El Santuario de Chimayo, Northern New Mexico - El Santuario de Chimayo and the Sacred Earth Set among piñon pine, El Santuario de Chimayo is located in Northern New Mexico in a small town noted for its weavings, apples and red chile. It is believed by many to be one of the truly holy places in America. Long before the Spanish arrived, this part of New Mexico was the center for many points of pilgrimage and prayer. Called Tsimayo-pokwi by Native Americans, the entire valley was believed to be holy. El Santuario is famous for'holy dirt' -- dirt which is known to have brought about miraculous cures – witness the many crutches, braces, etc., left behind by those who have experienced such miracles. It is also famous for the'Crucifix of Señor de Los Esquipulas' carved from a wood unknown in NM, and for El Santo Niño de Atocha. There are documented testimonies that the extraordinary has occurred in this tiny town, dating as far back as the 1800’s and even earlier. Fr. Sebastian Alvarez wrote a letter to the Episcopal See of Durango, dated November l6, l8l3, stating that there were hosts of pilgrims coming from far and near seeking cures for their illnesses and afflictions. And as the news of ever-growing cures spread, more and more kept coming. The Crucifix of El Señor de Los Esquipulas According to one version of the legend of El Santuario, a farmer named Don Bernardo Abeita had a vision while working in his field one day that told him to dig beneath his plow where he would find earth with great healing powers. The farmer did as he was commanded and discovered a cross and pieces of cloth belonging to two long martyred priests. Thereupon the farmer built a rough adobe chapel to house the cross. The year was 1813.