Framedlight

  It was to be our last evening together and so we went down to the heart of old Albuquerque to explore. We started at the San Felipe de Neri Catholic Church, the oldest in the city, it was rebuilt in 1793, probably because it is made from adobe. The church is right next to the Plaza Vieja where there was a prom event going on and lots of photography of the girls in their finery. Albuquerque is also home to a number of hot rod cars that perform in the streets and attract attention. There are lots of little shops which looked very good in the mellow evening light. As the sun was going down we went to see the sculptures outside Albuquerque Museum of Art. They are known as La Jornado and depict Don Juan de Oñate leading the first group of Spanish colonists into New Mexico in 1598. This is obviously a controversial exhibit as Oñate was known to have used cruelty against the native Americans and was actually removed from his office of governor of the area and sent back to Mexico City where