Happy 82nd Birthday Willie - Who'll Buy My Memories

Here's a few of my favorite songs and personal photos with

Willie over the past forty something years. 

Happy Birthday Willie! 

You've been an inspiration. 

Bless You.

Willie Nelson 

Who'll Buy My Memories

4th of July Picnic

Christina, Lee and Willie
Lana asked Willie if we could perform at the 4th of July Picnic
he said we could if we wore blonde wigs and sequined dresses
so we did.... 3 years in a row!

Willie Nelson, Jessica Simpson, the Wilson Brothers and a whole bunch of our friends

"You Don't Think I'm Funny Anymore" Video 

Luck, Texas

On the Bus

Amy, Christina, Willie and Rene

Unveiling of Eight-foot-tall statue

of Willie Nelson 

On Willie Nelson Blvd 

In front of the Moody Theater

I will never forget this day. We all gathered at Lambert's to have lunch and as we walked to Willie Nelson Blvd, Lana asked me "So what have you been up to this week?" I said not much, how about you?" She said "oh, not much, I just got a statue of my dad put up on this corner."

Nita, Cayce, Martha, Christina and Mario

Dylan's 16th Birthday Present

from the Nelson Family

The Whole Front Row At A Willie Concert

At The White Water Amphitheater

New Braunfels

Dylan and Christina

Dylan, Chris, Christina and Adriane at the Willie concert

White Water, New Braunfels

Willie

Willie Nelson

I Never Cared for You

Willie Nelson - Intro Medley 

Where's the Show

Let Me Be A Man

Willie Nelson

Family Bible

Willie Nelson

Mom and Dad Waltz

Willie Nelson 

It's Not Supposed To Be That Way

Willie Nelson

The Redheaded Stranger

Willie Nelson

I Never Cared for You

Willie Nelson 

Nuages

Today, April 18, Is the New Moon in Aries!

New Moon in Aries! Exciting!

New Moons are are the beginning of the 29.5 day moon cycle and signal a fresh start for the following month. It is a time to evoke positive new habits, drawing on more positive qualities of the zodiac sign it is in. Tonight's new moon in Aries is like a cosmic spring awakening, rebooting our systems for another 365-day cycle. Aries is the first sign of the zodiac, sending our focus to fresh starts, creative opportunities and new beginnings. Ruled by red-hot Mars, Aries energy fires up our passion and gives us the courage to compete or even fight for our dreams.

New Moons are a great time to plant seeds, set intentions, or perform actions in relation to what we would like to grow or manifest over the upcoming cycle. Try writing a list of 10 New Moon Wishes. Don't worry if you missed doing it today, It can be done over the next 24 hours. Think Big!

This new moon in Aries can even awaken our slumbering activism. Founding feminist, Gloria Steinem was an Aries, as was civil rights activist  Cesar Chavez. Their confident, courageous world-changing impact is an example of harnessing Aries energy to start a revolutionary fire. We all have the power within us to shape the world. Rather than raging randomly when we’re feeling frustrated, we can create constructive change, fighting the good fight for our beliefs. In some cases, this can be as basic as saying “no” to a degrading offer, or daring to express an unpopular, but enlightened idea in the face of extreme opposition.

Nakedly honest and unapologetic, Aries energy can stun us with its entitlement. It can also inspire us. Aries is unafraid to want more. To Desire! This can be the basis for prosperity. The Kabbalah teaches that there are two kinds of desire: the desire to receive in order to share, or the desire to receive for the self alone. When we want just for ourselves, we burn out fast. When we desire an abundant crop to feed the village, the universe is happy to give us more and more.

The Aries New Moon prompts us to awaken that molecule-swirling, spine-tingling feeling. Let the hot blood pump through your veins, springing you into action. Passion is an essential element of living a fulfilled life and the Aries new moon serves as a reminder. 

Emotions are E-motion — energy in motion.

The Intuitive Heart

The other day, while having lunch on the patio of Central Market, I had a phone conversation with my brother. He was planting his garden. We have both found that grounding ourselves by gardening is something that is crucial to our well being. That's not all we have in common. He and I discovered late in life that we both have congenital heart dis-ease. Some of the oddities in our hearts are the same, some of them different. We both have aortic aneurysms. One of my arteries that is supposed to go to the right, goes to the left. He doesn't have a pericardium, or a sac that holds the heart in place so his heart is flipped. I have a leaky aortic valve that has caused serious issues twice during dental procedures. The list goes on. I had the first of my undiagnosed seizures at the age of 15, the second at age 25 when I was pregnant with my second child. Fortunately that issue has been controlled with medication since then. Now I am just prone to nervous system overload once in a while and have to retreat to a quiet place. My brother had a brain tumor 5 years ago and we have both suffered from severe migraines for years. I was diagnosed with a very rare spinal disease 8 years ago called Syringomyelia, a disorder in which a cyst forms within the spinal cord. Needless to say we share the same DNA. The good news is that I have someone that is extremely close to me that can relate to a my oddly, serious health issues. I see it all as a blessing, we pray together often. I think he would agree that it doesn't allowed us to get caught up in society's focus on material wealth, instead it has catapulted us into a an amazing spiritual  journey that few understand.

My childhood wasn't typical. I knew at a young age that I was different, however, actually seeing medical documentation that my heart is different and my brain is different sort of makes me feel better because it explains some of my hypersensitivities. I am wired differently, to say the least. I wasn't capable of watching cartoons on Saturday morning. Bugs Bunny blowing up the Roadrunner frightened me so I would retreat to my bedroom and play with my dolls. The sensitivity continued into adulthood making it difficult to watch violent or scary movies, intense hospital drama and or even news broadcasts. I also feel overwhelmed by bright lights, rough fabrics and strong smells. It wasn't until the 80's that I had a name for what I was experiencing. I am an empath. When others easily tolerate chaos, it sends me over the edge. I feel physically ill or in pain as a result of negative energy around me. It's difficult enough to be like an “emotional satellite” with surround sound.... adding to that input from the TV is unbearable, sending my nervous system into overdrive, which causes anxiety, exhaustion and chronic stress that shows up physically in my body in all sorts of ways.

My first memory of feeling someone else's pain was when I was 9. My mother's cousin was visiting and I had to leave the room because I became ill and my chest was hurting. He had just gotten a pacemaker. Having the innate ability to intuitively feel what others are feeling is a blessing and a curse. I sometimes know how others are feeling before they know. Being around dishonest people with dark energy isn't even an option. It often makes me feel overwhelmed or just a sense of sensory overload that makes me sleepy in the middle of the day or wakes me up in the middle of the night after having scary lucid dreams. My whole life, I have been told I am too sensitive and overly emotional, as if I had a choice in the matter. One is either intuitive or not. It isn't a learned trait.

Probably the most difficult aspect of being an empath is that of being misunderstood. We are inclined to pick up on the collective unconscious feelings and/or emotions in a group of people, whether it be a family unit or a group of friends. A great metaphor would be that of a pressure cooker. There are always underlying issues within a group of people and empaths are always the ones that blow their gasket .... so guess who gets blamed. There have been so many times that I have felt like I have been left in a heap of rubble and the culprit walks out smelling like a rose, brushing their hair off of their forehead saying "I didn't do anything." I have found that the only way to find peace within myself is by communicating. Withholding emotions feels detrimental to my health causing physical ailments or dis-ease. Others seem to skate through life without ever having a deep, real conversation about anything. They never seem to let the truth get in the way of their story. So guess who gets blamed. The one that speaks the truth. If you are a sensitive person and your thoughts and/or emotions sometimes become explosive and you get blamed for improper behavior take into consideration that sometimes you are getting unfairly blamed for the collective energy.

And then there is the issue of being in relationships. Ugh.... It has taken me many, many years to understand my issues with intimacy. My relationships have always been filled with intense bonding and even more intense separations. I have always merged with others at the drop of a hat, hence, very quickly finding difficulty in knowing where I ended and they began. It had been my nature to attracted narcissistic people who craved the mirroring and validation I offered. Again, not something I've done consciously. I thought everyone was operating from the same perspective. Isn't that what love songs are written about? Isn't that why Romeo and Juliet died? I used to get so entangled that an “emotional exorcism” of some sort seemed to be the only way to regain my personal space. I gave too much of myself. I would solve their problems with ease and help them restore equilibrium at my expense. It's absolutely no wonder that I have had so many heart breaking songs written about me. I have spent the better part of the past 2 years alone, working on my personal boundaries. I have learned to say no, walk away and feel good about myself if a situation looks like it could be detrimental to my well being. It has been a life long lesson and I think I finally got it.... but please God, don't test me.

So in this couple of years of almost constant solitude, I have discovered some of the up sides of being an empath. We are often the keepers of ancestral knowledge and family history. I am the photo journalist of the family and have spent a countless hours doing research on my family tree. While doing my ancestral research, my ancestors have become very much a part of my life, helping me to understand family dynamics and even more importantly, family trauma. Linear time doesn't seem to exist, the information is just there. Empathy is genetic, inherent in our DNA and passed from generation to generation. It is studied both by traditional science and alternative healing practitioners.

There is still one aspect of being an empath that I am not overly concerned about but still working on. Empaths are prone to carry extra weight without necessarily overeating. The excess weight is a form of protection to stop the negative incoming energies having as much impact. In order to compensate for the abundance of energy felt by those with empathic abilities, our bodies will often carry extra weight as a type of insulation between ourselves and others as a form of self- protection. So ... to any of you empaths who struggle with your weight and feel guilty because of it.... Don’t. Carrying extra weight doesn't make you any less spiritual or less valuable than anyone else. Learn to love and accept yourself. Thank your body for how it protects and takes care of you. I promise it will do wonders in your overall health and sense of well-being!

Next month I will be 60 and I am still learning to create healthy boundaries. As an empath, my perspective is easily disrupted by others, the good news is that it forces me to be open minded to others point of view, bad news is I have a history of having my path derailed by others. Oddly, the people that warn me of being taken advantage of are often the ones I have to be the most aware of. Then there are those that I recognize in a split second as kindred spirits. I am still learning to adjust the filter through which I experience life and learning that to be an empath in full bloom is an extraordinary privilege. I am vulnerable yet resilient, intuitive yet grounded. I am deeply creative, expressive and magnetic — All with a sense of how these qualities are balanced with a somewhat oddly broken but open heart. If you too are an empath, pay attention to your heart rate, take care to ground yourself. The earth is a natural source of electrons and subtle electrical fields, which are essential for a proper functioning of immune system, circulation, synchronization of biorhythms. Meditate. Listen to... or play music. It works on the autonomic nervous system, the part of the nervous system that controls our blood pressure, heartbeat and brain function. It is also beneficial to the limbic system, the part of the brain that controls feelings and emotions. When slow rhythms are played, our blood pressure and heartbeat slow down which helps us breathe more slowly, thus reducing muscle tension in our neck, shoulders, stomach and back. Music also reduces psychological tension in our mind.  Drink lots of water and most importantly, listen to your body.

Life Lessons from Central Texas, the Palo Duro Canyon to the New Mexico Ghost Ranch

Adriane, Christina and Christian
Oak Hill, 1986

In 1986 my life, as I knew it, fell apart. But like a phoenix rising from the ashes, in the midst of my dark night of the soul, I took drastic steps that would change the trajectory of my life.

If you're into astrology, you know that we all go through "Saturn Return" between the ages of 27-30. It takes Saturn that long to orbit the Sun, therefore when Saturn returns to the part of the sky where it was when we were born, it wreaks havoc in our life and bringing about the fears that we have to overcome to achieve success. Think about the crazy things that happen monthly on a full moon and multiply that by the number of full moons we have in 30 years. These challenges help us gain strength and wisdom, however, being a Taurus, I'm pretty stubborn, so it took until I was 32 for the life lessons to finally throw me to the ground and make me cry UNCLE. 

I will spare you the gory details of my battle with Saturn. I lost my dream home that I had designed and built. Lock, stock and barrel. Then I lost my new car with personalized license plates. With my world in shambles, I was back to square one. I had to get the college education, that I had longed for since I was 18. To the average person, I suppose the task would seem impossible. I was divorced, with a mere high school education and I was working at Whole Foods making slightly over minimum wage. I had 2 children and zero child support. The worst of it, was that my innate belief that I was worthy had vanished along with my house, my car and any support from my family.

Let me back up for a minute so you can get a feel for on the odds that I had been working against. In traditional Hispanic families, there are unspoken rules that children are taught. Sons are expected to have fun, go to school, eventually get a job and support the family. Girls are to serve as a support system to the family. Period. No education needed to cook, clean and have babies. I was obviously paying closer attention to the "Women's Rights Movement" in world around me when I graduated high school in 1973 and My BIG plan was to get a college education at Highlands University in Las Vegas, New Mexico. However, my parents held tight to their traditional plans for me. They came and swooped me up in New Mexico and took me to Austin to babysit for my sister's 2 year old son. She was a single mom and she needed my help. I had my dreams but I was so indoctrinated by the traditional Hispanic culture that I didn't know that at the age of 18, I actually had a choice. 

Fast forward to the age of 30, I had gone through enough personal growth to realize that I could no longer play by theses rules. Needless to say, nobody in my family was on board with my yoga, meditation and self help classes. So as a result of "Saturn Return" dynamic, I was estranged from my support system and forced to look beyond my life long comfort zone. It didn't look like it, but the Universe was really on my side. I learned that Texas State Technical Institute in Amarillo was the only Commercial Art Department in Texas with Macintosh computers. I intuitively knew that I had to learn how to use a Macintosh. 

The first Macintosh I used

So, for reasons beyond my control, I had to leave my 8 year old son, Christian in Austin with his father and my 10 year old daughter, Adriane and I moved to Amarillo. We lived with my parents for a couple of months until I could get into family housing on the Texas State Technical campus. To date, it was the hardest, yet the most positive decision I've ever had to make. In the midst of it all, I felt that I was being guided by spirit.

Christina - Photography Class -
Texas State Technical Institute - 1987

Adriane in her bedroom
at in our family student housing
on the TSTI Campus

I spent hours and days in the vast wilderness of the Palo Duro Canyon, reflecting on life and my surroundings. At first, I saw no beauty at all. I was forced to zero in on the beauty of a tiny flower growing between two rocks. There was nothing else in the Panhandle that even came close to the beauty of the tiny flower in the canyon. I think, for the same reason, so many great musicians come from this part of the country. There is nothing on the horizon in the panhandle so you must look inward to find the beauty.

During my art classes in Palo Duro Canyon, I discovered first hand why Georgia O'Keefe painted small flowers on a very large scale. 

Georgia O'Keefe became a huge artistic influence. She saw the beauty in the rocks, plants and mesas of the quiet canyon that became the subject in her work. I sometimes felt her spirit lingering in the canyon. I also used to spend hours in the darkroom on campus, developing my black and white photos, imagining the days Georgia spent in the the Texas Panhandle. 

Christina Fajardo and Steve Cost
Palo Duro Canyon, 1987

Palo Duro Canyon
Photo by Christina Fajardo 1987

She had died on March 6, 1986. Seventy years earlier she was the head of the art department at West Texas State in Canyon, Texas from the fall of 1916 until February 1918. The small town of Canyon is just south of Amarillo and just west of Palo Duro Canyon. 

Canyon with Crows - Georgia O'Keeffe - 1917
Palo Duro Canyon State Park, Texas
from the Georgia O'Keeffe Museum, Santa Fe

Georgia was teaching in Canyon in 1917 when she visited Northern New Mexico and fell in love with it. Twelve years later, in 1934 she decided to make the Ghost Ranch in Abiquiu, NM her summer home. Abiquiu is about an hour and a half north of Santa Fe. She would spend her summers hiking, exploring and painting the Ghost Ranch and in the winter she went to New York to be with her husband, Alfred Stieglitz. Although she wanted to buy the Ghost Ranch the owner wouldn't sell it to her because at the time it was a dude ranch. So she rented a secluded area on Ghost Ranch with a modest home. She finally convinced the owner to sell her the house and 7 acres of Ghost Ranch. Later on she bought a home on 3 acres in Abiquiu and spent three years remodeling the old adobe. After her husband Alfred died, Georgia made Abiquiu her permanent home. It seemed that Georgia had lived my dream. My goal was to one day remodel an old adobe house and live in New Mexico and make it my home. For one year when I was 17 I lived with my grandma in her old adobe home in Puerto de Luna, NM.  I used to fall asleep at night thinking about the vivid description of my mother making the adobe bricks to build that home.

Ghost Ranch

The View from the Georgia O'Keefe
Ghost Ranch

Georgia O'Keefe
Ghost Ranch

Now hold on to your hats for this next paragraph if you get lost in family tree lingo. The 21,000 acres that comprise Ghost Ranch is part of the 50,000 acre Piedra Lumbre (Shining Stone) Land Grant. Piedra Lumbre was granted to to my 5th Great Uncle, Captain Antonio Montoya in 1766 by King Charles III of Spain. Then it was owned by Domingo de Luna, a lieutenant of the militia of Tome who was married to my 5th Great Aunt Josefa Lucero de Godoy, daughter of Manuel Miguel Lucero de Godoy II and Maria Rosa Baca, my 5th Great Aunt. Its final owner was Pedro Martin Serrano, maternal grandfather of my 2nd Great Grand Aunt Maria Micaela Valdez. She was born in Abiquiu April 14,1831. She was my mother's paternal Great-Grand Aunt. On the other side of my mother's family, my maternal Great Grandfather Jose Delores Padilla was also born in Abiquiu, February 16, 1837. I can't even imagine the feuds going on surrounding this land much less the land raids from the native nomadic Natives. Then came the cattle rustlers. There's just too much history to mention in one blog post but it's a miracle of sorts that a Padilla and a Valdez got married and had my mother and her 10 siblings.

Piedra Lumbre Land Grant

Fast forward 100 years.... Arthur Pack, one of the country’s first environmentalists, bought the Ranch in 1936. The name "Ghost Ranch," or "Rancho de los Brujos," in Spanish was derived from the many tales of ghosts in the Ranch's history. I can't help but think that the ghosts that linger at the "Ghost Ranch" are my ancestors, all of whom were my mother's maternal and paternal family, the Padilla and Valdez families feuding over the 50,000 acres land grant.

In 1955, the year I was born, Arthur Pack sold Ghost Ranch to the Presbyterian Church. O’Keeffe wanted to buy it so naturally she was upset. After many years she and staff of the Presbyterian Church made peace. They helped her with her secretarial work and maintenance on her property. Georgia made many monetary donations to the ranch and today structures can be seen that were constructed with her aid.

During the last years of Georgia’s life she did not go to Abiquiu but resided in Santa Fe. She died at the age of 99 reclusive to the end. She was quoted as saying “I find people very difficult”.

Ghost Ranch was the place of solace and inspiration for O’Keeffe who reluctantly shared it for years. Today Ghost Ranch is a retreat and education center run by the Presbyterian church. They offer various classes in everything from writing, photography, silversmithing, and sacred journeys. I am sure that the souls of my ancestors are still on the Ghost Ranch, the land carries its own energy, the energy of my ancestors. It is sacred ground to me.

So yes, I truly do believe that my "Saturn Return" played a huge part in the loss of my house but I also strongly believe that we bring generational trauma with us. In other words, I really don't know how I feel about the King of Spain granting land to my family that really belonged to the Natives. I air on the side of Woody Guthrie. I believe this land was made for you and me. 

Read about Georgia when she lived in Canyon.

Read more about Piedra Lumbre Land Grant here:

The adobe kingdom: New Mexico, 1598-1958, as experienced by the families Lucero de Godoy y Baca

Acknowledge and Honor Your Story

This morning I was watching an interview by Dan Rather with Crosby, Stills and Nash. All of these years later, they have not been able to agree on how they even met. It reminded me of conversations with old friends and family. Nobody ever remembers an event quit the same because we all see it from a different perspective. Think about it. Where were you the first time you heard Crosby, Stills and Nash. Who were you with? Would your story match their story? Probably not. It is human nature.

We all see life from a different perspective because we are different from anyone else who ever came before us and anyone who will ever come after. In the 90's I went to Unity Church of Austin. I loved it for a while, they had a great youth program that my son Christian was very much a part of. But one day, while sitting in the Sunday morning service, I realized I was no longer comfortable in that environment. It was a big "Ah Ha" moment for me. I realized that just because the minister felt a certain way didn't mean I had to feel that way as well. She was a lesbian woman who was afraid of her father. She was telling her story and was asking us all to buy into her story and feel the same way. It became very clear that her likes, dislikes, strengths, weaknesses, and motivations were as unique to her as mine are to me. It was a good lesson in not getting caught up in searching for truth and happiness in someone else's version of life. However, I wasn't able to apply that to my family just yet because I was still very much caught up in trying to perceive things as I was expected to in our family unit, even when it wasn't in my best interest.

One of the most frustrating things for me is to intuitively know something is wrong or to feel something painful and having other people tell me that I shouldn’t be upset. It is a self betrayal to not acknowledge what you know to be your truth. As a child my mother used to tell me not to cry. In retrospect, if I felt I had a reason to be upset, why shouldn't I be allowed to cry?  As an adult, I have learned that recognizing, acknowledging and honoring our personal pain is a lifetime commitment. Going along with the status quo to keep peace, was detrimental to my health. Just getting up and dusting myself off and moving on as if nothing happened is absolutely the most unhealthy coarse of action I have ever taken and most of us are asked to take that route our whole life.

What I now know to be true is that we all process unwanted change differently. I am talking about major changes like the death of a loved one, divorce, the loss of a home or job. When the whole conceptual framework for your life collapses, the meaning that your mind had given it dies a painful death. Suddenly, after the shock wears off, you find that you have also lost your security. You have lost your joy. I have experienced all of these losses and there is nothing worse than being told "WHEN it is time to be OVER IT." Again, burying feelings is the unhealthiest, action I have ever taken. When you are told to hold in your feelings, you pay for it years later in illness and bad relationships, both of which I have had my share of. The outcome sweeping grief under the rug will cause an explosion next time you suffer a loss because it snowballs. If you suffer a huge loss and don't allow yourself to grieve, a small loss later will bring up all the emotion that was buried and it will feel just as huge as the original loss that you didn't grieve.

The healthiest course of action any of us can take during hard times it to allow ourselves to feel our sadness and anger. Grief is part of the healing process. Allowing our experiences to flow through us is healing. Now that I know my story matters, I don't get caught up in searching for happiness in someone else's version of life, remembering that each of us are unique. So when the conceptual framework for our life collapses, a rewrite of our story is mandatory to heal, however, there is no schedule in rewriting the story, as the healing takes place. Meanwhile, if the uneasiness of your pain, your story, is an inconvenience to someone because their story doesn't match, it is best to just not be around them. Surround yourself with those that don't mind a little messiness, those that don't mind that your mascara is a big smear on your face by the end of the evening and most importantly, those that are willing to be real. Never let anyone tell you not to cry. Your feelings are yours. Healing happens in small increments over a period of time. It is a privilege to feel deeply. The dark night of the soul can be a very spiritually enlightening time. Most of my best art has come from those very dark hours in the middle of the night when I felt like I had no one to turn to. In my experience, it has been an amazing experience to emerge out of the dark night of the soul into a transformed state of consciousness. Life has meaning again, but it’s no longer a conceptual meaning that I can necessarily explain. I've experienced an awakening to a deeper sense of purpose or connectedness that isn't dependent on explanation. And believe me, when this takes place, peace can be found.

The Labadie Family

It's been over a month since I've written a blog post and my ancestry research has become sporadic. Mainly because I solved the mystery surrounding my paternal grandmother, Josefita Labadie Fajardo. I have traced all the other branches of my family tree as far back as the 1500's, some even further. The search for information about my paternal grandmother had become a personal challenge so when I found it, it was time for a break.

Josefita Labadie Fajardo and Doroteo Fajardo

According to the Nuestra Senora del Refugio Church records in Puerto de Luna New Mexico, my grand parents, Doroteo Chavez Fajardo and Josefita Labadie Fajardo were married on May 12, 1915 in Puerto de Luna, New Mexico. I find this to be interesting because my father, Felipe Montoya Fajardo was born two weeks later on May 26, 1915 in Puerto de Luna (Also listed as Juan De Dios, New Mexico which is about 8 southeast of Puerto de Luna) I have never found a birth certificate and I am guessing that is because he was born in a remote ranching community. Doroteo and Josefita also had a daughter named Anita , but I haven't found her birthdate or date of death. In the winter of 1918, when my father was only 3 years old, his mother, Josefita died of the Spanish Influenza  The influenza pandemic of 1918-1919 killed more people than World War I. "The Spanish Flu" or "La Grippe" was a global disaster.

Read more about it here ----> Infuenza

While I searched for information about my grandmother Josefita and Aunt Anita, I found another Felipe M. Fajardo family. In the 1800's there seemed to be a lot of Fajardos around the Socorro, NM area. That particular Felipe M. Fajardo family moved to the Hatch, NM area. He was my dad's 2nd cousin and he also had a son named Phillip and a daughter named Anita. When I discovered them on Ancestry.com, I thought I had hit a jackpot but it ended up just being a cousin with many family names in common.

So back to my father's given name, Felipe Montoya Fajardo .... I was always told that Montoya was my grandmother Josefita's maiden name, however, I was ecstatic when I finally found the census from Puerto de Luna, New Mexico from the year 1900 that changed my whole life as I knew it! 

It showed: 

Antonio Montoya as head of household

Dorotea Montoya my great-great grandma was listed as his wife

There were six children listed ... 

BUT ... the children were all listed as step-children to the head of the household, Antonio Montoya! 

All six children had the last name Labadie!  

I looked down the list of children and the next to the last name wasmy grandmother "Josefita Labadie."  Mystery Solved At Last! 

1900 Puerto de Luna Census
Taken by Lorenzo Labadie

Close up of 1900 Puerto de Luna Census
Taken by Lorenzo Labadie

My great-grandmother, Dorotea had been married to Juan Labadie y Sanchez, (I haven't figured out the y Sanchez part of his name) So Dorotea and Juan had six children and then he died in 1898 at the age of 64 in Fort Sumner. Cause of death unknown for now. 

My mother had always told us that my father's mother was a Labadie but never explained the situation. Anyway, 2 years after Juan's death, when Dorotea was 47, she married Antonio Montoya. While searching for Juan Labadie's records, I discovered books of interesting history on the prominent Labadie family in New Mexico.

This was no surprise because throughout this journey of my ancestry research, coincidences have occurred all along the way. Now I sort of just expect the synchronistic discoveries to occur. 

The week I discovered that my grandmother was actually a Labadie, my friend Marcia Ball (who's a well known piano player, blues singer in Austin)  mother passed away. Marcia posted her mother's obituary on facebook. The obit mentioned that she was from Labadieville, LA. What are the chances that information would show up the same week that I discovered my Labadie connection?

So here's the breakdown: 

My 4th great-grandfather, Dr. Dominique Labadie was born in France in 1738. He first settled in St Louis, MO and then in Santa Fe in 1765. 

As a young medical doctor, the 27 year old married My 4th great-grandmother, Maria Micaela Padilla. She was the daughter of one of the original founding families of Albuquerque. 

They married in Santa Fe on November 2, 1766. and had 15 children. 

Their son, Juan Pablo Labadie was born on May 24, 1784 in Santa Fe. He is my 3rd great-grandfather. He married Maria Rosa de Reyes Cisneros my 3rd great-grandmother and they had a son, Juan Labadie, born in 1817. He is my 2nd great-grandfather. He had a son, Juan Labadie y Sanchez, born in 1834, he is my great-grandfather. He was my grandmother Josefita Labadie's father but he died when she was 7. She took her stepfather Antonio Montoya's name and later gave my dad the middle name, Montoya.

My great-great-grandfather, Juan Labadie y Sanchez had a younger brother, Lorenzo Labadie. Lorenzo's immediate family are some of the most colorful characters I have read about in my family research. There are conflicting stories as to who founded Santa Rosa, NM. As far as I can tell both Lorenzo Labadie and Celso Baca were foundational figures in the early development of Santa Rosa, which was originally settled in 1865 as Agua Negra Chiquita. Nonetheless, they have both been named as two of the first settlers. 

Lorenzo Labadie was described as a handsome, honorable man who wore many hats. In 1851 he was the Sheriff in Valencia County where he served 3 terms. Like his friend Kit Carson, he was a sympathetic and a loyal friend to many of the Native Americans. In 1855 he was appointed as a U.S. Indian Agent for 15 years and gained respect and confidence seldom obtained by the Native Americans as an Agent. Under his watchful eye, the Native Americans worked side-by-side with soldiers, damming the Pecos River to irrigate crops, planting trees, and building a slaughter house. They had 94 gardens spread over a 100 acre area and grew melons, pumpkins, chile and green beans. He was removed as an agent because he protested against the Native Americans being furnished unwholesome food by the government. Go figure, the government was treating people of color unfairly.

Lorenzo married Rayitos Giddings, a beautiful blue-eyed 14-year-old called "one of the fairest daughters of the territory," on Feb. 16, 1852. Rayitos, (born María Consuelo de los Rayos Gutiérrez in 1838) was just as colorful in her own right. She was raised and educated by her great aunt, Maria Gertrudis Barcelo, AKA Madame La Tules, an intriguing, free-spirited woman who dominated Society in Santa Fe. She was known as the best professional gamblers in New Mexico. Rayitos later became a well known doctor. On the day of their wedding, as a wedding gift, Lorenzo received a commission from Governor James S. Calhoun as colonel of the territorial commission.

Then I don't know what happened to my great-grandfather Juan Labadie y Sanchez's father, Captain Juan Cisneros Labadie. I don't know if I am reading the document below correctly (it's in Spanish) but I think it says his brother Lorenzo Labadie adopted his children... so Lorenzo Labadie ended up being my great-great adopted grandfather?

I am still researching this information.

Later in life, Lorenzo became a census taker for at least 10 years. In 1880 he sat with Billy the Kid in Ft. Sumner and Billy gave him the name William Bonney and said he worked in cattle. He was also the census taker in 1900 in Puerto de Luna when he recorded Antonio Montoya as head of household with wife Dorotea. I've often wished I could have been a fly on the wall to watch the interaction between Lorenzo and Dorotea, his deceased older brother's widow and mother of his nieces and nephews who are listed as Montoya's stepchildren

In 1893 Lorenzo was elected to the legislation assembly of New Mexico as representative for Guadalupe County, NM. Lorenzo died on his birthday, August 10, 1904, in Puerto de Luna, New Mexico. He was buried there in the El Calvario Cemetery. This cemetary's location is past the church in PdL, over the bridge and then right on the road past the bridge, past what used to be the senior center on the left.

Lorenzo Labadie's Grave

I just found this. I had written it on Ancestry years ago. I will have to edit it later.

Lorenzo Labadie was born on August 10, 1825, in Tome, Valencia Co, New Mexico, located in the Rio Grande Valley, near Belen, south of Albuquerque. He lead a very active life. I have felt sometimes that I knew him personally because he was the census taker in Puerto de Luna and the surrounding areas in the late 1800's and in 1900. All of my ancestors were living in these thriving little communities and he and I were related to all the same people. So his amazingly accurate census taking skills have been a huge help to my ancestry research. It was the starting point for my personal ancestry story.

I first felt a connection to that time and place in history when I saw the movie, "Pat Garrett and Billy the Kid" not knowing that Billy the Kid had actually worked on the Valdez and Gerhardt ranches in Los Ojitos. The movie was released in May of 1973, the year after I had lived there with my grandma. It starred Kris Kristofferson, Bob Dylan and Rita Coolidge.

So as fate would have it, many years later, I was chatting on Facebook with my friend/prima, Jasmine Baca(Nelson) who lives in Santa Rosa, NM. A friend of hers chimed into the conversation and we ended up chatting for a long time and it felt like another one of those God sends that I happen onto once in a while.

Her name is Kimberly Harris and she said "I think I have read your blog on your ancestry. You are descended from the Labadie family. I am fascinated by that family. I live on a piece of their property, between the hemp farms." I realized later that Kimberly was in the movie industry and was from Los Angeles. She had worked on a movie in Santa Fe and decided she had to buy so land in New Mexico and stay there. I replied to her "Oh Wow! Yes, my paternal grandmother was Josefita Labadie. I didn't know there were hemp farms in Puerto de Luna! I am totally fascinated by that lineage of my family as well. I never knew anything about them until I started doing research because my grandma Josefita died of the Spanish Influenza in 1918 when my dad was only 3 yrs old. I discovered so much of my ancestry from the census taken in Puerto de Luna in 1900 by Lorenzo Labadie.

Lorenzo had such an amazing life before he became a census taker late in life. I can just imagine that he wanted to continue to socialize so he took it up as sort of a hobby. He had been the sheriff of Valencia County and in Santa Fe. He was an Indian agent and he was a Lieutenant Colonel. My favorite story was that in 1871 he got a merchant's license and opened a wine shop in Puerto de Luna. And then at last in 1880 he was the census taker. Billy the Kid was on the census, confirming the stories I had heard that Billy the Kid had taught my great Uncle Hilario Valdez how to read and write in English when he was 7 yrs old.

Then on May 8, 1884 he became the Post Master of Santa Rosa until Dec. 14, 1898. April 20, 1885 he signed a petition to get Rifles for Puerto de Luna. On June 29, 1896, he wrote letter concerning the Agua Negra Land grant. Juan Patron, his son-in- law owned part of it, by this time Patron had been killed in Puerto de Luna. His daughter, Beatriz was married to Juan Patron, another very interesting person in New Mexico history. There is a book written about him called "Juan Patron: A Fallen Star in the Days of Billy the Kid."

Then Kimberly wrote:

"That was the best book! Sadly the Labadie homestead was bought up. They built a huge four story CBD processing facility. They have basically destroyed the beauty of the ranch. However, Lorenzo’s original Adobe is still there. Plans to tear it down were abandoned. Now they know the historical significance of it. The people who owned this land and who sub-divided it, were obsessed with Lorenzo Labadie as well. The wife did extensive research on him and passed it on to me. It is all stuff you have found, I'm sure. Your cousin Richard Delgado lives across the road and he said my place is where Juan Patron and Beatrice Labadie Patron lived. I found Roman’s grave and Beatrice’s next to him at the cemetery on Reilly Road. And Lorenzo's grave is in Puerto de Luna. I am trying to find the truth about my house. It was a ruin that someone enlarged in the early 2000’s. It makes sense it was Beatrice and Juan's house. I’ve often wondered where all the Labadies scattered to. Most of the other old families have a presence here. The location of Lorenzo’s Adobe is the second drive way coming from Santa Rosa on the west side of the highway before Blue Jay Road, which is where the Delgado’s live. There are county dumpsters at the gate." I wrote back "Oh my goodness, this is very touching! I have lived in Texas most of my life so I haven't had the opportunity to do much physical research. It is really very cool that you live there. I would love to see photos!" My mother used to mention the Labadie family in passing once in a while when she talked about her uncles who were politicians in New Mexico. I wish I had paid closer attention to the stories she told. My grandfather, Doroteo Fajardo remarried after my grandma passed away and started another family so my grandmother Josifita Labadie Fajardo's memory was erased, except from the heart of her only son Felipe, my dad. So I started doing my own research about 10 years ago. I discovered that the very informative man who was my Great-Great-Great Uncle Lorenzo, had actually becoe my Great Great Grandfather because he adopted his brother's child.

Lorenzo was the census taker in Puerto de Luna and surrounding areas in the late 1800's to the early 1900's. I discovered some of the most important information from these documents. I always felt like I had hit a jackpot of information if I found a census taken by Lorenzo because all of his census documentation was very accurate and legible. He not only knew everyone in each household, he was related to all of the ones that I was researching. I felt like I grew to know him, late at night as I drank tea and combed through he well recorded documents. The census in Puerto de Luna in 1900 was a huge find for me during my ancestry research. I found that my Grandmother Josefita Labadie was living with her mother Dorotea and her stepfather, Antonio Montoya in Puerto de Luna. Up to that time I thought my grandmother was a Montoya but it listed all the children as step-children to the head of the household, Antonio Montoya and they all had the last name Labadie.  

In 1851 he was the sheriff of Valencia County, NM. On February 16, 1852, he married Maria de los Reyes Refugio Rayitos Giddings-Gutierrez. (A very colorful personality herself) In 1854 there is documentation of him being a sheriff of Santa Fe. In 1855 he was an Indian agent for Utes. In 1856 he was an Indian agent in Abiquiú. In1862 he was an Indian agent at Anton Chico. In 1863 he was an Indian agent in Bosque Redondo, just out side of Fort Sumner. The present day address is 3647 Billy the Kid Rd, Fort Sumner, NM. There was a lot going on there at that time and I am still doing research. In 1865 he was an Indian agent for the Jicarilla Indians near Agua Negra present day Santa Rosa. In 1867 he was sent to Texas to get Indians to release white captives, another cool story I need to research. Then my favorite part of Lorenzo's life.... In 1871 He got a merchant's license and opened a wine shop in Puerto de Luna. And then at last in 1880 he was the census taker. Billy the Kid was on the census, confirming the stories I had heard that Billy the Kid had taught my great Uncle Hilario Valdez how to read and write in English when he was 7 yrs old. Lot of history here also. Then on May 8, 1884 he became the Post Master of Santa Rosa until Dec. 14, 1898. April 20, 1885 he signed a petition to get Rifles for Puerto de Luna. On February 2, 1893 won case against Celso Baca for cheating on Election for seat on the 30th. Legislation Assembly of N.M. as representation for Guadalupe Co. To say these two men were not friends would be putting it lightly. It wasn’t long after this Celso (a big man) said something about Lorenzo at a pubic meeting and Lorenzo heard it jumped up and got hold of Celso and the men there had to pull him off. They were both up in years. On June 29, 1896, he wrote letter concerning the Agua Negra Land grant. Juan Patron, his son-in- law owned part of it, by this time Patron had been killed in Puerto de Luna. Lorenzo died on August 10, 1904, in Puerto De Luna, New Mexico and was buried there in the El Calvario Cemetery. This cemetary's location is on the little road past the church, past the bridge and right on the road past the bridge, past senior center on the left.

I will continue with Lorenzo's daughter Beatriz Labadie and her husband Juan Patron at a later date. This is another interesting story.