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SANTA FE:
MAYHEM & PARANORMAL GUIDE
Legends, Tall Tales, Lies, Facts, Ghosts, UFOs, Murder & Useless Information
AUTHOR & ART- ALLAN PACHECO
EDITOR -NADINE KOENIG
© COPYRIGHT 2010
No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any electrical or mechanical means including informational storage and retrieval systems without written permission by the author, except by a reviewer who may quote brief passages in a review.
ISBN 10# 0982267916
ISBN 13# 9780982267912
MORITURI TE SALUTANT PRESS
PO Box 6875, Santa Fe, NM 87502
MY DEAR FRIENDS many have asked, “When will another book on Santa Fe mysteries be available?” From what I gather, you the reader want new tales and more in depth stories of what was found in ”GHOST-MURDER-MAYHEM: A CHRONICLE SANTA FE.”
Due to the success of my previous publications, I have been pulled into the world of acting, screenwriting, documentaries, and lectures. Because of time constraints I have had few opportunities to investigate the metaphysical much less write about it.
Even my history/paranormal tour business, which consists of treks through Santa Fe’s old town, has been vastly curtailed. It seems my new undertakings have demanded all but my life. Consequently I have disappointed many of my enthusiasts by my lack of pulp output.
It is a turning world! I have jumped off the-round-the-clock capitalist treadmill and have gotten back to my first love, researching and writing about lore and phenomenon.
Why the about face? The requests and letters I received made me reconsider the priority of my projects. Also, I have become incensed in how Santa Fe’s beloved legends, lies, and history have been disparaged by quasi tour guides or new to town sophists.
Maybe this book will help the mouthpieces with their inaccuracies. Hope springs eternal.
Due to those reasons and one that is my secret, I thought it time to revisit Santa Fe’s, cherished noir history and paranormal past.
When some of my zealots found out I was working on another text, they labeled the new book, “SON OF.......GHOST-MURDER-MAYHEM: CHRONICLE SANTA FE.”
If this book has a subtitle it would be “TALES OF THE GOLDEN MONKEY,” in honor of a devotee and her 1960s throwback pals who have repeatedly taken my tours. During this troop’s eclectic indoor get-togethers, my books have been waggishly placed in an upturned palm of a small gold-colored primate statue. At these gatherings my books have tended to stir up memories of old Santa Fe, along with macabre theories concerning the unexplainable.
I raise my cup to all my fans, the “Curious,” the “Throwback Flower Children,” and the “Old Breed.” I thank you for your patronage.
As for my critics, they call me “The Assassin.” Why the moniker? Because when it comes to Santa Fe history I tell it like it is and this means that I pop the balloons of modern myth that have attached themselves to the local tales.
What to expect from this book? More popped balloons and new information concerning some of the town’s classic tales that were briefly gone over in some of my past publications.
New subjects will also be covered and some of the Capital city’s most infamous yarns will be delved into with great detail. Hopefully this book will be well received and will find its way into the palm of the Golden Monkey.
Am I putting too much mustard on the hotdog, as in what this book is about?
Plain and simple! This narrative is full of rumors, lies, speculations, tall tales, facts, and theories. If that overture does not peek your interest, then buy this book because I have a mortgage.
Enough of the preamble! If it’s morning, grab a cup of coffee. If it’s evening, pour yourself a glass of Captain Morgan or whatever you fancy. Find yourself a comfortable chair, buckle up and here we go!
P.S. I hope you enjoy this book as much as I loved bringing it to you.
ALLAN
NOTES:
OTHER WORKS BY ALLAN PACHECO
GHOSTS-MURDER-MAYHEM: CHRONICLE SANTA FE
MYSTERY – MAYHEM: CHRONICLE USA
SCREENPLAY: DOMINGO NEGRO
A SPECIAL THANKS TO THOSE THAT MADE THIS BOOK HAPPEN! YOUR HELP IN RESEARCH, INTERVIEWS, TIPS, AND ENCOURAGEMENT IS APPRECIATED.
Thank you - graduating classes 1967-1970 Montessori.
Thank you – graduating classes 1967-1970 Santa Fe High.
Thank you – Orlie, William, Edgar, Trent, Consuelo, Walter, Brynie, James, Tracy, Dusty, Beau, Baxter, Lilly, Bruno, Otto, Steve, Al, Frank, Nino, Pete, Joe, Suzanne, Ilka, Dino, Donnie, Elizabeth, Jack, Ben, John, Philip, Ann, Jim, David, Eileen, Sam, Joanna, Holly, Paul, Kurt, Darlene, Pierpont, Rosemary, DD, Adelo, Will B., Mary, Borequa, Barbara, Anna, Tony, Patrick and the Unknown Friend.
This book encompasses over forty years of research and campfire tales. For those I did not mention out of forgetfulness, I appreciate your time and contributions.
DEATH FROM A THOUSAND CUTS
(THE CORPSE RAN DOWN WATER STREET)
Through the centuries, Santa Fe’s populace has been known to defy their civic leaders and break the law by way of mob rule. These incidents were the upshot of how the authorities dealt with certain individuals who were accused of heinous acts.
When the fever of vigilantism swept through the capital city, the jail was rushed, the lawmen on duty were pushed aside and the thirst for retribution was quenched by way of a lynching.
In the macabre annals of revenge and death, the lynching of Adolfo Padilla is unequaled. Never before or since, has a man been murdered on the streets of Santa Fe in such a gruesome manner.
THE CRIME
On Saturday, at 4:00 p.m., March 28, 1914, Adolfo Padilla, age twenty-five, slashed his eighteen-year old wife, Rufugia Blea to death with a straight razor.
According to lore, in the hours leading up to this murder, Padilla had been drinking at different downtown bars. As the young husband walked across the Plaza he was heckled that his spouse was not carrying his child.
Upon reaching his house on College Street, which is today’s Old Santa Fe Trail, Padilla attacked his dark winsome wife.
What is fact, upon hearing the sounds of a violent fight neighbors broke down the front door of the Padilla household and found Rufugia in a puddle of blood next to a kitchen stove. The young wife had wounds on her head, neck, torso, and arms. Her forearms had two deep cuts, exposing the bone. Bloody handprints dotted the room’s walls and floor.
Deranged Padilla bragged about his exploits and lingered in a yard as neighbors summoned the police.
Arriving at the crime scene the constables quickly checked Rufugia for any signs of life, there was none. Seeing the grim faced lawmen exit his house, Padilla broke free from those around him and sprinted away.
Depending on the reference, Padilla was caught not far from his residence or near a fence that was close to a log bridge that spanned the Santa Fe River.
It is of note that in 1914 a tree bridge did span the Santa Fe River where today’s Brother’s Lane Bridge” is located.
In a jail cell interrogation-confession,