Every year, the tight-knit community of Duran, New Mexico gathers at the church of San Juan Bautista to celebrate their town’s heritage with food, flowers, and family. It’s a tradition that reunites far-flung families, all with roots in Duran and the surrounding area. It’s the one day a year that the population of Duran grows from 30 people to several hundred. In 2016, when the fiesta celebrated its centennial, a thousand people made the trip out to Duran for the annual homecoming celebration.
This year, the fiesta started with an 11 AM mass at the Church of San Juan Bautista. Then, children and adults alike take to the streets in a joyful procession through town. The kids throw flowers and confetti as they go, celebrating their Duran heritage and the long-standing ties that bind them to the town.
“Every year, this is a traditional thing, passed down from their parents, grandparents, and even great-grandparents,” said Joseph Hindi, one of the members of the Duran Mutual Domestic Heritage Society. “It’s something that’s very important to Duran.”
The procession ends at the historical Duran School (known affectionately as “the Gym”) with a huge community potluck lunch. Everybody in town brings something to contribute. The annual lunch at the Gym is something the residents of Duran look forward to each year, as it provides a place for everyone to reconnect and visit with each other, many for the first time in years.
“It’s a way for the people that are from here to keep the tradition alive,” said Hindi. “History in Duran is kind of a living thing.”
While the school was used for educational purposes at one time, in the last few decades, it has grown to be more of a community center, a nostalgic place for groups in Duran to host meetings and gatherings. However, until recently, the school had been in serious disrepair. For example, the building’s bathrooms were essentially nonfunctional—for a long time, the Gym had to have two separate outhouses for visitors to use. The kitchen needed renovations, the roof needed patching, not to mention the essential building systems that needed updating.
At this year’s fiesta, the Duran Mutual Domestic Heritage Society also cut the ribbon on the newly renovated Duran School. Thanks to a donation from Western Spirit Wind, the Duran Mutual Domestic Heritage Society was able to make much-needed repairs to the building, including new bathrooms, new kitchen equipment, and new windows, as well as a new electrical system, a new septic system, and repairs to the roof.
“We approached the Pattern people, and they instantly agreed to help us,” said Hindi. “[The donation] was a godsend. We never would have been able to restore our old school without it. It’s really rejuvenated the whole community.”
To learn more about the other community initiatives our Western Spirit Wind facility supports, click here