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Hidden Los Griegos

I met the coolest man in my neighborhood. Thanks to my neighbor Candice, I was introduced to Reuben Aragon. Reuben has been a resident of Los Griegos for almost 60 years. He lives in the same house that his parents bought in 1951. I’ve often wondered about this hidden house on Griegos. Now I can say that the man who lives there and the house itself are both treasures of Burque.

The Aragons bought their house from Albert Simms. Reuben and his father used to work at the Simms farm. Reuben told us the funniest story about the original owner of the house, Monico Garcia. Back when Garcia owned the house, it was surrounded by grape orchards. In order to keep kids, and anyone else, from stealing the grapes, Mr. Garcia would fire 3 shots from his gun at 9:00 every night to scare any thieves that might be lurking around his property. Well, after shooting off his gun, he would go in the house and go to bed. It was well known throughout the village that that was his ritual. As soon as the shots were fired, kids would run over to his orchards and steal grapes, knowing that he was in bed.

Reuben's parents lived in the front house and he lived in the back house. When they bought the property, the front house had only two rooms. The back house had only two rooms as well and has a lot of village history. His dining room was originally a blacksmith shop in the early days of Los Griegos. And what is now his bedroom was a holding cell for drunks back in the 40s! As a matter of fact there used to be two hooks in the ceiling that were for belligerent drunks…they got hung up from their shirts on the hooks until they sobered up!

Along with the history, what makes the house so special is the love and care that Reuben put into it to make it the gorgeous home that exists now. As we went from room to room, I was struck by the incredible craftsmanship of this sweet man. He was so generous to allow me to take photos. His talent doesn’t end with building and remodeling houses. He is also a wonderful painter. He is now working in watercolors and I hope that I will be able to buy one of his paintings soon!

So to the DCF community – I give you another peek into the oral history of my little community of Los Griegos. If I even capture a small amount of lost history, I'll be forever happy. I hope that you enjoy these vignettes. I have more neighbors to meet and more stories to share.

Reuben in his kitchen with wood burning stove dated 1896

Fireplace Reuben built in his dining room. He painted the doves and cross on all the fireplaces in the house.

Skylight Reuben added in living room.

Different view of the living room.

Communal railings from the original San Isidro Church in Los Griegos given to Reuben by Candice's mother Patricia.

Reuben in his dining room talking to me and Candice.

Artwork by Reuben

(To respect Reuben's privacy, I intentionally did not post his address.)

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Comment by cc on February 25, 2009 at 10:17am: Thank you Adelita and thank you Reuben Aragon for sharing your story, artistic life and home. An inspiration!

Comment by Diego on February 25, 2009 at 10:32am: I absolutely love that style of house. The skylight and plants are awesome, wow Adelita you are trully lucky to have been invited into some of the great houses in our neighborhood. keep those blogs coming I love it!

Comment by Sarahjmd on February 25, 2009 at 11:52am: Someday I am going to meet you and give you a big hug. When you post things like this it puts a big smile on my face and a lift in my heart. And you do it a lot!

Comment by Flozilla on February 25, 2009 at 12:01pm: This is so much like the house I grew up in! Thank for posting..

Comment by davis on February 25, 2009 at 1:03pm: Beautiful.

Comment by once banned twice shy on February 25, 2009 at 2:14pm: Does Reuben show or sell his artwork anywhere? Reuben has a real New Mexican house. What I think of when I think of a New Mexican house, anyway.

Comment by Diego on February 25, 2009 at 2:21pm: I agree with O B T S it is the epitomy of NM before Santa Fe became "a look". The brick floors, vigas, kiva fireplace and natural light makes me want to curl up and read a book on the history of New Mexico.

Comment by Ted_Slampyak on February 25, 2009 at 3:29pm: Wonderful.

Please convey to Mr. Aragon our gratitude, and our pride in sharing this city with him.

Comment by Shock on February 25, 2009 at 3:43pm: I'm with Sarahjmd- what a lovely thing for the community. Thank so much.

Comment by Adelita on February 25, 2009 at 5:06pm: I will hopefully be meeting with Reuben in the next couple of weeks. I will ask him if he wants to sell any of his artwork. I know he did a show a few months ago and sold some pieces. I will certainly tell him what everyone has expressed here! I feel so blessed to have met him.