Voces de Nuestro País (Voices of Our Area) Podcast
Historias de la familia, amor, aventuras, y desventuras dichas por la gente de nuestro país.
Stories of family, history, love, adventures, and misadventures as told by the people of our area - small communities of Northern New Mexico and Southern Colorado: Amalia, Arroyo Hondo, Arroyo Seco, Cerro, Costilla, El Rito, Garcia, La Lama, Latir, Questa, Red River, San Cristobal and Sunshine Valley. These podcast episodes are recorded in front of a live audience at a monthly story-sharing event at the Questa Public Library. Michael Rael is the MC and curator for this monthly gathering hosted in collaboration with Questa Library and Voices of the Northern Rio Grande. Each episode invites you into the “uncut” experience of the event. Stories from these gatherings are shared here on this podcast and are also part of the community’s digital archive. Learn more at QuestaStories.org.
The “Voces de Nuestro País Podcast” is hosted by Michael Rael, recorded by Claire Coté at Questa Library, uploaded by Dan Frank Digital Design and produced by Voices of the Northern Rio Grande in collaboration with Questa Public Library. Music is by Michael Rael.
The mission of Voices of the Northern Rio Grande is to support community resiliency through audio and visual story and history gathering, archiving and sharing. We are building a community-based archive from and for the communities of North Central NM and its diaspora as a resource and support for community and cultural continuity, now and in the future. Voices of the Northern Rio Grande is a program of Localogy, a nonprofit 501(c)3 based in Questa, NM that functions as a program-based community foundation in our rural area.
Episodes
Jun 22, 2026
Jun 22, 2026
1hr 31 min
On Saturday, June 20th the Voces de Nuestro País event features “Redemios de Nuestra Tierra” - remedies from our land, traditional knowledge of the Earth, plants, and their power to heal. Our guests are Erica Vigil-Flores and Jada Grant Lew.
Erica is a Chimayó native, a Registered Nurse and a practitioner of Traditional Medicine of Northern New Mexico. She currently serves rural New Mexico as a home health and hospice nurse. She also has an impact initiative called Chimayó Seed, in which she teaches classes on traditional medicine, sees clients, sells remedios, and offers community outreach. She is a University of New Mexico graduate and returns to the University every year to share her traditional medicine knowledge at UNM’s Curanderismo program. Erica recently published a book on spiritual and traditional healing, called, Healing With Dirt. We are looking forward to learning from Erica; join us on Saturday, June 20, 2 - 4 pm at Questa Library.
Jul 13, 2026
Jul 13, 2026
1hr 41 min
The León Brothers share stories of growing up in Cerro, NM and experiences from their careers. From simpler times, the brothers grew up farming and ranching, living on the acequia, helping with Leon’s store/bar and Texaco station, and experiencing loss at a young age.
Sharing antics from their youth and today, their dedication to family and contributions to the community of Cerro, Joseph also talks about his career with his Federal Government in two National Forests (Carson and Gila), one National Monument (Gila Cliff Dwellings), DOD (White Sands Missile Range), and Bureau of Land Management (Las Cruces, Santa Fe, and Wild Rivers).