SAN LUIS – Carol Gurule of the CSU Extension is excited about a new addition that the Sangre de Cristo Heritage Center and Museum has added to its grounds.
“Anytime the group ‘Juntos,’ can be a part of something, it is very near and dear to my heart. We worked in collaboration with other groups to make this possible, and we are proud to be a part of history in the making,” Garule said.
The Sangre de Cristo Heritage Center and Museum in San Luis added an adobe horno that was built by Adobist Ole Bye, to the museum grounds. According to southwestdiscovered.com, an adobe horno is a hive-shaped outdoor oven, that is traditionally made from mud and adobe. These outdoor ovens were used by early settlers, for baking food inside. A fire is created inside of the oven and then allowed to burn out. Food is then placed inside the oven, and the oven is covered in the front with a board or other item, to allow the heat to stay in the oven and bake the food.
The adobe horno was created in conjunction with several different partnerships including the CSU Extension Juntos Program, Soul Players of the Valley San Luis (SPV San Luis) Costilla County Conservancy District (CCCD), and the Town of San Luis. The groups all worked together to facilitate this project. The CSU Extension Juntos Program works in different counties to help families and with projects through ought the San Luis Valley. The CSU Extension has an office that serves the San Luis Valley in Monte Vista.
A community build day for the horno project was held on Friday, Aug. 16. During the build day, volunteers assisted with moving, plastering, and placing bricks, as a support system for the horno. Many of the bricks that were placed were over 150 years old. The horno was built for baking bread, pizza, cooking meat, and possibly cooking chicos.
According to Bye, there is rich history in what has been built. Bye spoke about the build and the culture behind the horno.
“The story is that the Spanish brought the design to this hemisphere from northern Africa. There are ovens like this still being used in places like Morrocco. The Spanish came up from Mexico in the late 1500’s and there is archeological evidence that hornos were used at the confluence of the Chama and the Rio Grande. It’s likely these hornos were built by women who were slaves or servants of the Spanish colonists. The work of adobe hornos is historically in the realm of women as well,” Bye said.
Bye explained that everyone who volunteered and worked together, used many historical pieces to create another piece of history.
“The adobes came from several buildings that the community dismantled, so there is a bunch of history in the base of the horno,” Bye said.
Bye said that the dome of the horno is being supported by bricks that are at least 150 years old.
“People know about hornos here and many people have one. It’s been both intimidating and rewarding with everyone who comes by who shares their stories about how their grandmothers had one,” Bye said.
Bye hopes that the community uses the horno, and it helps bring people together, as that is “the magic of hornos,” bringing people together. “They have a magnetism that is the nucleus of the domestic environment, where people can come together, share food, and socialize.”
Soul Players San Luis Valley is planning to celebrate the building of the horno at an upcoming event by baking bread.
SPV San Luis thanked Gurule and Cody Groff of the CSU Extension and the Juntos Program, Costilla County Commissioner, Teddy Leinbach of the Town of San Luis, Christian Santistevan of SPV San Luis/CCCD Recreation Coordinator, and Bye. They also thanked Juan Ramon Maestas for sharing his background and knowledge of adobe making and helping to provide the dirt used to make bricks.
For more information on the horno, contact Gurule at 719-852-7381.
