My mom grew up in Portales, a town in southeastern New Mexico. My dad grew up in Dora which is very near Portales. My Aunt Theressa still lives in Portales.
I knew that Portales was the Spanish word for porches, or portals. When we were in Logroño in 2013, we stayed in Hotel Portales. Yesterday we were walking through Logroño on the street that runs beside the cathedral and I noticed several business with Portales in their name. I thought, “what is it about the word portales that makes it such a big deal around here? Maybe I’ll ask in the hotel.”
Then, I realized that the street we were walking down was named Portales Street! Oh, that explains why so many businesses are named Portales. And then, duh, I realized we’d been walking under a huge porch/portal that went on for several blocks. We were quite enjoying the coolness it provided. So, I suppose the street was named for the porch!!
