LECTURE: OCTOBER 3rd, 2026 @ 2:00 PM
Kit Carson Electric Coop Conference Room

FOLKLORE:"From Fireside To Film"
Cuentos Que Viven:
La Llorona, the Weeping Woman

by Kiki Siebenaler
& Panel

Were you one of the many children warned not to wander near the Rio or the acequia after dark – because La Llorona would come for you? Do you still feel a chill when you hear her name?
Join us while we explore the enduring power of La Llorona, one of the most widely told folktales in the world – with more than 200 documented versions spanning cultures from Mexico and the American Southwest to Spain and beyond.
Presented by Krystina "Kiki" Siebenaler, a filmmaker, videographer, and program officer with True Kids 1 whose work has screened internationally, the program traces Kiki's own journey into the legend – sparked by hearing beloved New Mexican storyteller Paulette Atencio's version of the tale — and her decision to bring that version to life on film. Shot on location at Taos's own Martinez Hacienda with a cast and crew of local community members, the resulting short film, From Fireside to Film – Cuentos Que Viven: La Llorona, re-imagines the legend as a living piece of Northern New Mexican heritage.

The presentation will include:

  • A discussion of why folktales matter–as cultural memory, moral instruction & living oral tradition
  • The history and many origins of La Llorona, from her possible roots in Aztec goddess mythology to her adoption into Northern New Mexican culture
  • A live reading of Paulette Atencio's version of the story
  • A behind-the-scenes look at the making of the film
  • A screening of the film's trailer (and possibly a rough cut preview)
  • A panel discussion featuring a local storyteller, a youth cast/crew member, a member of the film's costume and design team, scholars, and others

The presentation offers a rare chance to see how a story passed down around the fire for generations is finding new life on screen – while staying rooted in the community and landscape that keep it alive.

TCHS Lectures are Free to Members
and available to the general public for a requested $5.00 Donation

Admission is "1st Come, 1st Served" to the Maximum Capacity of "80".
(Capacity is mandated by the Town of Taos Fire Department)



The Taos County Historical Society is a 501(C)(3) non-profit organization founded in 1952 and dedicated to the recording and preserving of the irreplaceable in Taos County.
Membership is open to anyone upon payment of dues.
For additional information on the programs, activities and history of Taos visit the Society's website at www.taoscountyhistoricalsociety.org

The Society encourages support through membership.
 

AYER Y HOY
2026 Summer
Issue #60

Browse the Ayer Y Hoy's Summer 2026 issue:

•"Que Viva El Tio Vivo"
by Carmen Almira Martinez-Lieurance

• "Remarkable Josefa"
by JonnaLynn K. Mandelbaum

• New Mexico In 1776
by F.R. Bob Romero

• Filigree Jewelry & Luna Family in Taos
by E. Jane Burns

• How I Found More Family:
A Historical Surprise
by Dave Cordova

AYER Y HOY
2025 Winter
Issue #59

Browse the Ayer Y Hoy's Winter 2025 issue:

•An Electric Coop Changed Taos
by Michael Miller

• Restoring The Vigil House & Torreon
by Gail Wendorf

• New Mexico Historic Churches
by Frank Graziano

• Who Was Walter Willard Johnson?
by Dave Cordova

AYER Y HOY
2025 Summer
Issue #58

Browse the Ayer Y Hoy's Summer 2025 issue:

•The History of the Taos County Fair
by Monica Wilder

• Josefa Carson & Ignacia Bent
by Elizabeth Cunningham

• Exploring Vaquero Culture
& La Idomia de Los Norteños de Rio Arriba
by Michael Miller

• When It All Began for TCHS
by Paul C. Figueroa

• Very Intersting History
by Dave Cordova

AYER Y HOY
2024 Winter
Issue #57

Browse the Ayer Y Hoy's Winter 2024 issue:

•"The Duran Chapel"
by Fr. Juan Romero

• Ceran St. Vrain
"A Gentleman of the Frontier"
by WB Francis T. Cheetham
(edited by Dave Cordova)

•Tradiciones y Historias
"Las Cabanuelas"
by Michael Miller
The Taos County Historical Society was formed in 1952 for the purpose of "... preserving the history of the Taos area...". It is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization managed by a volunteer Board of Directors. Monthly meetings, the first Saturday of the month are held at Kit Carson Electric Boardroom with a featured speaker are open to the public and supported through memberships. These are also open to anyone upon payment of annual dues. For more information visit the Society's website, ww.taoscountyhistoricalsociety.org

Taos County Historical Society
has successully launched
"TAOS: A Topical History"

320 pages, 26 chapters and contributors.

Mil Gracias, A THOUSAND THANKS, does not begin to cover the many, many individuals to whom we owe a debt of gratitude. This debt is not only the living but also to those men and women who long ago began to preserve the journals and documents we now depend upon for knowledge of the past: the chroniclers who accompanied the explorers and settlers and who, dusty, tired and hungry, sat in the light of a candle to record in their journals the events of the day and the Franciscan clerics who made detailed reports of their canonical visits to the mission churches of Nuevo México.

Corina A. Santistevan
Acknowledgements in "Taos: A Topical History"

If you would like to order a copy from the
Taos County Historical Society
please send a check for $40 (book+shipping) payable to
Taos County Historical Society and mail to:

Taos County Historical Society
PO Box 2447
Taos, NM 87571



Email us

Phone: (575) 770-0681

PO Box 2447 • Taos, NM 87571