El rinconcito español

Mal empieza la semana para él que ahorcan el lunes.
The week begins badly for one who is hanged on Monday.

Marzo ventoso y abril lluvioso hacen a mayo florido y hermoso.
Windy March and rainy April make May flowery and beautiful.

Más vale ser cabeza de ratón que cola de león.
It’s better to be a mouse’s head than a lion’s tail.

SOS-panyol, Placitas—Spanish instruction that focuses on oral communication skills, www.sospanyol.com.

Coronado Monument to host talk on 1,000-year history of Cerrillos Hills

The Friends of Coronado State Monument is sponsoring a presentation by Bill Baxter, an acclaimed New Mexico anthropologist and historian who is also the publisher and author of many books, including his own Gold of the Ortiz Mountains (2004). The presentation, “Las Minas de los Cerrillos: The First Thousand Years–a Survey of the People and Minerals of the Cerrillos Hills–900 to 1900 AD,” will be on Sunday, April 23, at 2:00 p.m. at the Coronado State Monument, on U.S. 550, about one mile west of I-25.

The event is open to the public, but reservations are suggested, as space is limited. Please call Gordon, at 771-3464, or e-mail your reservation to fcsm_reservations@yahoo.com. Admission is $5 per person; free to members of Friends of Coronado State Monument.

Commissioner Sapien to speak on Civil War in New Mexico

On April 2, the Sandoval County Historical Society will present a talk by Sandoval County Commissioner William Sapien, on “The Civil War in New Mexico.” The presentation is free and open to the public, and will begin at 2:00 p.m. at the Delavy House Museum in Bernalillo. The artist featured that day will be Deborah Paris, and the honorees will be veterans of all wars. Refreshments will be served. The Delavy House Museum is off of Highway 550 west of Bernalillo, between Coronado State Monument and the Star Casino. For further information, you may contact Martha Liebert, at 867-2755.

Placitas Community Library update

—ANNE GREY FROST, PLACITAS COMMUNITY LIBRARY
Early this month, our community lost a great friend, artist, and activist, Madeline Randle. During the thirty or more years she lived in Placitas, Madeline was involved in many activities, including Los Jardineros, the Presbyterian Church, and the Placitas Artists Series. She was also a founding member of the board of the Placitas Community Library. She was a great community asset and we will miss her ideas, her energy, and that special glint in her eye. Thanks, Madeline, for your friendship! We will miss you.

As many of you have requested, the library is launching a book club. The first book, Pug Sheridan, by Sandra Cline, is set in the rural South and depicts a young woman's arduous quest for identity and redemption. This novel explores love, friendship, loss, and racism. It reveals how childhood choices affect our adult lives in unexpected and sometimes wondrous ways. A copy is available at the library. The book club is open to all and you can just drop in for one meeting or become a regular. Titles will be chosen by those who attend. Please call the library, 867-3355, and leave a message for Norma for information about when the April meeting will be or if you have further questions.

We have all the books for the Los Jardineros book clubs as well, so come in and check out our book-club display.

Boiling Frogs: Intel vs. The Village, by Barbara Rockwell, was just donated to us by the author. The village is our neighbor Corrales. Check out this shocking cautionary tale of what can happen when a large corporation moves in.

The library now has CDs of a fabulous weekly radio program, Aspectos Culturales These bilingual broadcasts of music, current events, and special features concentrate on New Mexico, its culture and people. Produced in Santa Fe to preserve and share Hispanic culture, the program is hosted by Roberto Mondragon.

Planning a trip to Europe? Mexico? Need a little help with the language? Come to the library and check out the foreign-language CDs, tapes, and dictionaries now available. These foreign-language aids have been made possible by a donation from Michael Milone, in memory of Laura Jackson. Laura was a language-arts teacher specializing in Romance languages, and the library collection, named in her honor, will feature Romance and other languages. The collection is growing and we welcome your suggestions of how it might grow. The current collection will be featured in a special bookcase in the nonfiction room.

The New Mexico State Legislature approved $500,000 to build the new Placitas Community Library. This past thirty-day legislative session was grueling for our representatives in Santa Fe. It is a hard task to determine which programs will be funded among so many requests. The Placitas Community Library is sincerely indebted to Governor Richardson and our legislators for helping us construct a library in Placitas.
As the chips fell in place, our representatives worked individually and collectively in this effort. Check out the bills on the New Mexico Legislature Web site. Senator Befford sponsored bill SCO148, Senator Cravens sponsored bill SC074, and Representative McCoy sponsored bill HCO 389. Please join us in sending a special thank-you to the Governor and legislators:

• Governor Richardson, State Capitol Building, Room 400, Santa Fe, NM 87501
• Senator Beffort, 13116 Alice Avenue NE., Albuquerque, NM 87112
• Senator Kent Cravens, 10717 Richfield Avenue NE, Albuquerque, NM 87122
• Representative McCoy, P.O. Box 144, Cedar Crest, NM 87008

Library calendar:

• April 2, 7:00 a.m. Join the Forever Young Run, across from the Merc
• April 11, 7:00 p.m. at the Placitas Fire Station. Placitas Talks presents Help PVFB Defend Your Home from Fire. Join assistant fire chief Drew Owens and longtime PVFB member Joanne Thompson for a discussion and videos of the ways we can help protect our homes and property in the event of wildland fire. With this extremely dry winter, fire danger will be at an all-time high this summer. Make sure your home is defensible! The first twenty people will receive an information packet. Seating is limited. Cosponsored by PVFB.
• April 13, 7:00 p.m., at the Placitas Fire Station. Placitas Talks presents Davito Hammack, local rock climber and guide for Suntoucher Mountain Guides (www.suntoucher.com), with a film by Kevin Jaramillo documenting a rock climb on Torreon, in the Sandia Mountains. He will share his experience of three decades of climbing and love of the sport and answer any questions. (See Ty Belknap's article elsewhere in this issue for more information.)

Library hours are 10:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. Tuesdays, Wednesdays, and Saturdays, 10:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m. on Sundays. You can also contact us through our Web site, placitaslibrary.com. The library board meets on the second Wednesday of each month at 6:30 p.m. at the Placitas Community Center. All meetings are open.

Interested in volunteering? Please call the library, at 867-3355, and leave your name and number and Norma will call you back.