Judith van der Elst: Thoughts on Exile at El Zaguán

Judith van der Elst’s blog logo

by Tim Maxwell, HSFF Board

El Zaguán had an unexpected resident scholar this spring when Dutch anthropologist Judith van der Elst found herself locked down in Santa Fe due to the COVID 19 pandemic. Shortly after arriving in New Mexico to develop an educational program at Santa Clara Pueblo, where she was to live, the pueblo closed its doors to non-Tribal members as the pandemic grew. A return to the Netherlands was not immediately possible. The Historic Santa Fe Foundation offered her space in a recently vacated El Zaguan apartment which a board director furnished with camping gear.

Using the Internet, she was able to work on program development with her Pueblo colleague. Her stay also allowed time to write and produce art. After living in Santa Fe for almost three months, she was reluctant to leave. Judith has worked in Italy, Germany, Thailand, Finland, and Mexico. Below are excerpts from her blog during her Santa Fe stay (https://sense-iblebaglady.net/):

March 24
I am in New Mexico, where, like the rest of the world, public life has come to a halt. While I am still in the dark what is going to happen to the project I came here for, I count myself lucky to be in this amazing place and be able work outside in the garden, preparing planting beds for future food. The road runners are busy building nests and performing their mating duties, they have the road to themselves.

March 31
I am temporarily residing close to the Santa Fe river, although calling it a river may be a bit euphemistic. Santa Fe, a city that can brag about having one of the cleanest air quality readings in the world, its waters are dwindling.

April 21
My favorite time of day, no longer sleeping, but not quite awake, I am woken up in the morning by the avian chorus and enjoy listening during my liminal state. When the woodpecker starts to do her/his thing in one of the cottonwoods It is time for me to get up. I live in the city, but close to the foothills. Santa Fe is the oldest city in the US, and even though gentrification is in full swing like everywhere, the strict heritage rules ensures that the new houses mix in well with the historic buildings and old residential houses. Many of the residential roads are unpaved, giving the city a rural vibe, especially in absence of traffic these days. The bird calls can be received, loud and clear. The coyote’s call at night.

May 5
Every morning, and later in the afternoon, I hear the woodpecker drumming his message across the street. At first, I thought the sound was coming from the trees, then I thought there was not one, but multiple woodpeckers, as the drumming sounded different, deeper, and seem to come from a different angle or location. But then I spotted the ladder-backed guy, drumming away on the utility pole, right across from my window and I started to observe him. Yet when I watch my woodpecker, he seems to take great consideration in where to drum. He travels up and down and around the pole to play his next roll and I wonder how far the sound waves carry his information. The poles perhaps have some good resonance, better than the trees. … the poles enable them to get their message across despite the human dominating sounds that can be so LOUD. It is only fitting that they choose the utility pole, designed as part of a system to convey information over long distances.

Tim Maxwell has most recently received the City of Santa Fe Historic Preservation Award, 2013, for establishing the city's archeological protection ordinance. Tim received a PhD in Anthropology from the University of New Mexico and served as Director of the Office of Archeological Studies at the Museum of New Mexico until 2005. He is a former president of the Old Santa Fe Association as well as a former president of the New Mexico Archeological Council. Tim helped establish an educational outreach program with the Museum of New Mexico Foundation that was the recipient of a national award. He has also authored over sixty professional publications and articles and brings to the Foundation not only professional expertise but a firm commitment to the community.