ABOUT TOUR

Gallinas Tours LLC was created to help develop local, underserved communities through healthy economic development initiatives committed to sustainable communities and protecting the surrounding environment. We provide a unique local cultural experience. The trip includes a deep cultural dive into traditional Nuevo Mexicano culture. Tour leader Rock Ulibarri will regale you with tales of local history and lore. This cultural odyssey includes eating traditional foods, meeting artisans, and participating in hands-on activities specific to this area.

Gallinas Tours is supported by the Center of Southwest Culture, Inc., a New Mexico-based non-profit that seeks to create healthy Indigenous and Mexicano/Chicano communities through economic development and cultural and educational programs. We do economic development by using existing natural and human resources, starting our businesses without obtaining conventional financing, and with an eye toward creating sustainable local economies where currently none exist. Many of our communities exist as transfer economies, relying solely on pension payments, support from family members working in urban areas, and other outside sources of income to survive. Our goal is to create local economies that can sustain our rural cultures and communities indefinitely.

Your Host, Rock Ulibarri, Sr. is an educator, artist, historian, and community activist who was born and raised in Gallinas, NM. He is also an active farmer, rancher, and outdoorsman. He lives in Gallinas on property handed down for over seven generations.

The Ulibarri side of his family was one of the original 36 Mexicano families that settled in Las Vegas, New Mexico and his mother’s side of the family is a mix of Apache and French Canadian (as a result of the cavalry in southern New Mexico). His ancestry and heritage are assimilated from the Native American community, so he sees himself as a caretaker of the land, not an owner.

Day One: Arrive into the cool piñon and ponderosa forest in El Porvenir late afternoon. Set up your tent or camper and then enjoy a Fiesta of music, beverages, appetizers, and dinner with 20 special guests. Watch tortillas rolled out and cooked over an outdoor fire. You will participate in a traditional matanza—meat cooked slowly in an underground fire pit. Dinner will knock your socks off with all the delicious local side dishes to make it special.
Sit around the campfire (if permitted) and listen to Rock tell you the history of this special property and how the community developed. Spend the night under the vast starry skies. Guests are invited to arrive starting at 3 pm on day one.
Day Two: Wake up with the local wildlife and enjoy a hearty New Mexico breakfast. Two local artisans will be on-site in the morning and two in the afternoon to demonstrate their crafts. This will include a curandera who will demonstrate how local herbs are both edible and medicinal; a demonstration of traditional Rio Grande Style weaving; an award-winning santero will provide hands-on demonstrations of his craft; and much more. Products will be for sale, as well. Another unique local fare will be served for lunch. After a leisure meal, meet the afternoon artists and experience their demonstrations.
Depart late afternoon.

The tour is one night and one day starting late Friday and ending late afternoon on Saturday, and limited to 20 guests. The cost is $350 per person. Fees are paid in advance and are non-refundable in order to help establish a sustainable business for this community that has been devastated from the catastrophic fire season.

You will camp within the trees with your own equipment on beautiful, privately owned property in El Porvenir, NM in the high country. Your host family, Rock Ulibarri and his twin sons, Rock, Jr. and Adam and their ancestors have lived here for generations. Your northern New Mexico cultural experiences will encompass a unique journey of stories, legends, traditional activities and food unique to this culture.

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