Tom Green Filming Mission Nuestra Señora de la Purísima Concepción de Quarai - New Mexico

Описание: About an hour and a half southeast of Albuquerque, New Mexico, on the east side of the Manzano Mountains is Salinas Pueblo Missions National Monument within which the Mission Nuestra Señora de la Purísima Concepción de Quarai is located. By the middle of the 1600s, Spanish officials had created the Jurisdicción de las Salinas which included Las Humanas, Abó and Quarai as well as Cililí, Tajique, and Tabirá. The Manzano Mountains, the salt lakes near present Willard, and the edge of the Great Plains to the east collectively formed the homeland for many peoples and cultures in the area for hundreds of years. As early as the 10th century, Mogollon and Ancestral Puebloan groups established pueblos in the valley that served as major centers of trade between the people of the Rio Grande region and the Plains Indian tribes. When Spanish exploration of the valley began in the late 16th century, the pueblos of Salinas became home to Spanish Franciscan missionaries and large mission churches. The pueblo of Quarai contains the best preserved of these churches: Mission Nuestra Señora de la Purísima Concepción de Quarai. Completed c.1629, the settlement was empty by 1678 as droughts, famine, and repeated Apache raids caused the people to seek refuge at other settlements.

Today Quarai is a National Historic Landmark within the Salinas Pueblo Missions National Monument that also includes Abó and Gran Quivira, which are featured separately in this itinerary. The site contains a variety of settlements from A.D. 1250 through the colonial period. The pueblo and mission remains reflect the early period of Pueblo-Spanish interaction, the conflicts between the Spanish church and state, and their overall effects on native culture in the Southwest. Visitors should not miss exploring the impressive mission ruins on a trip through central New Mexico. (www.nps.gov)