Rociada is a settled area in San Miguel County,

New Mexico ) , population_demonym = New Mexican ( es, Neomexicano, Neomejicano, Nuevo Mexicano) , seat = Santa Fe , LargestCity = Albuquerque , LargestMetro = Tiguex , OfficialLang = None , Languages = English, Spanish ( New Mexican), Navajo, Ke ...

, United States, located 27 miles northwest of

Las Vegas Las Vegas (; Spanish for "The Meadows"), often known simply as Vegas, is the 25th-most populous city in the United States, the most populous city in the state of Nevada, and the county seat of Clark County. The city anchors the Las Vegas ...

, the county seat. One of the valleys of the Sangre de Cristo Mountains, with the Manuelitas Creek running through it, Rociada actually comprises two villages, Upper and Lower Rociada. Several nearby villages such as Pendaries and Gascon, although technically in Mora County also use the Rociada postal address. Rociada's name means "sprinkled with dew" in Spanish, reflecting its relatively mild, moist climate in the summer compared to the other hot and arid areas of Northern New Mexico.Workers of the Federal Writers' Project in the State of New Mexico (1940)
''New Mexico, a Guide to the Colorful State''
p. 378. Coronado Cuarto Centennial Commission

Notable people

*Milnor Rudulph (1826-1887) died in Rociada where he lived in his later years and taught in the village school. He had been Speaker of the New Mexico Territory Legislature to which was elected in 1870 and led the inquest into the death of

Billy the Kid Billy the Kid (born Henry McCarty; September 17 or November 23, 1859July 14, 1881), also known by the pseudonym William H. Bonney, was an outlaw and gunfighter of the American Old West, who killed eight men before he was shot and killed at th ...

in 1881. *Nepomuceno Segura (1855–?) lived in Rociada for part of his life. He was one of the delegates to the New Mexico Constitutional Convention of 1910 and had been the translator of the first statute laws of

Colorado Colorado (, other variants) is a state in the Mountain states, Mountain West subregion of the Western United States. It encompasses most of the Southern Rocky Mountains, as well as the northeastern portion of the Colorado Plateau and the wes ...

in 1876. * José A. Baca (1876–1924), the 5th

Lieutenant Governor of New Mexico The lieutenant governor of New Mexico ( es, Lista de Vicegobernadores de Nuevo México) is an elected official in the state of New Mexico that ranks just below the governor of New Mexico. The lieutenant governor is the first person in the order of ...

and his wife Marguerite Pendaries Baca (1876–1971), the 6th Secretary of State of New Mexico had a large ranch in Rociada. Their daughter, Emilie, who grew up on the ranch, later married Patrick Tracy Lowell Putnam (1904-1953), an American anthropologist who spent twenty-five years living among the Mbuti pygmies in central Africa. Another daughter, Consuelo, was the second wife of writer and anthropologist

Oliver La Farge Oliver Hazard Perry La Farge II (December 19, 1901 – August 2, 1963) was an American writer and anthropologist. In 1925 he explored early Olmec sites in Mexico, and later studied additional sites in Central America and the American Southw ...

. *

Antonia Apodaca Antonia Apodaca (November 1, 1923 – January 25, 2020) was an American musician and songwriter known for her performances of traditional New Mexico music. She came to wider prominence through her performances in the ''La Música de los Viejitos' ...

(1923–2020), a musician and songwriter known for her performances of the traditional Hispano folk music of New Mexico, was born and raised in Rociada.Carlin, Bob (ed.) (2002). ''American Musical Traditions: Latino and Asian American music'', p. 53. Schirmer Reference. . Quote: "This brings up the importance of Cleofes Ortiz and Antonia Apodaca. They both grew up playing and learning the music and dances from the older generation and continued to play them. ..Antonia Apodaca was born in 1923 in Rociada, New Mexico, in the house in which she lives to this day."

References

{{authority control Unincorporated communities in San Miguel County, New Mexico Unincorporated communities in New Mexico