Wooden sculptures and relief paintings of saints such as St. Francis, the Blessed Virgin, and Apostles of Christ have for centuries been objects of devotion and worship in the Southwest Catholic culture. This centuries-old heritage is celebrated here through photographs, essay, and literary quotes that beautifully bring the devotion into focus. Crafting saints has always been seen as a high calling. These santeros and santeras (saint makers) created santos—images of saints, Christ, the Trinity, and Holy Family—painting them on wooden panels called retablos. They carved and painted wooden sculptures called bultos. And if they built a home chapel, they carved and painted an altar screen, or altar retablo, called a reredos, that was made up of smaller retablos and sometimes adorned with bultos. John Annerino is the author and photographer of seventeen distinguished photography books and thirty-two single-artist calendars, including The Virgin of Guadalupe (Gibbs Smith), Ancient America, New Mexico Wild & Scenic, Arizona Wild & Scenic, and the awardwinning books Desert Light, Indian Country, Grand Canyon Wild, Canyons of the Southwest, The Wild Country of Mexico, and Roughstock: The Toughest Events in Rodeo (acclaimed by the Rodeo Hall of Fame). He lives in Tucson.

Devotional folk art of the Southwest Wooden sculptures and relief paintings of saints such as St. Francis, the Blessed Virgin, and Apostles of Christ have for centuries been objects of devotion and worship in the Southwest Catholic culture. This centuries-old heritage is celebrated here through photographs, essay, and literary quotes that beautifully bring the devotion into focus. Crafting saints has always been seen as a high calling. These santeros and santeras (saint makers) created santos--images of saints, Christ, the Trinity, and Holy Family--painting them on wooden panels called retablos. They carved and painted wooden sculptures called bultos. And if they built a home chapel, they carved and painted an altar screen, or altar retablo, called a reredos, that was made up of smaller retablos and sometimes adorned with bultos. John Annerino is the author and photographer of seventeen distinguished photography books and thirty-two single-artist calendars, including The Virgin of Guadalupe (Gibbs Smith), Ancient America, New Mexico Wild & Scenic, Arizona Wild & Scenic, and the awardwinning books Desert Light, Indian Country, Grand Canyon Wild, Canyons of the Southwest, The Wild Country of Mexico, and Roughstock: The Toughest Events in Rodeo (acclaimed by the Rodeo Hall of Fame). He lives in Tucson.

This series of line drawings by legendary Santera (saint-maker) Marie Romero Cash, depict many of the popular saints painted by the santeros of the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries in Northern New Mexico. "The saints have always been an integral part of the culture," Marie says, "so much so that in the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries in New Mexico the art of the religious folk art of the santero became a part of its history. In creating this coloring book, my goal was to not only impart knowledge about the santero culture, but to provide images that could be colored in by children or adults, and could also be used for many other purposes, including embroidery or various decorative arts." Each full-page image is suitable for coloring by children at playtime or in a classroom setting. Easy to read information on many popular patron saints is included, as is the feast day of each saint. Teachers will find this coloring book a valuable teaching tool. There is also an author preface and an article about Marie Romero Cash by well-known journalist, Kay Lockridge. Born in Santa Fe, Marie Romero Cash has been a Santera (saint-maker) for over thirty years. Her award-winning works are in major museums and private collections throughout the United States, Mexico, Africa and The Vatican. She has written several books and magazine articles on the culture and religion of Northern New Mexico and has lectured widely on the subject for the New Mexico Endowment for the Humanities.

Philanthropy is often associated with wealthy people giving large amounts of money to charitable organizations and indirectly to people they don't personally know. Ethnic philanthropy is almost totally different: it consists primarily of people sharing modest wealth with other people, most of whom the givers know well. Too often communities of color are portrayed as takers rather than givers -- this important study debunks that myth.

A current reference work that reflects the changing times and attitudes of, and towards the indigenous peoples of all the regions of the Americas. --from publisher description.