About El Potrero Trading Post

Alfonsa Vigil and the Start of the Vigil Store

"Buenos Dias le de Dios y Bienvenidos." "May God grant you a good day and welcome." This is the greeting our grandmother, Alfonsa Vigil, would bestow on each and every customer who came through the doors of the Vigil Store she and Jose Manuel Vigil opened in 1921. Jose would farm the land, hunt and take care of the animals while Alfonsa ran the store. Her kitchen door was always open to hungry and tired pilgrims who made their way, initially by wagon or horseback, to El Santuario de Chimayo in Chimayo, N.M. The grandchildren of these weary travelers still visit the store with stories of our grandmother’s kindness as they continue their family tradition of regular visits to the shrine and the store. Our grandmother’s picture hangs above the front door continuing to provide blessings to all that enter.

Elma Vigil Bal

As youngsters, Elma, her brothers Orlando and Modesto, and her sister Josephine worked in the store under the watchful eyes of their mother, Alfonsa. Elma continued as the main support until her mother died in 1975 then Elma took the reins. As the new proprietor, she changed the name of the store from "Vigil Store" to El Potrero Trading Post. (Potrero is a grassy stretch of pasture land - as seen behind El Santuario). The clientele was beginning to change from a local base to a wider base of tourists and others drawn to the traditional Hispanic art forms they viewed in El Santuario de Chimayo. The inventory in the store slowly changed from picnic items and food staples to religious items and religious art. Elma began to search for local santeros whose work she would display in the store and she discovered Horacio Valdez and Enrique Rendon, both from northern NM. Their work attracted more customers and sparked the move towards expanding santero art. Elma has since retired and her son Raymond now runs the business with his sister, Vikki’s, help.

Vikki Bal Tejada

As a child, Vikki would pick apples and sell them to tourists in front of the store for spending money. As she and her siblings grew, weekends and holidays were spent helping in the store. Vikki studied business and marketing at NMSU and didn’t return home until almost 20 years later, after a corporate career in computer manufacturing. Shortly after returning, the store hosted an opening for Victor Goler, a santero from Taos, NM. She remembers feeling emotionally touched by the beauty of his work. That began a love of santero art that continues today. She has served as president and a general board member for the Spanish Colonial Arts Society and has also served as a judge for Spanish Market. Vikki initiated the use of the popular "People’s Choice Award" presented by the Spanish Colonial Arts Society during Spanish Markets. El Potrero sponsors this award each year.

Raymond Bal

Raymond Bal’s surname has its origins in the Basque region of Spain where it was originally Val, or de Val, or de Valle. His ancestors immigrated from Spain to northern New Mexico in the early 18th century. On his mother’s side they were one of Chimayo’s founding families. Born in Espanola in 1958, Raymond grew up helping his grandmother and mother run the family store in Chimayo. In 1981 he returned from college in Las Cruces, NM to manage the store full time. His love and knowledge of the land, people, and folk art of northern New Mexico is unsurpassed. Under his direction the store has remained faithful to family traditions while, at the same time, expanding to meet the needs of a growing clientele. Each year Raymond selects the finest New Mexican chili and piñon crop in the state. He has acquired and sold classic santero art by such great 19th century masters as Rafael Aragón, José Aragón, Antonio Molleno, George Lopez, Enrique Rendon, and Patrocinio Barela. He has also brought in work by award winning contemporary artists like Victor Goler, Charles Carrillo, Sheila Keefe, Alcario Otero, Arlene Cisneros-Sena, Gabriel Vigil, Nicolas Madrid, Jimmy and Mary Jo Madrid, and Sabinita Ortiz. Each year he visits Zuni, New Mexico, to hand pick the finest Zuni fetishes made by distinguished Indian artists. Raymond Bal is married to the artist and writer, Elizabeth Kay, author of the book "Chimayo Valley Traditions". He served as president of the Chimayo Historical Preservation Association and is a member of the Chimayo Association of Businesses.