El Mayor de Guachupangue

“El Mayor de Guachupangue”—The Oldest of Guachupangue—draws its name from a historic settlement just west of Española. “Guachu” or “Guache” comes from the Tewa language. The figure in the painting, an old and weathered gaucho, is imagined as the eldest in the community—what the Tewa call the “Mud String Place.”

Rendered in deep shadow, he evokes the dim interiors of territorial adobes. His pink serape contrasts sharply with the darkness around him—a deliberate interplay of light and shadow, form and void.