Your Chimayo Bucket List
In a tiny New Mexico town, Spanish colonial art meets modern galleries and generations-old weaving traditions. Here’s how to dive into its living art scene.
Learn about Chimayo’s Weaving Legacy
The Ortega family’s weaving history goes back to the early 1700s when Gabriel Ortega settled in the Northern Rio Grande Valley.
He used his weaving skills to make essential items like clothes, blankets, and rugs.
Fast forward to the early 1900s, and Nicacio Ortega and his wife Virginia opened a general store in Chimayo to sell their weavings.
Today at Ortega’s Weaving Shop on 53 Plaza Del Cerro, you can see their distinctive style featuring five signature colors: white pearl, red chile, turquoise sky, black raven, and gray smoke.
Explore the Chimayo Museum
Located right in Plaza del Cerro, the Chimayo Museum offers educational programs about what makes this small valley town so special.
The museum displays historical photographs and documents chronicling Chimayo’s development since the early settlements. You’ll learn about traditional farming methods that sustained the community for centuries, including the acequia irrigation system.
Grab a Bite at the Rancho de Chimayo Restaurant
Florence and Arturo Jaramillo opened this iconic restaurant in 1965, developing recipes based on family traditions.
The restaurant operates in their restored ancestral home, built in traditional adobe style.
Rancho de Chimayo helped put New Mexican cuisine on the map and became famous for signature dishes like spicy guacamole, hand-rolled tamales, blue corn enchiladas, carne adovada, and chile rellenos.
Spend Time at the Santo Niño Chapel
This historic church dedicated to Santo Niño de Atocha was built by Severiano Medina after he believed the Santo Niño cured his rheumatism.
The chapel includes a fascinating side room filled with baby shoes left by the faithful for baby Jesus.
According to legend, he would wear through his sandals while bringing comfort and healing to those in need. The chapel beautifully blends Native American and Catholic traditions in its artwork and decorations.
You can attend Eucharistic Adoration at the chapel on Fridays from 10 am to 4 pm and Saturdays from 9 am to 2 pm.
The Santo Niño gift shop stays open Thursday through Sunday from 10:00 am to 4:00 pm if you want to take home a souvenir.
Check Out the El Potrero Trading Post
Known by locals as the “Vigil Store,” El Potrero Trading Post has been family-run since 1921.
Located next to the Santuario de Chimayó, this shop offers authentic food products, the famous Chimayo chile powder, jewelry, folk art, and retablos (saints painted on wood).
Many visitors stop here to sample the renowned Chimayo chile, known for its distinctive flavor profile. The trading post features handcrafted items from local artisans, providing income for the community.
Grab Some Chimayo Chile to Take Home
Chimayo chile has a unique smoky, slightly sweet, and earthy flavor that outshines other peppers.
Many chefs and pepper enthusiasts consider it “the most delicious pepper in the American Southwest.”
The New Mexico State Legislature officially recognized “Chimayó” as a certification mark to protect the authentic product, so look for that when you shop.
As of January 2025, you can even buy Chimayo chile seeds to grow at home.
Explore the Oviedo Bronze Gallery
This gallery showcases local artist Marco Oviedo’s bronze sculptures, which you’ll also spot throughout the Chimayo area, including in the courtyard at Rancho de Chimayo.
You can purchase small carved figures as souvenirs or invest in larger bronze pieces if you’re a serious collector. This gallery represents the continuing tradition of wood carving, one of several crafts still practiced in the region alongside weaving, tin smithing, and religious painting.
Drop by the Galería Ortega
Andrew and Evita Ortega opened this gallery in the mid-1980s in the old home of Jose Ramon Ortega.
When you visit, you’ll find fine selections of gifts, woodcarvings, art, music, pottery, Kachinas, books, cards, T-shirts, chile, and native food products.
The gallery even offers visitors a cup of coffee and a “bizcochito,” the New Mexico state cookie.
The building itself is a traditional adobe structure showcasing authentic New Mexican architecture.
The post 8 Best Things to Do in Chimayo, New Mexico for Art & Culture Lovers appeared first on When In Your State.