefore, it goes without saying that virtually everything I write about is reflective of my cultural roots. Whether writing about my history, my people, our folklore, our traditions, or ranch life, each one constitutes an inner part of my soul.

What prompted you to write Rattling Chains?

My inspiration for writing these fictional stories was to share with kids eight to 12 years of age and older what life was like for me as a child growing up on a ranch where magic and mystery were pivotal parts of my boyhood. Another reason for targeting young readers was to hook them early on so they can become avid readers, and, secondly, to introduce them to facets of a culture that may well be alien to them in this wonderful and unique Land of Enchantment, regardless of their ethnicity.

Rattling Chains is published in a bilingual English/Spanish edition. Why did you release the book in both languages?

First of all, publishing works in Spanish and English is something I’ve been doing for 20-plus years. Doing so is to remind ourselves that these languages have coexisted in our state for more than 150 years. Secondly, my native language is Spanish, thus, I hope to impress on our readership—especially children—that Spanish continues to be a viable means of communication in New Mexico. Thirdly, utilizing Spanish gives us the opportunity to showcase the linguistic diversity and nuances still prevalent in our midst from archaic words, indigenous terms both Mexican and New Mexican, Mexicanisms, anglicisms, and pachuquismos [inner-city Spanish slang from 1940s barrios such as Albuquerque’s South Valley]. Lastly, with the increase in monolingual Spanish-speaking immigrants to our state from Latin America, works in Spanish help to ease the transition to an English-speaking environment.

In the book’s preface, you write about growing up on a farm without books, radio, or television, and praise your parents and grandparents—who could neither read nor write—as terrific storytellers. What led you to preserve and adapt this oral tradition to a written medium?

The simple answer is to say that I did so to pay homage to my parents and grandparents in return for the rich cultural world they bequeathed to me, which to this day is very much a part of my persona. Equally important is to demonstrate that my childhood, absent all the technological gadgetry and trappings of the modern-day child, was full of life and excitement, and hardly humdrum. Therefore, preserving oral traditions utilizing the written word was second nature to me.

Some of the villages you mention in Rattling Chains have become ghost towns, and few children now grow up as does your main character, Junie López—without computers, television, and so on. What benefits does such a childhood offer that modern kids don’t have?

Living in the countryside, he enjoyed unrestricted freedom of movement. Aside from his family, the landscape and his animals were his best friends. Listening to oral stories enabled him to put his imagination to good use, something sorely lacking in today’s children. For example, in Junie López’s world of dreams and fantasy, the surging waters of the Río Puerco were akin to a roaring bull. The huge volcanic plugs or peaks reminded him of friendly giants guarding over his well-being. On the contrary, today’s kids, both rural and urban, are saturated with video games and the like.

You’ve been collecting New Mexican folklore for decades. How do you go about doing this, and what do you hope to accomplish with it?

First, I customarily target an area because of its historical and cultural importance. Next, it’s important to assess the potential number of informants, the core of whom are natives familiar with the region, and Spanish speakers to boot. Having a contact person—for example, a student’s parents or grandparents—who can serve as a “passkey” to a community, is essential in setting up interviews. Thereafter, trust between you and the informant is paramount.

Above all else, what I have striven to accomplish in collecting folklore, from folk sayings and riddles to songs and wedding songs, is to preserve the Hispanic language and culture of northern New Mexico for future generations to enjoy.

You’ve taught at several colleges and universities, and received numerous grants and awards. What aspects of working in education did you find most rewarding and why?

For me, being a classroom teacher—without question—was the most rewarding and redeeming experience of my academic career. Imparting knowledge to bright young students and seeing some of them earn doctoral degrees from Ivy League institutions was thrilling. On the other hand, seeing first-generation, college-bound young men and women earn degrees—many of whom came from poor families and were, at times, ill prepared for college—was even more self-fulfilling.

One highlight in my teaching career, perhaps because it was outside the normal educational setting, was having taught courses at federal and state prisons. An inmate in one of my classes, who was serving a life sentence for having murdered his parents, took advantage of educational courses “behind the walls” and eventually was paroled and went on to earn a medical degree.

You’re prolific, having written or co-written 21 books to date. Eight are on oral history. Why is this subject important?

Oral history is extremely important because once the viejitos [old-timers] leave this Earth, a treasure trove of information is lost forever, unless we dare to rescue it from oblivion. Moreover, by engaging people in the preservation of Hispanic culture, they become active participants instead of bystanders.

You retired and now live in Santa Fe, but I imagine you’re still working on many projects.

I’m in the midst of finishing my memoir, which takes place in rural New Mexico; an oral-history project on Bernalillo is also in the works. Too, a local publisher is currently reviewing for possible publication three children’s stories on popular cultural traditions I grew up with as a child. In addition, two books of mine, in both Spanish and English, will be released in 2010. One, Bolitas de Oro: Poems of My Marble-Playing Days, is due out in May from the University of New Mexico Press. The second one, Fe y Tragedias: Faith and Tragedies in Hispanic Villages of New Mexico, is slated for publication by LPD Press in March.

Besides my writing, and enjoying all the cultural amenities in Santa Fe since my retirement eight years ago, my wife and I have traveled to Spain—we do this almost every summer—and to Italy, Hungary, the Czech Republic, Peru, Argentina, Guatemala, and China. As you can see, I stay busy, enjoy my writing, but most of all, I try to enjoy life to the fullest.

Irene Wanner is a writer and editor living in the Jémez Mountains.

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