An iconic street on Santa Fe’s Historic Eastside, Acequia Madre takes its name from the old irrigation ditch that runs beside it. Acequia Madre, which means “Mother Ditch,” suggests something rough and elemental: a primordial slash in the earth from which life springs. Yet Acequia Madre is one of the priciest streets in Santa Fe. But then, that’s Santa Fe, where mud homes on dirt roads are prime real estate. A slow drive or stroll will convince you of the neighborhood’s charm. From its softly curved walls, aged Mexican doors with weathered paint, cascades of wisteria and drowsy willows, Acequia Madre is classic Eastside Santa Fe: romantic and time-bound.
Acequias have an extensive and proud history in New Mexico. Check out the website for the New Mexico Acequia Association to learn more about this cooperative tradition of water use. Area residents, and other lovers of the nationally-registered historic Mother Ditch, gather each year to dredge out natural and civilization-generated debris. The New Mexican’s article, Annual Acequia Madre cleaning celebrates four centuries tells the story of the 2010 Spring clean.
The neighborhood school, Acequia Madre Elementary, has a reputation for solid academics, good teachers and strong parent involvement. Read up on Acequia Madre at GreatSchools.org. Due to Santa Fe Public School budget cuts, however, Acequia Madre is slated to be closed and its students relocated to nearby Atalaya Elementary. Read the Santa Fe New Mexican story at Board Approves Consolidation Plan; Acequia Madre Gets One Year Reprieve
While I depend on the City-Data.com websites for statistic-based info on city neighborhoods, their classification of the Acequia Madre neighborhood is a head scratcher. According to City-Data, Gonzales marks the western boundary of the Acequie [sic] Madre neighborhood, Cerro Gordo, the northern, and Alameda, the southern. The eastern boundary might be Camino Pequeno, but is unclearly defined. Acequia Madre itself falls partly in the so-called Historic neighborhood , partly in Los Vecinos de Calle San Antonio
To my mind, the neighborhood runs the length of Acequia Madre from the intersection of Garcia, Arroyo Tenorio and Delgado all the way down to Camino del Monte Sol. Downtown Subscription is the coffee shop and newstand and frequent hangout of professional writers. Next door is the thoughtfully-stocked independent bookstore, Garcia Street Books. We have found incredible treasures browsing their shelves and overstock tables. Read the Garcia Street Books Newsletter for word on booksignings and benefit events. Visit the Photo-Eye website for info on new arrivals, auctions, gallery shows and more.
Years ago, I traded my plant knowledge and landscaping labor for voice lessons from a woman who coached opera singers and hopefuls and whose husband had been Dean and a tutor at St. John’s College. That experiential cluster of garden, song and education remains for me a fair poetic representation of the spirit of the Acequia Madre neighborhood.