Old Corrales Church tradition returns at start of Viva Corrales

CORRALES — The first day of the Viva Corrales! celebration Saturday was a day of hard work at the old San Ysidro Church.

The annual re-mudding of the church's outer wall and general cleanup has been in the hands of the Corrales Historical Society for 51 years. CHS Board President Anne Van Camp explained its value.

"This is our annual mudding and cleanup day for heritage for getting the whole grounds cleaned up. We had quite a few people turned out today, helping us re-mudding part of the wall in front of the church, and we've got people doing all the gardening cleanup," she said.

Part of the experience is learning how to make adobe and how to preserve the old church. However, the tradition has changed over the years.

"It used to be that people would actually come and help re-mud the whole church, but in the more recent years, we've been doing that more professionally. We've had professional companies come and do the exterior, and this summer, we're hoping to get the interior of the church completely re-mudded. That's a big job," Van Camp said.

The community's involvement has been limited to a short exterior wall that defines the courtyard space in front of the church. The principle of the tradition is to appreciate a historic landmark and key component of the village.

"The old church, we call it the heart of the village. People really love this old church, and I think everybody who lives here kind of feels a kind of a special place in their soul about the old church," Van Camp said. "It's just one of those few things where everybody in the village has a kind of nostalgic feel for the church."

While the church hosts several community events throughout the year, this one is truly special, according to Van Camp.

"This is one that people really can get their hands dirty and kind of really feel like they're part of the preservation of the church," she said.

The tradition hasn't always been coupled with the Viva Corrales! celebration, but Van Camp said the event has definitely brought more people out to help.

Viva Corrales! is a three-weekend celebration that will include several aspects of the Corrales community.