Moque Morada

As of late 2022, Cornerstones is nearly complete with our preservation work on the Moque Morada. This is an important spiritual and cultural place for a number of reasons. The word Morada means meeting place or house of prayer, and these spaces are central places of worship for Los Hermanos (The Brothers) Penitentes. Much has been written but little is truly known about the Brotherhood, except that it is a mostly secret society, a lay confraternity that is accepted as part of the Catholic church and adheres to the old traditional teachings of several centuries ago. History tells us that there were few priests in the 1800s, which may have played a role in the origin of the society. The Penitentes and moradas are, regardless of their origins, central to Abiquiu. And the Moque Morada is unique among moradas in that it is run by women.

Cornerstones got involved after Theresa Jaramillo, the Hermana Mayor of the morada, reached out. When our restoration project began at the Moque morada in 2019, it was evident that large parts of the interior adobe walls had been melted by water. As Anne Galler wrote in a piece for our newsletter, The Mud Blast, “Faulty drainage from the old metal roof was allowing water to collect at the base of the exterior north wall, and window panes were broken. It was clear that intervention was needed before serious damage endangered the entire structure.”

The full restoration of the building took a multi-staged approach. Our staff member Stephen Calles secured the metal roof damaged by winds and age; he also installed a new gutter and downspouts now channel water away from the building. With no additional water damage, walls could be repaired and replastered alongside removal of older patching efforts. This work was carried out by Angela Francis, one of our adobe experts. She worked with local community members who brought her dirt from a traditional source that they later helped sift and mix into plasters that Angela tested for durability and color.

Cornerstones has been very grateful to work so closely with a spiritual community that greatly values their privacy. We have also enjoyed working alongside the Abiquiu community across the years. In 2022, Cornerstones worked across Abiquiu while hosting that year’s TICRAT, a three-day workshop teaching a full range of earthen building skills. Having worked in the area for decades, we look forward to continue to build community with Abiquiu.