LOS LUNAS, N.M. – A Los Lunas family is hoping to rebuild after a fire destroyed thousands of dollars worth of heirlooms.

There’s very little left after the fire destroyed a cuartito, a room the Sanchez family had in their backyard. But the family says it’s not the cuartito they are sad to see gone, but the memories and traditions they created inside.

“When they would be asked what their favorite holiday is, they all had the same kindergarten teacher, and their favorite holiday was always the matanza,” said Delilah Sanchez.

Sanchez says her kids grew up helping in their family’s annual matanza, in a cuartito, just like she did when she was a kid. It’s a tradition that’s been in her family for nearly half a decade, up until 2017.

“As he has gotten older, him and my mom, it was getting a little bit hard. So, we decided to replicate it here and bring the equipment over to make it easier for our children to have the matanza here in our home,” said Sanchez. 

But that changed when their cuartito caught on fire, two weeks ago.

“The fire got caught from a box of baby chicks, and the heat lamp might have shifted and faced the cuartito, and it caught fire,” Sanchez said. 

“Panic, sadness. Just sadness. We lost a lot, my parents lost a lot, my grandparents lost a lot. We lost a lot as a family,” said Mykayla Moody, Sanchez’s daughter. 

They were able to save some things.

“Some of the pan, they were burnt, but we’ve spent a lot of time, a lot of time, cleaning and scrubbing and a lot of elbow grease to save some of the pans we’ve had,” Moody said. 

Unfortunately, most of the pans, utensils and other equipment, that had been passed down for generations, were not salvageable.

“It was really hard for me to throw in the trash can here, the bandejas, the pans that my mom had for many years,” said Sanchez. “Having to throw things like that from my grandmother, my grandfather, my dad, you know? All the work he has put into making these heirlooms that are supposed to be passed on to our children and grandchildren.” 

 But they’re not giving up.

“Whether it’s under a tent or a skeleton that we are building at the time, you know, the matanza will always be forever here. It’s at four generations now,” said Sanchez. 

Sanchez says their goal is to rebuild the cuartito and replace any equipment to continue with the matanza. If you would like to help and donate, click here.