Chimayo: Lourdes of New Mexico

Chimay?: Lourdes of New Mexico is a richly illustrated photo book by award-winning photographer H?l?ne Casanova. The book features H?l?ne's sensitive and colorful images taken during Easter Week festivities at the religious sanctuary in Chimay?, 30 miles north of Santa Fe. Casanova photographs tell the story of the pilgrimage experience and document how people are physically and spiritually refreshed by their journey. The introduction is written by Boulder author, Rosemary Carstens and outlines the history of the site and its present day cultural significance. Carstens informs us that the chapel at Chimayo is the focus of perhaps the largest religious pilgrimage in the United States, attracting more than 300,000 visitors each year during Semana Santa (Holy Week). On Good Friday, more than 30,000 people pour into this small village thirty miles north of Santa Fe in the Santa Cruz Valley. At the center of a cluster of weathered adobes and aging house trailers sits the small folk church, which some have referred to as the Lourdes of New Mexico. But here it is dirt rather than water that is believed to create the miracles. Casanova's photographs provide us with a glimpse of this world. Her images eloquently capture Holy Week's kaleidoscopic m?lange of highly charged emotional events and reveal the wide appeal of the pilgrimage. Pilgrims arrive on foot, by car and low rider, motorcycle, and bus, shouldering life-size hand-hewn crosses, carrying rosaries or photographs. Clusters of men tote heavy platforms mounted with statues of colorfully painted saints and the crucifixion. Yet clearly, under all, lies a profound sense of faith and hope, a desire for saving grace in difficult times. The book was designed and edited by Paula Gillen and published by Gillen Editions of Boulder, Colorado.