Cipriano Vigil, a native of Chamisal in the Sangre de Cristo Mountains, is the living embodiment of Nuevo Mexicano ritual music. As a boy, he learned from the previous generations of musicians at bailes (dances) and at entriegas, matrimonios y difuntos (christenings, marriages and funerals.) He takes you back to the encircling institutions where these village rituals bound families and neighbors together in responsibility for each other. His songs in the nueva canción tradition (related to U.S. protest and labor songs) address poignant issues of today.