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Notes and pictures for "Camino del Monte Sol"

Posted: Fri May 20, 2011 9:31 pm
by librarian_7
I had so much fun doing the research for this story, I couldn’t resist the urge to share. I plan to do a post for most chapters, although some may be longer than others.

Here, then is the post for :

Camino del Monte Sol: Chapter One, Santa Fe, Arrival, 1923


Stephen’s car

Because what would our vampire do without his fiery red automobile? The caption on this picture says this 1923 Mercedes was “the first production supercharged passenger car was powered by a small four-cylinder engine with vertical shaft, V-shape overhead valves and single steel cylinders.” It had 40 hp –not much alongside his more recent cars, but hey, you have to start somewhere.

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Ocotillo bushes

Yes, they’re just as prickly as they look. Pretty flowers, though!

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New Mexico landscape.

The first two are pictures of Laguna Pueblo, which (these days) you can see from I-40 between Santa Fe and Albuquerque. It’s also along old Route 66.

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And here are some pictures of the landscape outside Santa Fe generally.

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La Fonda

The site has housed a hotel for centuries, although the building Stephen would have known was actually built in 1922. The first picture is probably from the late 20’s, and the first one from shortly before the “new” La Fonda was built.

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Brief history of La Fonda --if the photo gallery on this site doesn’t TOTALLY make you want to go stay at this hotel, I don’t know what…it makes me want to move in for the rest of my life.

Men’s clothing, because it’s just that much fun to picture Josef, uh, Stephen, in those snazzy Roaring Twenties suits.

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Books on Santa Fe worth reading (instalment 1)…

Turn Left at the Sleeping Dog

This book has personal reminiscences from (and about) a number of people living in Santa Fe between 1920 and 1955. It was a great resource for me in writing this story. And it’s a darned entertaining read, as well. The link takes you to Amazon.

Feast of Santa Fe

This is one of my all time favorite cookbooks. It’s one with a lot of cultural commentary in between the lovely recipes. Read it—it’ll make your mouth water for some of the food, and you’ll learn about New Mexican culture at the same time. And Amazon has some surprisingly affordable used copies available, it would appear.

Re: Notes and pictures for "Camino del Monte Sol" ch. 1

Posted: Sat May 21, 2011 8:36 am
by francis
Thank you for the visual aid! I can just picture Josef - eh, Stephen - in that pin stripe suit. Dapper!
:heart:

Re: Notes and pictures for "Camino del Monte Sol"

Posted: Thu May 26, 2011 7:16 pm
by librarian_7
Chapter 2, La Fonda

Okay, already I’ve gotten a little behind.

Chapter 2, well, mostly, see previous pictures of La Fonda.

However, here are some more snazzy suits…

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And some ladies apparel…

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Re: Notes and pictures for "Camino del Monte Sol"

Posted: Thu May 26, 2011 7:18 pm
by librarian_7
Chapter 3, Sena Plaza

For Chapter 3, we have:

Sena Plaza:

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It’s just down the street from the Governor’s Palace,

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Re: Notes and pictures for "Camino del Monte Sol"

Posted: Thu May 26, 2011 8:27 pm
by allegrita
Lucky, these pictures are a wonderful way of helping us see the stories even more clearly. Thank you for these visual aids! :hug:

Re: Notes and pictures for "Camino del Monte Sol"

Posted: Fri May 27, 2011 5:42 pm
by librarian_7
Chapter 4,

I like this dress for Dorothea’s driving outfit…isn’t she stylish?

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The stuff about blue windows and doors is very true, in Northern New Mexico. This is a picture of some blue doors, taken inside Sena Plaza.

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An article about Santa Fe Artists and the artists’ colony area of town:

http://www.tierraconceptssantafe.com/ar ... rtists.pdf

And a couple of pictures of adobe houses:


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And the distinctive “kiva fireplace”:

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Re: Notes and pictures for "Camino del Monte Sol"

Posted: Fri May 27, 2011 5:52 pm
by francis
:heart: Lovely pictorial guide!

Re: Notes and pictures for "Camino del Monte Sol"

Posted: Mon May 30, 2011 4:36 am
by librarian_7
Chapter 5

The Art Gallery of the Museum of New Mexico

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And the museum’s history, on their website…

http://www.nmartmuseum.org/site/about/history.html

Evening dresses

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(I figure at least the one on the left must be a freshie, with that scarf!—I like to think of this picture as Louise and Patrice.)

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Bakos’ painting

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Ellis painting

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Mruk painting

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Schuster painting

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Nash paintings

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Reza’s dress

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Re: Notes and pictures for "Camino del Monte Sol"

Posted: Mon May 30, 2011 6:11 pm
by allegrita
Oh my gosh, that dress is fabulous!! And I swear, you're right about the girl with the scarf. She's adorable. Heck, they're both adorable. :batseyes:

Re: Notes and pictures for "Camino del Monte Sol"

Posted: Mon May 30, 2011 11:24 pm
by jen
These pictures are a wonderful detail! They help those of us who don't have a really clear picture of the era get more of a feel for it. The Southwest U.S. is a bit mnore familiar, but love the visuals anyway.

You are doing a fabulous job of transmitting the ambiance, in my humble and somewhat uninformed opinion. The sometimes oppressive heat, that at that time they had little means of escaping, the relaxed, laid back mood of the entire society with a strong undercurrent of explosive passion is a volatile mix and the artists all have their own way of expressing the world in which they live. Reza, too.

Thank you!

Jenna

Re: Notes and pictures for "Camino del Monte Sol"

Posted: Wed Jun 01, 2011 6:46 pm
by librarian_7
Chapter 6 Illustrations and info

Lou Lou

Okay, this is actually a picture of the silent screen actress Louise Brooks, but to me, this is a good approximation of Stephen’s naughty little kitten…

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The Plaza Café is a real place, and has been around for decades.

http://www.thefamousplazacafe.com/history.html

http://www.thefamousplazacafe.com/HistoricalPHOTOS.html

And a few pics…

The café storefront, from the 1950s

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The west side of the Plaza…the café would be just out of sight on the right of the pic. This one is from about 1920. If you turn left at the corner, and go down the south side of the plaza, you come to La Fonda. The Museum, from Ch. 5, is behind the photographer and a little to the right.

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Current breakfast menu at the café. Yes, they really do serve enchiladas for breakfast.

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And a picture of their breakfast burrito. Note that it has what is locally called Christmas chili—red and green both! (and trust me, that’s definitely the way to go). Yum!

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Re: Notes and pictures for "Camino del Monte Sol"

Posted: Wed Jun 01, 2011 7:47 pm
by allegrita
Oh, nom... I've eaten there, and the food is GOOD!! :eat:

Re: Notes and pictures for "Camino del Monte Sol"

Posted: Wed Jun 01, 2011 10:48 pm
by librarian_7
Hey, Alle--if we both left now and drove straight through, we could probably meet for breakfast!

Lucky

Re: Notes and pictures for "Camino del Monte Sol"

Posted: Wed Jun 01, 2011 11:21 pm
by allegrita
After the week I've been having... do not tempt me.

Re: Notes and pictures for "Camino del Monte Sol"

Posted: Mon Jun 06, 2011 9:49 pm
by librarian_7
I have to confess at the outset of this, I don't know if any tango club such as "El Gato Negro" ever existed in Santa Fe. Probably not. But it is true that the tango was wildly popular at that time, largely due to the film “The Four Horsemen of the Apocalyse,” which featured Rudolph Valentino in a tango scene. This was the movie that cemented his “Latin Lover” reputation.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Four_H ... pse_(film)

Here’s a clip from that movie:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b_sG5vRKcB0

(notice that Valentino is carrying his riding whip with him as he dances!)

A couple of tango videos from "True Lies." One of the things that impresses me about this is the strength of the man, and the grace of the woman…

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IM4igmAe ... re=related

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7ydRwCf9 ... re=related

So, it’s not impossible that there might have been a club in Santa Fe, where they at least had a tango night from time to time….we’ll pretend there was, anyway!

Francis posted this link to some old tango music:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LHLVP9jP ... re=related

And watching that, I found,

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r9fpCj5h ... re=related

eris mentioned a scene from “Moulin Rouge”—here it is.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cx5H-49d ... re=related


Stephen and Reza tango…

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A suit for Stephen.

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And a shirt to go with…

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Reza’s Packard Roadster (1922)

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On the edge of the mountains, the thunderstorms are spectacular, and usually sweep in from the west. You can see them coming from some distance away, and when they arrive, oh my!

Storm clouds in New Mexico

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