“Now, as I contemplate stepping into a role as [Chimayó] elder, I hope the sentiment of community endures and that this book inspires new generations of Chimayosos to continue building toward a bright future—while remaining rooted firmly in a remarkable history.”—Don J. Usner, from the Preface (2024)
 
“Brimming with voices, las voces de la gente…. the first-person narrator who returns again and again to the text like a knowing and trusted pariente inviting the reader to sit for a while in the Plaza del Cerro. —Jim Sagel
 
“Quite simply…the best history yet made of a northern New Mexico community. It is thorough, balanced, gracefully written, and blessed with an insider’s access and affection.”—William De Buys

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.  
 

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.