Introducing ‘Planet Madrid’
I dedicate this as an ever-evolving section about artsy eclectic, fiercely independent and ever-evolving Madrid, (pronounced MADrid) New Mexico (about 1-1/2 miles south of my land via deep arroyo and occasional raging river, about 3 miles via twisty dirt and paved mountain roads).
The arroyo roars with flash flood waters from the Ortiz Mountain washes, re-cutting the stream bed and running as deep as 5 feet in narrows every few years. Happened once the first three years I was on the land. (September ‘06 update: Happened four times since the meanest monsoon season in 70 years hit in late June ‘06.)
Madrid, population 149, is my second adopted ghost-town hometown.
First was Jerome, Arizona, in 1972. (I never actually LIVED in Jerome. My official address was General Delivery, Prescott, and I was a house guest of John and Renee Steinmetz and later Neil and his pretty sister Karen and then Hal — last names will come to me sometime — and had a cabin in the tall pines and spruce a ways out of town off White Spar Highway part of that year. But slept on a few mattresses and pallets on floors in Jerome, and played a lot of homemade songs in a few living rooms there when I wandered up and down old Highway 89 and 89a, from Congress to Flagstaff. Made the trip a few times by thumb, which could get an amazing number of miles per gallon in those days — carrying my guitar and and a toothbrush and one extra “clean” shirt stuffed in the guitar case. Played for tips and beers several times at the saloon in Jerome. Think it was called the Golden Saddle**. Might’a been Golden Barrel**. Had a new name in the ’80s and the last few times I was through. See 6-10-06 note below.)
People were especially friendly and welcoming in Jerome in the early ’70s. And nearly every home (or shop with a makeshift loft and living area in the back) I was invited into had a quart jar of peyote-button tea resting on a windowsill, slow brewing and mellowing in each day’s sunlight.
(We were all herbalists back then. Most of us were pretty fond of another herb, as well.)
(Here’s what I looked like in October 1972, in case anyone in Jerome reads this and is trying to remember who this character might be. You’ll probably remember the girl more than me. She was especially striking and a rather special being. This shot is a bit misleading because I tended to wear a full beard more often than the Elvis chops. Those are genuine Elvis chops. They came straight out of Love Me Tender. Saw the movie nine years after it came out. And immediately started growing the sideburns.)
Madrid’s friendly, in its own peculiar, more guarded way, but decidedly less so than the Jerome of the early ’70s that I knew.
Both are old, once-abandoned mining towns reclaimed by artisans and free spirits, starting with the hippie days.
Jerome is quite a bit more remote. And has a more spectacular setting, in that many of the old shacks and buildings are built on stilts and cling to the side of Cleopatra Hill on rugged Mingus Mountain and overlook a huge, deep, open-pit copper mine.
Madrid is nestled in a mountain valley along the beautiful Turquoise Trail national scenic byway, Highway 14, in a region where a few mountain lions still roam and man has mined gold, silver, lead, turquoise and coal for at least a couple thousand years.
Madrid’s just a bit closer to Santa Fe than it is to Albuquerque, and, regretfully, getting closer to both every year, and through no fault of its own.
Intend to post some photos of Madrid buildings and some local personalities (the “colorful natives”) in this section, and post about goings-on occasionally and post bits of Madrid Wisdom, such as this advice that was shared during a zoning dispute in an “Open Letter” by artist/author/photographer Doug Wesley. It pretty well sums up the spirit of Madrid:
“The first piece of orientation counsel I received here … was to never tell anyone your last name.”
That way, Wesley said he was told, nobody ever has to perjure themselves and can honestly respond “to any inquiring officer that they don’t know you.”
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Nice photo album – about 60 shots from 1988 through 2003. Click on the thumbnails to see full-size photos.
19 mostly nicely framed, nicely composed shots from Kim Deal, April 2006.
Winter shots from Betsy Malloy in her (go figure) “California for Visitors” guide on About.com
Historic photos. Some of these buildings have been nicely restored. Some are gone.
Magnified satellite image of Madrid, courtesy of Google maps. You can click and get an even closer view.
“Madrid: Anarchy and Community,” Wally Gordon’s take on Katherine Hovey’s doctoral dissertation and book by the same name. You’ll need to scroll down the page to find this.
Turquoise Trail.org’s list of Madrid attractions, shops, galleries. Not necessarily up to date. We have a tendency toward “ghost businesses” here: Places that open shop and after a season or so, fade away like apparitions. The tourist season runs from late spring through late fall. Winters are tough. A good time to dismantle the cash register and clean and polish and lube all the internal parts.
Bruce McIntosh’s MadridCommunity.info which offers free directory listings to locals, and maybe some will take him up on it. And it reprints the twice-monthly published calendar of the surprisingly rich number of upcoming local happenings. The calendar, known as “The Curtsey” is maintained and produced by Tandra/Cosmic Rose and is also available by Put “Curtsey subscribe” in the email subject box. The current issue starts off with the phrase, “Here’s what’s happenin’ in the little-known Center of the Universe…”
Anniegrams: Daily, almost daily, sometimes several times daily, email reports from Annie Whitney of neighborhood happenings / needs / updates — loose horses, missing dogs, reliable handyperson looking for work, room to share, docents needed for nature preserve tours, the weekend menu at a new area restaurant, meteor shower schedules, what planets will be most visible at what time on which horizon, what trees thrive here and where to buy them, governmental agency meetings that affect us, fundraisers for the Rural Conservation Alliance, who’s doing what interesting style of ecobuilding, who has what for sale, who’s looking for what, and so much more. Annie knows everybody and just about everything. Tune into Anniegrams by your request with your first and last name and email address — and whitelist hers. She’s also founder of the Breakfast Club that meets once a month for a Saturday morning potluck at some member’s alternative, eco-friendly home. Besides socializing, members share alternative energy and building tips.
Wikipedia entry about Madrid
Madrid’s description on the “Haunted Places of New Mexico” list. Alphabetical. Scroll down.
Sharon Neiderman’s ‘Great Getaways’ Madrid installment
Bed and Breakfasts: Sadly incomplete listing of beds and breakfasts in and around Madrid.
** 6-10-06 note: A couple Jerome oldtimers tell me I’m remembering the saloon name wrong, That it was known as The Spirit Room. That sounds vaguely familiar to me. I played in a lot of bars in Arizona in the early ’70s. The Golden Saddle or Golden Barrel might have been somewhere else. But in my mind, it still sits on a corner in Jerome.
