Comadres: Hispanic Women of the Rio Puerco Valley;

Comadres celebrates a way of life, a regional language, and a generation of women whose contribution to New Mexican history and culture has long been overlooked. Branding cows, birthing children, sewing sheets, hauling water, and building walls, the hands of these women shaped the world in which they lived; their stories contribute to the ongoing legacy of Hispanic culture.



García transcribes the women's remembrances in a printed regional Spanish remarkable for its faithfulness to the spoken word. This Spanish is richly dialectic and a vital thread in the varied tapestry that is New Mexican language. English translations render the Spanish with detailed, personal nuance, and a glossary encourages readers with linguistic interests to compare regional variations with the standard Spanish of textbooks and dictionaries.