THE OTHER ALBURQUERQUE
A journey to Spain puts NM traveler in touch with a piece of our history, and the missing “r”
ALBURQUERQUE, SPAIN — Some residents here may not know much about their sister city in New Mexico, but thanks to worldwide media they know of it, as I found out during a visit to this small town in the region of Extremadura.
Town tourism specialist Monica Cárceles Montalbán gave me a city tour when I showed up in May without any appointment and was warmly welcomed by city officials.
What does she know of our Albuquerque?
“I’m sorry, but I am a fan of ‘Breaking Bad,’” she said with a laugh.
“So I know different views (scenes) of Albuquerque and I know that you speak in English,” she said, stifling more laughter.
She is also familiar with the Albuquerque International Balloon Fiesta.
It was the end of a three-month journey, crisscrossing thousands of miles of Europe by plane, train and boat with the final month in Spain and Portugal, and I thought it would be good to seek out our namesake in far western Spain about 15 miles from the Portuguese border.
A five-hour train ride from Madrid takes you to Merida in this rugged, semiarid region famous as the birthplace of many of the conquistadors who took the area’s place names to the New World, including New Mexico. This rural, autonomous region is about the size of Switzerland.
Arriving in Mérida, population 68,000, you immediately see the Roman ruins of the Aqueduct of Los Milagros, a visible testament that here are some of the bestpreserved Roman ruins in Europe.
A very helpful Maria at the tourist office gave me maps, recommendations for visiting colorful towns like Medellín and Guadalupe and said a trip to Albur-
querque would require two buses traveling through the larger city of Badajoz, about 45 minutes away.
The next morning, after about an hour traveling through forested hills of cork and olive trees and pastures of grazing sheep, the second bus rounded the final curves and the city’s name with an extra “r” was spelled out in large white letters on a hillside.
You immediately see the town’s famous Luna Castle, which dominates your approach and is one of the best-preserved castles in this country famous for castles.
The town center is Plaza España, with the tourist office in one corner and Town Hall across the street.
At Town Hall, I introduced myself to the ladies behind the counter. They knew we were sister cities but confessed to little knowledge of our city. Town official Celia García was summoned from upstairs and surprised me when she showed me the building’s recently completed fresco by New Mexico artist Frederico Vigil, which is to be dedicated at the town’s annual Medieval Festival in August (see accompanying story).
Vigil’s recently completed work is the talk of the town, Montalbán said. “All the people wanted to see the fresco.”
García arranged a private tour of the castle with Montalbán and a meeting with the town’s mayor, Angel Vadillo Espino.
Montalbán and I walked through the town’s Medieval Quarter and uphill toward the castle as she provided commentary and shielded my camera with her pink umbrella. She called herself my “ayudante (helper)” and pointed out cutting marks in a stone wall, left from sword sharpening from prior centuries.
The castle was built by the Moors during the 13th century and later rebuilt to add outer defense walls, presenting a challenge for the warring factions who fought over these lands for centuries.
The area is also known for religious tourism, natural beauty, bird-watching, fishing, prehistoric cave paintings and the Medieval Festival with live music in the castle and artisans. International tourism to Extremadura is growing, Montalbán said.
Mayor Vadillo Espino proudly showed me the sister cities banners on the wall of his comfortable office. Abel Moreno, who reports for the town’s website (baylio.com), sat in as the mayor discussed the importance of the sister city bond with Albuquerque. It was an honor to have the sister city cultural relationship with his city’s larger counterpart, the mayor said.
We asked why many of the world’s famous explorers hailed from Extremadura. They had “an appetite for adventure,” were looking for a different way of life and accepted the New World dangers to escape poverty, Vadillo Espino said.
But how did our Albuquerque lose an “r” somewhere in the 5,000 miles between Spain and New Mexico? Old documents spelled the New Mexico settlement with the added letter, he said, but believes with the advent of railroads in New Mexico someone misspelled it. An amusing quirk of history and then, the mayor said, it was “always incorrect.”