Casa San Ysidro celebrates 150 years

CORRALES — Casa San Ysidro, a Corrales historic site, will celebrate its 150th anniversary with a series of events from April through May.

“A satellite of the Albuquerque Museum, Casa San Ysidro preserves a remarkable collection of New Mexican art, furnishings and historic artifacts, offering visitors a glimpse into the state’s rich past,” an Albuquerque Museum press release states.

The release says it was built circa 1875 and is named for its original owners and Ward Alan and Shirley Minge, who restored and expanded it to reflect New Mexico’s Territorial period. In 1997, the Minges donated the property to the city of Albuquerque, and today, it remains a vital cultural and historical site.

“Casa San Ysidro is rich with objects and history that reflect challenging, yet innovative times for New Mexico during the Territorial Period,” said Alicia Romero, Ph.D., curator of history at Albuquerque Museum. “More importantly, Casa is rich for the many people who continue to celebrate the cultural traditions of New Mexico within the property’s walls and throughout its grounds.”

The site has long been a gathering place for key figures in Albuquerque’s history. Community members Joe and Mary McKinney recall historian Marc Simmons, architect George Pearl, and artist Bob Hooton attending dinners there. The collection also reflects the contributions of Tony Garcia, who helped assemble artifacts that tell the story of New Mexico’s past.

Casa San Ysidro offers year-round programming, including Second Saturdays, seasonal festivals and hands-on workshops. Highlights of the 2025 event lineup include:

• The “Bad Girls” of New Mexico History (Second Saturday, 1-3 p.m. April 12) with historian Robert Torrez, who will speak about some of the notorious criminal cases involving little-known “bad girls” from New Mexico’s “Wild West” period. He will share evidence from the past 300 years to show how crimes by women were adjudicated in colonial New Mexico and the more recent Territorial period.

• Heritage Day (10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturday, May 17) as Casa San Ysidro joins the Corrales Historical Society in celebrating local heritage with a free event that exhibits the living traditions of New Mexico. Throughout the day, guests may visit with the local blacksmith as he works the forge, dance with the Acoma Pueblo Enchanted Dancers, make your very own tinwork, plant seeds with Rio Grande Return, spin and weave wool with Las Arañas Spinners and Weavers Guild, and more.

• “Responding to the Downwinders’ Archive: Creating a Photographic Legacy” (Second Saturday, 1-3 p.m. July 12), with documentary photographer Sofie Hecht sharing her long-term project “Downwind” documenting the effects of the nuclear industrial complex on New Mexican families. She will discuss the continued impact of radiation exposure on residents after the 1945 Trinity Test. Guests are invited to join a Zine-making workshop to remember relatives, based on the stories of the Trinity Downwinders. Participants are encouraged to bring a few family photos and a journal.

Casa San Ysidro is listed on the State Register of Historic Properties and is a National Park Service stopping point on El Camino Real de Tierra Adentro National Interpretive Trail. It operates in partnership with the village of Corrales, Sandoval County and the State Historic Preservation Division.