Look for ways to keep Farolito Walk alive
Light piercing the darkness relieves the bleakness of winter — and Santa Fe’s favorite example of luminosity through an inky night is the annual Farolito Walk on the east side.
Like so many things during this pandemic, a walk with thousands of people in close quarters — even outside — is not going to happen. And that’s the right call. Still, news that city officials and Canyon Road neighbors are considering whether a procession by car or truck might be able to replace the traditional walk is welcome.
We know from the recent virtual tree-lighting on the Santa Fe Plaza that keeping at least some traditional activities boosts our spirits as we trudge through this winter. Little symbolizes Christmas in Santa Fe so much as the votive candle on sand in a paper bag, a brave light that burns for hours. It’s a tradition we cherish. It’s one we need in what promises to be a dark, dark winter.
As the Plaza tree-lighting has shown, it’s possible, too. Santa Fe, often so quick to criticize, seemed universally thrilled with last week’s event. Seeing the Plaza awash in light was joyful, even for those who viewed it by driving around the square. City workers who put on the light show have been praised repeatedly for bringing such beauty to life. They deserve our gratitude for a spectacular job.
That success is making people long for a repeat on Christmas Eve, when the Farolito Walk takes place. Traditionally, the neighborhood around Canyon Road is closed to vehicle traffic. People walk the streets, arm and arm, stopping at the bonfires, or luminarias, to warm themselves and drink cider or cocoa. They sing carols (also a no-no because singing is a known virus-spreader) and they share the joy of this season no matter their spiritual or religious beliefs.
For a few hours on Christmas Eve, the little lights illuminate the darkness, creating a feeling of serenity that leaves people feeling better.
Yes, we need the farolitos this Christmas Eve, provided it can be done safely and without too much bother to people who still live around what has mostly become a street of art galleries and other businesses. Part of Christmas cheer, after all, is considering the needs of people who open their neighborhoods to strangers — any vehicle procession would have to be well supervised so that all are safe. That means designating one-way streets and having clear exits and entrances, with police officers directing traffic.
Still, there would be many questions to consider. Would the carbon monoxide exhaust be too much? Is there a way to offer reservations to spread out comings and goings? Remember, too, that the governor’s current public health order limits vehicle “gatherings” to only 10 at a time — is a procession the same as a gathering? Residents and business owners also have to be willing to put up the farolitos and endure vehicle exhaust. It’s their neighborhood, and they are the ones extending what is essentially an invitation to see the lights and savor the spirit of the season.
As Pedro Ribera Ortega writes in his classic, Christmas in Old Santa Fe, “the farolitos are an invitation to join in the holiday spirit of peace of mind and heart, a beckoning to participate ever more fully in the festive atmosphere of Christ’s birthday. As a Christmas form of illumination it enhances the primitive simplicity of the luminarias, whose centuries-long usefulness is still a necessity in the rural countryside of New Mexico.” (Ortega, by the way, effectively settled why the paper sacks are farolitos, not luminarias. Every New Mexican should read his classic on the traditions of Christmas.)
Someday, we will return to normal, gathering again for holidays and enjoying family and feasting — and, yes, taking part in our Farolito Walk through the darkness with little lights leading us on. Until that happens, maintaining traditions, altered for safety, can lift all of our spirits. The question, of course, is whether that is possible.