El Watusi

     Told by Joe F. Martinez on Facebook “Forgotten Southern Colorado” on 21 April 2020

The Guadalupe Stage Setting

Many authors over the years have shared witchcraft, magic, and events from everyday life to provide lively twists to folktales that evoke the rich traditions of the early Spanish settlers and their descendants in the Valley.   Some are called Cuentos others are called Chistes and so on.  Many of us that grew up in The San Luis Valley and part of Northern New Mexico were blessed by all these tales regardless of how outlandish they might seem.  John (Eddie) Gomez one of my best childhood friends from Guadalupe likes my Guadalupe memories that I share on Facebook Blogs; following my narrative on the effects of the 1918 flu epidemic he asked me to write the fabled story of our Guadalupe Watusi.  At the time of the Watusi Legend, there was a song recorded in 1962 called El Watusi, by Ray Barretto https://youtu.be/z_Sp3wgpqP0 and one of the famous lines went like this - “siete pies grande y feo, el watusi.”

To fully understand the genesis of the folk tales let me set the stage for the Legend of El Watusi.  Many age-old stories go back to the Valley’s origins with the understanding that our ancestors were sequestered from the east and west coasts of the United States and Mexico from the south and Canada from the north.  The great expanse of prairie west of the Mississippi River was an insurmountable obstacle for contact with the east coast and the arid and hot desert between what became the western borders of New Mexico and Colorado was a natural barrier for anyone trying to make the trek by mule and horseback - the situation from Mexico City had a similar geographic landmass that isolated most of what is the overall San Luis Valley basin that is bordered by Salida on the north end of the Valley and the crest of the Santa Fe mountain range on the south.  The west is bordered by the San Juan’s and east by The Sangre De Cristo mountain range.  In this magical semi-arid Valley with plentiful water generously provided by clear mountain springs that flowed into the main artery called the Rio Grande provided the perfect farming location for our ancestors that called themselves Los Hermanitos or in abbreviated fashion Los Manitos and Las Manitas.  I have written prior about the Manitos of Northern New Mexico and Southern Colorado and how the isolation formed a bond that is still prevalent to this day, where you can run into folks across the country and know from our accented English that our origins are Manitos and Manitas, there is an inflection in the tone of the dialect that is noticeable to people familiar with the area, whether you speak English fluently or use our form of Spanglish.  It is helpful to understand this as we look at the folk tales that emanated from our ancestors and what constituted their form of entertainment when dance halls and other forms of entertainment were non-existent.  The anecdote for their form of entertainment was to sit around a warm potbelly stove or warm estufa that provided not only warmth but a social nucleus for gathering to share legends that to this day are told in many Valley homes.  Along with the warmth of the stove, forms of moonshine (aka Mula in Spanish) hot coffee and pastries were prevalent.  Which brings me to the story of El Watusi. 

As noted in earlier discussions, Guadalupe was founded by pioneers that hunted and farmed the area from the early 1800’s - the families of my childhood circa the 1950s and 60’s lived prosperous albeit frugal lives.  Though there was a portion of our ancestors that were of Spanish and Native American origins, there was an amalgamation of French, German, English and other families that settled in the Valley and played a significant role in the expansion of commerce, from French trappers to Mormon Ranchers, and English miners, intermarriage and amalgamation occurred over the years so that when I mention Manitos and Manitas it is inclusive of many cultures that settled the Valley.  One such example was a man by the name of Lafayette Head (aka Lafayette Cabeza.  He was an Indian agent that eventually became the first Lieutenant-Governor of Colorado and amassed significant landholdings, history is mixed on his financial accumulation but that is for others to explore.  In my family, we trace the French heritage of the Lacome’s aka LaCombe albeit in the town of San Luis they were known as Los Lacones, today the descendants live in San Francisco, Texas, and other parts of the United State.  The same with the family Jacques, French in origin but used as Los Jacques and other spelling derivations. 

As for Guadalupe, The Plazita as it was called was surrounded by homes in the rectangular form of the fort which was the original structure set up by the founders for protection.  On the south, it was bordered by The Conejos River with the families that lived there starting with Mr. Sam Quintana (Samulito as he was called, he was short, about 5ft) then by Mr. Louis Manzanares and Elvira on the left.  Mr. Manzanares was an accomplished builder and Mrs. Manzanares was a fabulous businesswoman who had one of the most beautiful homes in the area with nicely appointed decor and figurines that she collected.  As a child, I spent a lot of time at her home and looked up to her son Donaldo as my big brother who later became a very successful musician and was my teacher in High School.  Next door was Tio Piemenio (sp) (everyone called him that I do not know whose uncle he was, but most folks were either primo, prima, tio etc., terms of endearment earned by many years and generations of descendants. He lived in the remnants of the old stockade that was built in the 1800’s and well preserved. Further down was the Trujillo’s (my friend Danny’s parents) and then there was Mr. Brown (everyone called him El Viejo Brown).  He had a ruddy complexion and deep blue eyes and drove his Chevrolet very fast at the left turn to his home.  On down the line were Irene and Sam Duran, the children Martin, Julian, Jimmy, and Barbara all good friends.  Next to them was Ignacio and Veneranda (sp) Garcia and all the boys, Mike, Leroy, Baltazar. Geebe (SP) Georgie, and Teen (Martin).  Next was the Gomez Family headed by Ben Gomez and his wonderful wife Carmen who was always gracious and giving to my Grandfather and I, their children Richard, Carla, Gloria, Eddie (John), Pauline and the rest.  Next was Salomon Martinez (no relation) a colleague that I later worked with at the Perlite and the Garcia family, Phil Sr., (my mentor when I worked at Chacon’s Service station), Mannie (sp) their kids, Ray, Phil, Loretta, Sally. (I better record this before I forget all these wonderful folks). Around the corner and across the road that separates Guadalupe in two sections was Manuel (aka Manulito).  I used to trade comic books with him, he was also a star baseball pitcher and La Mena (sp) next door were Mena’s parents Mr. Jesus Armenta and Veneranda (sp) Leo Armenta and Irene’s parents. Julian, Geebee, and I would play cards with Don Jesus until all hours of the night during the summer and listen to his chistes.  Next to them was Constancia (aka Connie), her brother Abe (Abel) lived next door with his wife Margaret (aka Magge sp) and their children, Abe Jr., Albert, Loretta, Ruben, Frank (aka Pancho), Donald (aka Cano) Jane, Nick, Julie (aka Jojo) et.al.  Next to them was Don Jose and Donia Jesusita, (aka la Jesusa), who lived in a beautiful white stucco house with all the modern amenities.  Don Jose was a very successful traveling salesman and always had money, but he traveled a lot.  Donia Jesusita was a beautiful woman, with light hair, silky white skin and always wore white dresses and had the poise and presence of a cultured and educated Victorian lady that spoke beautiful Castilian Spanish in addition to the king's English.  I remember her vividly and was very grateful to her because the night that my grandmother died when I was 7, she asked my grandfather and me to stay with her at her lovely home until the coroner came for my Grandma the following morning.  I remember that night like it was yesterday; she provided us with a nicely furnished guest bedroom and the following morning made us a great breakfast of bacon, eggs, and orange juice.  Sadly, she died a few years later and her home would play a part in the story of El Watusi as will many of the neighbors mentioned in this narrative.  Next to her was our home, which was built during the roaring twenties by my World War I Grandfather for his mother when he returned from the Army.  It had a pitched roof with a porch shrouded by wood shingles and surrounded by apple and other fruit trees.  Next to us was our vecino Don Antonio Martinez and his wife Dona Asencion (sp).  My best friend Manuel Stines was raised by Mr. and Mrs. Martinez when he came to live with them from Denver.  To complete the circle of 1950’s Guadalupe was the home of Jerry Valdez and I believe his wife was Rosa.  They had older girls and a son my age named Benny. 

That gives you a narrative on the 1950’s environment of Guadalupe and the folks that would play a role in the Legend of El Watusi. 

The Legend begins:

During most summer nights most of the kids would gather in the Vejita, we would build a bonfire, roast potatoes, and just tell stories.  One evening as the sun was setting, we were told that there was a guy with a cape riding behind the fields that were owned by Ernest Moller.  He had a white horse and we were told that he had magical powers and would appear in a similar fashion to the Legend of La Llorona who was always searching for her child that had drowned in the nearby Conejos River.  Her cries during the full moon could be heard for miles as she searched the cascading waters of the Conejos, the cacophony of her voice would send chills to any listener, and legend has it that if you saw her in her white dress that the curse would be on you.  As the lone rider of the white horse traversed the alfalfa fields, he could be heard screaming, his horse foaming at the mouth would look exhausted and sweaty from his exertion.  About this time the legend continues that the horse rider was in anguish because of a lost love that had died prematurely at the hands of a former boyfriend and he was seeking revenge.  Each night we would stay up waiting for the rider and every now and then we would see him riding in the distance.  Someone started calling him El Watusi from the popular song at the time.  The legend grew and we were all scared to even walk alone.  I would spend time at Cano’s home on Sunday’s where we watched the array of TV shows popular at the time starting with Maverick, Paladin, Lawman, The Rebel, ending with Bonanza.  At 10 PM I would walk home alone passing the home of La Jesusita.  Since her passing, it was noted that her beautiful home was haunted.  Rumor had it that on any given night she could be seen in the front window dressed in her immaculate white dress singing and crying for her husband that had never returned home after her death because it was too painful.  I must admit that on my way home I was scared to look in her window and would run as fast as I could.  This is when out of the dark skyline I saw an apparition on top of the house.  It was a man dressed in black, with a hat and a cape and smiling at me.  My dog who would accompany me for comfort started to snarl as if he had seen the devil and started to growl as my feet barely hit the ground; I ran as fast as I could for my life.  I told my friends about the incident and we formed a makeshift posse of Martin & Julian Duran, Phil Garcia, Cano, and others that were determined to figure this out.  True to form the following night El Watusi showed up on top of the house where Jesusita lived, so we gave chase but lost him, suddenly out of the dark came this white horse with the rider in black from the south near the Conejos River right through the middle of the Plazita.  Armed with sticks and stones we followed him to the other end of Guadalupe near the Phil Garcia residence but to no avail, we lost him.  Then as if on cue Delfie Garcia, Gilbert Jiron from the little town of Conejos came by and said they were chasing a man in a white horse, that El Watusi was seen at the church in Conejos and at the old Court House.  We were befuddled, how could he be at two places at one time.  By now we didn’t think that it was the Headless Horseman from the legend of Sleepy Hollow, a gothic story by American author Washington Irving, but some sort of prank.  However, we could not figure out how he could be in two places at one time.  As the legend grew, people from Antonito and other villages would come to Guadalupe in search of El Watusi – it became folklore and soon people were talking that he could fly from tree to tree and that on any given night the Conejos Church bells would start ringing on their own and apparitions at the local cemetery could be seen because the folks buried there were having unresolved issues.  Lights could be seen at the cemetery well into the night and go out at midnight.  And always in proximity, El Watusi was always close by.  By the end of the summer, crowds increased and even law enforcement officers started to get interested.  Sheriff Amos Abeyta even showed up and started asking questions and explaining that it was probably a prank.  The question – was El Watusi mystical?  Did he have powers beyond those of a normal human?  Was he associated with the devil?  Was he residing at the church, and was he responsible for the souls and lights seen at the cemetery?  Meanwhile, the elegant white house of La Jesusita was still a focal point of this mystery, with folks hearing music and crying some nights as the ghostly form would stand by the window looking out at La Vejita.  I was not sleeping at night and would go to my window to stare at her house to see if I saw any movement.  Once in a while, I would hear the music and I would see the ghostly apparition and felt guilty that I thought that wonderful woman that was so good to me was haunting me, my friends and the entire community. 

Long story short, the end of the Legend of El Watusi was finally solved. Led by a couple of my friends much braver than I was and older set a trap for El Watusi – we knew he was going to be on top of the home of La Jesusita some evening, so we hid for several nights around the house and finally, on a Friday evening, he came in his white horse and climbed on top of the house and flashed his cape as he always did.  This time, however when he got down we were there waiting for him and captured him, but as we did another Watusi came barreling down the road from Conejos in his white horse.  We were surprised but we had at least one of them.  Upon unmasking the famous captured Watusi, we found out it was Cano’s brother, Pancho, who was wearing catholic vestments for a cape and a black bandana with holes cut out for the eyes, and a black Zorro hat.  He was laughing hysterically at the thought that he had fooled so many for so long – but wait who was the other Watusi?  It turned out that it was his partner in crime, Leroy Garcia.  They teamed up to scare the living daylights out of all the community and almost got away with it.  In some way we were elated to have solved the mystery of El Watusi, but sad that the legend was solved and we had nothing to look forward to when the sun went down and we went on the hunt for that masked man.  We got all the details about the lit candles at the cemetery and the duplication of two Watusis’ at the same time from two different locations.  But when asked about the music and the apparition – Pancho and Leroy were quite adamant that they knew nothing about it.  So, the mystery remains is that lovely lady dressed in her white dress still waiting for her husband to come home?  In the darkness of the night when you walk around the Vejita in Guadalupe, you just might hear the music and see the veiled lady dressed in white still waiting, surrounded by the mist that legends are made off. Legends never end.