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83 a Sociedad no longer offers an internal program of life insurance, but the organization has not lost sight of its original mission as a mutual union ready to lend a hand in times of need. Informal and supportive services continue to be provided at the community level: home visitations during times of illness; cash donations raised to help pay for medical costs incurred by members or their relatives; supplemental death benefits paid to survivors from local council funds; food baskets and clothing to poor families at Christmas; road cleanup projects; fund-raising events for local charities; and other community -service functions. Some local activities have become annual events, such as the Hispanic Arts Festival organized by Nambé Council No. 57, at which artisans from Nambé, Española, and Taos exhibit their work as a means of promoting sales just before the Christmas holidays. In Denver, Council No. 7 sponsors a golf tournament and uses the profits to disburse college scholarships to students in need of financial aid, a yearly program also supported by the WSA. Some of the larger councils continue the traditional anniversary programs commemorating the founding date of their respective concilios with community events such as parades along the main street, an entrance march into the meeting hall singing the official hymn, a program with orators and invited speakers, cultural presentations by local school children, potluck dinners of traditional foods, and raffle drawings.1 Despite a new set of circumstances and a reduced capacity to offer material incentives, the core principles of the SPMDTU motto have remain unchanged for a century and a decade: “Fraternidad, Ilustración y Progreso” (Fraternity, Enlightenment, and Progress). La Mutua leadership is cautiously optimistic about the future and notes that the society continues to honor its constitution , the principles of mutual help, the use of the regional Spanish language, CHAPTER THREE Challenges in the New Century L 84 Chapter Three and, most important, the preservation of the Hispanic culture that is unique to southern Colorado and New Mexico. For governance, the SPMDTU General Constitution (revised 1980) and the Código Ritualístico de Régimen Interior (revised 1980) remain in effect, as does the Superior Council’s executive authority. And, much as before, officers of the local councils conduct the meetings in the prescribed order: “ceremonia de apertura, oración oficial, lectura de los procedimientos de la previa reunión, comunicaciones y reclamos, reportes de comisiones, ceremonia de admisión de nuevos miembros, negocios sobre la mesa del Presidente, debates para el bien de la Sociedad, reporte de colectaciones, y de embolsos y delincuencias de miembros, ceremonia de clausura.”2 Participation in burial services continues, as has been the tradition since the founding of the society, and is viewed as a ritual of profound honor, a link to the value of respeto, a cornerstone principle—respect for the struggles of the elders who sustained the organization over the generations. As in the past, the hermanos assist with arrangements for the rosary and funeral and accompany the deceased member to the local cemetery. At the gravesite, a designated member pays oratorical tribute in Spanish. The members wear their SPMDTU devisas with the black side showing to represent their sorrow and mourning. According to the rituals of La Mutua, the members pass the coffin one by one, place their hands on it, and pay tribute by saying, “Adiós, hermano mío, descanse en paz” (Farewell, my brother, rest in peace). They form a circle, and each one tosses a siempreviva leaf into the grave as the coffin is lowered. Some of the local councils continue to provide supplemental assistance for survivors, adding to the benefit to be paid by the WSA for those who still hold insurance certificates from earlier times. To finance the local supplement, members vote at a meeting on the assessment to be collected from each member as a cuota de defunción in addition to any regular membership dues. Once collected, the amount is forwarded to the deceased member’s beneficiary.3 In structure, SPMDTU local councils continue to function under the authority of the Superior Council, whose officers in turn are elected by vote of the general membership at biannual conventions and which acts as the chief executive body until the next convention. The local councils select delegates to represent them by districts assigned to them on a geographic basis. Current officer positions include presidente superior, vice presidente, consejero, calificador , mariscal, and guardia.4 The superior president appoints...

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