I spent Friday morning with the nearly famous sheep herder,
Victor “Cuba” Hernandez and his patron, Andrew Abeyta. I awoke at 4:15,
sacrificed my morning shave and arrived in Mogote about 15 minutes early for
the trek to the place where Cuba and the sheep would cross the Rio de Los Pinos just south of Osier, Colorado.
Cuba had left his last camp in the high country at about 7am and would trail the sheep back
to the Abeyta ranch in Mogote by day’s end. I bailed about noon having photographed
the crossing and just enough sheep butts to have had my fill.
When I spoke to Andrew earlier in the week I asked if he had
found a herder in South America He said, “I was looking in Peru but Victor
decided he wanted to stay another year.” I replied that it had to be a relief
not to have to train somebody new. Andrew continued that, “It’s not a big
surprise. He’s said he was going to stop several times and always decides to
stay. This time he said he’d keep on doing it as long as he can walk.”
Naturally I’m delighted with the news since Cuba has been the
constant in the story and is the embodiment of the sheep herding cycle in the San
Luis Valley. Besides I didn’t get to his high camp in Cruces Basin and now will
have another shot next year.
Sipping coffee and leaning on his pick-up Andrew explained that once the sheep arrived at the river
there was no telling when they would cross. They might just hang out and graze
for half an hour and decide it’s time. And that's precisely the way it happened..
As Andrew and I chatted while we waited for Cuba I asked
some questions that would help me chronicle his family’s history as sheep ranchers
and, more importantly, to understand the deep attachment that they have to the
land and the life they have pursued since that first orphan lamb nearly a century ago. While I have a better
handle on the chronology of their story I'm still a country mile from understanding why
their tie to the land and the ranching life is so strong. Strong, in fact, doesn’t come close to
describing the depth of Los Abeytas' roots in the life of land, water, family
and faith. It seems to be unbreakable and forever.