Friday 5 June 2009

PFF: Farolitos, Albuquerque, New Mexico


Postmarked Albuquerque NM, dated 30 May 2009.
Old Town
Abuquerque, New Mexico.
The golden glow of farolitos decorate the church of San Felipe De Neri.

I was especially delighted to receive this card.  Admittedly I'm delighted to receive all cards, but this one is particularly good because of the farolitos.  Not that I knew what they were called straight away, but I did recognise them.

I recognised the lights because a good friend told me about them, but I didn't remember the word "farolitos".  And of course that's because Relax Max told me about luminarias.  Fortunately he is as much a collector of odd pieces of information as I am, so now I know that:
  • luminarias and farolitos are the same thing;
  • they are small paper lanterns, with a candle inside and weighted down with sand;
  • they traditionally light the way for the Christ Child;
  • farolitos means little fires;
  • in Albuquerque they are more likely to call them luminarias so the card was probably made in Santa Fé;
  • San Felipe de Neri is in Albuquerque on the plaza;
  • it was built when Albuquerque was founded in 1706;
  • the city was named after the Duke of Alburquerque (with the different spelling that accounts for my struggle to write the name);
  • the city is nicknamed the Duke City which results in many local businesses being called "Duke City .... ".
Who needs Wikipedia when you can have a Relax Max? :)

A post for Postcard Friendship Friday.



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18 comments:

  1. I love that word, "farolitos" even though I don't think I've ever heard it before. I was in Albuquerque a couple of years ago and loved this area. I bet it was beautiful all lit up like this. Happy PFF, Sheila!

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  2. I click to enlarge the image and it is so beautiful. the church and the paper lanterns looks great.
    Thank you for sharing.
    have a wonderful weekend Sheila.

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  3. What a fun card .. Happy PFF!

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  4. What a beautiful postcard, now I really want to go to New Mexico (so much easier to spell than that city!) :D Thanks for sharing it with all of us... the luminaires are SO pretty!

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  5. Wow, I learn something new on this blog every day... farolitos...

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  6. Now that's quite the collection of trivia from Relax Max. And I thought I had a lot of random information in my head....

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  7. I'm swooning over the word farolitos too! I always make them and put them going up my staircase when I have a party..(the Christ Child never shows up for my soirees) Of course I always just called them sandbag lanterns..What a dull name! Happy PFF!

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  8. That is an interesting postcard. It actually made Albuquerque look good.
    Happy PFF! :o)

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  9. I had never heard them called farolitos. Very interesting! Great card!

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  10. How beautiful! Thanks for sharing. Happy PFF!

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  11. You jogged my memory - I remember them being called farolitos, but had forgotten. I lived in Albuquerque for a few years while I was going to school (and goofing off!)

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  12. WOW!!!! This is a gorgeous card, love it. Thanks for sharing.
    debby

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  13. We called them luminarias in Illinois where I lived. Although they are best known in New Mexico, the custom has spread to other parts of the U.S.

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  14. We were just in Albuquerque and Old Town is delightful. I guess maybe the local find it a bit too touristy, but I thought it just lovely. And I'd love to see it with the farolitos.

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  15. Great card; I've seen farolitos in the Dominican Republic too. :)

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  16. Beautiful! The lighted farolitos are lovely

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  17. Another great post. I Liked the information, and I also loved the recommended blog Relax Max. Thanks and greetings from Amsterdam.

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  18. It must be beautiful to see the luminaries in person. Really nice card!

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Welcome to my postcard collection! I love hearing what you think of the cards - but spam WILL be deleted.

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