Folklorist Nasario García grew up in the village of Ojo del Padre, aka Guadalupe, northwest of Albuquerque. He has published more than 30 books about his beloved Río Puerco Valley. “Folktales like mine epitomize the rich oral tradition of a bygone era in rural New Mexican villages,” he says. “In this age of dizzying technological frenzy, it behooves the reader to approach each story with an open mind, imagination, and curiosity.” García’s 2015 memoir Hoe, Heaven, and Hell: My Boyhood in Rural New Mexico won honors from the International Latino Book Awards. In 2012, the Historical Society of New Mexico gave him its inaugural Lifetime Achievement Award.