Descansos are a common feature of roadscapes in the Hispanic Southwest. Memorials to loved ones who have died in car accidents, they dot the sides of highways and of city streets in Albuquerque and Santa Fe, in Las Cruces and Silver City, in Cuba and in the villages of the high road to Taos.
An offshoot of this cultural landscape phenomenon is ditch-side descansos -- memorials to those who have died in or next to the acequias, the irrigation ditches that line and carry water to pastures and cropland in the valleys of New Mexico. On the ditch just behind my house is one such memorial; the story behind it is unclear, but every now and then somebody comes and tends the memorial, refreshing flowers, leaving a doll, a figurine, or a photograph, or some other token of affection and remembrance for the deceased. I have posted the photo I took of this memorial about two weeks ago. Click on the image to see a larger view of the objects arranged on, under, and around the tree.
