Hotrods, hermanos and heavy hearts
Madrid laid to rest
Classic cars circled the eastern end of the St. Francisco de Asís Catholic Mission Church on Friday morning (Aug. 5) for the Funeral Mass of Max C. Madrid, a local leader of the Northern New Mexico hotrod community who died on July 26. He was 81.
Madrid rode his classic Chevy till the wheels fell off, in terms of his love for car culture, but the car itself remains immaculate, a deep burgundy ’47 Chevy Fleetline with gleaming chrome details. On the back there is a portrait of Jesus hovering over the St. Francisco de Asís church looking down and extending his blessings to a fleet of modified vehicles belonging to “Los Madrid’s.”
On Friday morning Madrid received about as appropriate a send off as someone of his stature in this community could get. This was a man who dedicated his life to cars. In turn, friends and family, with the help of a state police escort, cruised their “horseless carriages” [special plates given to antique cars] in a classic car motorcade through Paseo and Salazar to the plaza. Then they cruised on down to a cemetery in Talpa to bury his ashen remains.
The TACO (Taos Auto Car Organization) “cartel” showed up in full force to support their fallen comrade. Dana Vigil of the TACO cartel said on his behalf, “Farewell to Max from his vecinos, the Vigils on Montoya Street. A pleasure growing up with you, you and your kids on Montoya street. Montoya street forever.”
Alex Laupheimer of the TACO cartel said on his behalf, “He was full of stories, man. I used to trip out with him there at The Plaza…. then last year at the end of the year for the car club they gave him the Lifetime Achievement. Yeah, and they gave him a little award. He loved car shows.”
The unofficial photographer and social media manager of the TACO cartel, Jeff Cochran, described Madrid as a longstanding patriarch of the classic car or oldies scene in Northern New Mexico car culture. Jeff Padilla of the TACO cartel said “he used to cruise with us and all that, and he was always at the car shows. He was always cruising. He was always up and down cruising.”
His impact on the community extends far past his involvement with classic cars. As Taos Tigers Athletic Director points out, “Max is a neighbor of mine, I came to know him as a child. Two of his grandsons, Manuel Archuleta and Patrick Montoya were close friends of mine growing up, as we all grew up near each other. Both Max and his wife are/were wonderful people, always so kind and generous. I feel blessed to have had a chance to know them both, and of course I’ve always been fascinated by his beautiful ‘oldies.’ What stood out to me the most at his funeral mass were the number of neighbors in attendance, proof of his neighborly love. This is not something that is all too common anymore, but Max embodied this. A true pillar of our community.”
His son Roy Madrid, has been a major force for the boxing community of Taos, as the head coach of the Los Tigres Boxing Club at the Taos Youth and Family Center. For over 20 years his boxing program has developed young boxers, some of whom have gone on to win bouts in Golden Gloves competitions.
Grandson Roy Madrid II, is a former Cross Country State Champion for the Taos Tigers. He delivered a eulogy for the late Max Madrid and shared some tales from their childhood together, along with some of his friend’s struggles as a younger man.
“Until he became an adult, though, he was a very rebellious and mischievous teenager. And he was cruising around town in this little area to try and pick up chicks,” he said. “He frequently found himself in fights and experimenting with a variety of substances. He struggled with addiction until he was about 40 when he transformed that curse into a blessing. He was known throughout the state from all his work with addiction and counseling.”
Lisa Boyer Best is just one of many he counseled. She said, “I had the privilege of knowing Max and the Madrid family for over 40 years. Max was instrumental in my 24-plus years of sobriety. He would call me and tell me he had a detox bed for me, then call me a cry baby when I was detoxing. He always told me how proud he was of me and my sobriety. He and Nancy called me, wrote to me and were a big support for me. He would tell
me when we got in deep conversations ‘A que Lisa.’ I will never forget him. He was my brother who understood me.”
Roy Madrid II continued the eulogy, “Though he didn’t go to college like his father had envisioned for him. He was incredibly proud of the work he was doing and continued to help people after his retirement.”
As for how Max Madrid first met his wife-to-be, Nancy Madrid, Roy Madrid II, said, “When he first saw her he took one look and said ‘I have to make her mine.’ So he pulled up to her and asked her out on a date. She said no.”
After a pause, Roy Madrid II continued, “Thankfully my grandfather was very persistent, and she eventually agreed to go out with him in his lowrider. Two years later they were married.”
After the funeral mass it was time to get in the vehicles and cruise one more time in honor of Madrid. One car broke down in the parking lot, but the driver was able to park to the side and let the rest of the procession drive through. In busy traffic the classic car and state troopers cruised to the plaza, where Max Madrid would often attend the car shows. Then the caravan headed to the St. Francis cemetery for the burial ceremony.
Members of the family took turns shoveling dirt into the grave before placing a flagstone on top.
Joaquin D. Gonzales, of Devargas Funeral Home of Taos, offered some final words.
“He’s at rest. And he’s reunited with his beloved ones that have gone before him. And that’s what we need to remember Max by. All by those beautiful memories that we all spent with him today. As you can see, there’s a lot of us here that was touched by Max in some way or somehow, and that’s how we’re honoring here with the family and honoring him.”
Max Madrid’s request was honored to have the Al Hurricane version of “Un Puño de Tierra,” a classic corrido song by Antonio Aguilar, played at his funeral. Some of its verses are reproduced here and translated:
“Si quieren que se los diga / Yo soy un alma sin dueño / A mí no me importa nada / Pa mí la vida es un sueño. [If you want me to tell you / I am a soul without an owner / I don’t care about anything / For me life is a dream] .”
“Y soy como las gaviotas / Volando de puerto en puerto / Yo sé que la vida es corta / Al fin que también la debo [And I’m like the seagulls / Flying from port to port / I know that life is short / And in the end indebted].
“Lo que pasó en este mundo / Nomás el recuerdo queda / Ya muerto voy a llevarme / Nomás un puño de tierra [What happened in this world / Only the memory remains / Already dead, I’m going to take myself / Just a fistful of earth].”