Events

January 13 - March 4 - Carreta Bulding Demonstration at El Camino Real International Center

El Camino Real International Heritage Center will be hosting an on-going demonstration on building a carreta, or wagon, by Mr. Gary Williams. The carreta was the two-wheel, wooden wagon used in local transport of items in communities along El Camino Real, the 1500 mile trail that connected Mexico and New Mexico. Carros or carrotones were the four-wheeled wagons that were used on the long haul journeys of the trail. Wagons played a very critical role in the transportation of goods and people on El Camino Real for hundreds of years. Transportation on these wagons was a long and treacherous journey that took as long as eight months, one way from Mexico City to Santa Fe. With the introduction of the railroad into New Mexico during the late 1880s, the use of the carreta on the trail faded away, but still thrived as a form of transportation within the communities along El Camino Real until it was finally replaced by the automobile. Today carretas are seen as pivotal to the settlement and economic growth of New Mexico during its early development. The following are the dates of the demonstration and times are 9:00 am - 4:00 pm Wednesday, January 13 - Thursday, January 14; Wednesday, January 20 - Friday, January 22; Wednesday, January 27 - Friday, January 29; Wednesday, February 3 - Friday, February 5; Wednesday, February 10 - Friday, February 12; Wednesday, February 17 - Friday, February 19; Wednesday, February 24 - Friday, February 26; Wednesday, March 3 - Thursday, March 4;

To find out more visit: http://www.elcaminoreal.org