|
San Jose de Garcia Mission Church in Las Trampas, New Mexico, is located on New Mexico Highway 76 south of Taos. Las Trampas was founded in 1751 by twelve families from Santa Fe led by Juan de Arguello who had received a land grant from Governor Tomas Velez Cachupin. The name translates to "The Traps" in English and relates to the fact that it was a fine place to trap beaver. The church was completed in 1760 about the time that revolutionary fervor was just beginning to stir in the English colonies along the Atlantic seaboard. Las Trampas was the center for the secret order of Penitentes (Brothers of Light) during the eighteenth century (self flagellation and other bizarre ceremonies). San Jose de Garcia Mission Church is one of the best preserved examples of early Spanish colonial churches in New Mexico.
|
|
