EDWIN BROOKS HOUSE EXHIBITION

Sabino's Map: Life in Chimayó's Old Plaza
Photographs by Don J. Usner

PUBLIC OPENING | FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 1, 2024 | 5-7 PM
LECTURE & BOOK SIGNING | THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 14, 2024 | 3 PM
FUNDRAISING DINNER WITH DON J. USNER | SATURDAY, DECEMBER 7, 2024 | 5:30 PM
EXHIBITION ON VIEW THROUGH THURSDAY, MARCH 27, 2025

The exhibition and all associated events will take place at the Eugene and Clare Thaw Education and Research Center,
housed within the historic Edwin Brooks House at 553 Canyon Road, Santa Fe, New Mexico.
The gallery at the Edwin Brooks House will be open on Tuesdays and Thursdays from 1-5 pm or by appointment.

Contact Giulia Caporuscio, Development Associate and Research Historian, at giulia@historicsantafe.org for more information or to schedule an appointment.

About the Exhibition

Public Opening | November 1, 2024 | 5-7 pm | The Edwin Brooks House, 553 Canyon Road, Santa Fe
Historic Santa Fe Foundation (HSFF) is pleased to present a photography exhibition titled Sabino's Map: Life in Chimayó's Old Plaza, to commemorate the thirtieth anniversary of Don J. Usner’s seminal publication of the same name. This curated exhibition, a visual anthropology of Chimayó’s cultural tapestry, will debut at the Eugene and Clare Thaw Education and Research Center, housed within the historic Edwin Brooks House at 553 Canyon Road, Santa Fe. The public opening is scheduled for Friday, November 1, 2024, from 5-7 pm. Free and open to the public. No registration required.

About the Talk & Book Signing

Talk & Book Signing | Thursday, November 14, 2024 | 3 pm | The Edwin Brooks House, 553 Canyon Road, Santa Fe
Free for HSFF Members | $10 per person for non-members
Complementing the exhibition, a lecture and book signing with Don J. Usner, will be held on Thursday, November 14, 2024, at 3 pm. The talk is free for HSFF members and $10 for non-members. Given the limited capacity, advance registration is required. Want to reserve your signed copy of Sabino's Map: Life in Chimayó's Old Plaza or can’t make the event? Pre-order now.

About the Fundraising Dinner with Don J. Usner

Fundraising Dinner with Don J. Usner | Saturday, December 7, 2024 | 5:30 pm | The Edwin Brooks House, 553 Canyon Road, Santa Fe
$115 per person for HSFF Members | $135 per person for non-members
Check-in at 5:30 pm, dinner and remarks by Don J. Usner at 6 pm. Join us for an intimate evening with acclaimed author and photographer Don J. Usner as we celebrate the thirtieth anniversary edition of his seminal work, Sabino's Map: Life in Chimayó's Old Plaza. This exclusive dinner event offers a unique opportunity to delve into the rich narratives of Chimayó with one of its most insightful chroniclers. The sala, or main living room, of the Edwin Brooks House serves as the venue for this intimate buffet-style dinner. This inviting space embodies the distinctive designs and craftsmanship of William Penhallow Henderson, showcasing hand-adzed wooden beams, elaborately carved radiator covers, an interior balustrade balcony, and Henderson's signature rose motif. This fundraiser supports the preservation of architectural gems like the Edwin Brooks House and HSFF educational initiatives promoting Northern New Mexico’s diverse cultural heritage.

If canceled by October 31, 2024, participants will receive a full refund for the events. If canceled after November 1, 2024, participants will receive a tax-donation for the full amount.

About Sabino's Map: Life in Chimayó’s Old Plaza, Thirtieth Anniversary Edition

Chimayó is renowned for its Hispano master weaving families, lowriders, and its storied church, El Santurio de Chimayó. The old Plaza del Cerro had once been the village’s center place, where locals gathered to pick up mail, socialize and celebrate religious and family events. Over the years after WWII, the plaza was neglected, but the memory of the once-vibrant place remained vivid in the stories of village elders.

The first edition of Sabino’s Map, published in 1995, documented oral histories of these elders. It would prove to be a critical turning point for many Chimayosos. At the Chimayó book launch, Usner recalls locals embraced the book, one cousin of his even declaring, “For the first time in my life I feel like I can be proud to be from Chimayó.” In the past thirty years since its publication, the community and its people have been revitalized with the help of the Chimayó Cultural Preservation Association and the establishment of a museum on the old plaza—in the home of Usner’s ancestors.

This landmark publication, read and passed on through generations, is considered a classic of New Mexico literature, alongside other treasured books including John Nichols’s Milagro Beanfield War, Rudolfo Anaya’s Bless Me Ultima, and Ruben Cobos’s Dictionary of New Mexico and Northern New Mexico Spanish.

About Don J. Usner

Don J. Usner was born in Embudo and raised in Los Alamos and Chimayó. A cultural historian, writer, and photographer, he has authored and contributed to numerous books on New Mexico, including Benigna’s Chimayó: Cuentos from the Old Plaza, Chasing Dichos through Chimayó, Valles Caldera: A New Vision for New Mexico’s National Preserve (with William deBuys), and ¡Órale! Lowrider: Custom Made in New Mexico. Usner is a founding board member of the Chimayó Cultural Preservation Association.