Rubén Cobos

Rubén Cobos (November 11, 1911 — November 22, 2010) was a Mexican American folklorist, linguist, professor, journalist, and musician whose work focused on the language and culture of the Southwestern United States. Cobos was born in Piedras Negras, Coahuila in 1911. Cobos wrote the first dictionary of New Mexican Spanish, A Dictionary of New Mexico and Southern Colorado Spanish. Cobos was multilingual and spoke Spanish, English, French, Italian, Portuguese and German.

Cobos was born in Piedras Negras, Coahuila in 1911 and moved to San Antonio, Texas with his family in 1925 after the death of his father. In 1927 the family moved to Albuquerque, New Mexico where Cobos starting taking classes at the Menaul School. Cobos realized the Spanish spoken in New Mexico was distinct from Mexico and Texas, and that there was a difference in dialects between northern and southern New Mexico. Cobos attended the University of New Mexico before serving in World War II. In 1944 he became the first Hispanic to be hired as a full-time professor at the University of New Mexico. Cobos taught Spanish and folklore there from 1944 until 1977. Cobos' life work was A Dictionary of New Mexico and Southern Colorado Spanish, released in two editions in 1983 and 2003. He died in 2010 at his home in Albuquerque.

History Early life and education Cobos was born in 1911 in what was then known was Ciudad Porfirio Díaz, Mexico. During the 1910-1920 Mexican Revolution, the city was renamed Piedras Negras. Cobos' younger siblings Noe and Rebecca died during the 1918 Spanish flu epidemic. After his father died the family moved to San Antonio, Texas. The family moved to Albuquerque in 1927 to treat his sister Consuelo's tuberculosis. Since Consuelo was a Presbyterian missionary, the Presbyterian Church arranged the move sanatorium.

Cobos attended the University of New Mexico from 1932 to 1936, graduating with honors. Cobos was too poor to afford college, but Dean James Fulton Zimmerman allowed him to attend if Cobos did maintenance work on campus. Cobos studied Spanish, English, French, Italian, Portuguese and German.

Career Immediately after graduation, He received his master's degree from UNM in 1938. Cobos was drafted during World War II and served as a translator and language consultant. Cobos was discharged from the army in 1944 and became a professor at UNM. After Ph.D. study at Stanford University Cobos and taught there before returning to UNM. Cobos taught Spanish, Southwestern United States Hispanic American folklore, and Ibero-American civilization. He became a professor emeritus in 1977.

Cobos released a second revised and expanded edition of A Dictionary of New Mexico and Southern Colorado Spanish in 2003.

Retirement, death, and legacy Cobos remained in Albuquqerque after his retirement from UNM. Cobos would spend his time “looking after little things” around his house while also updating his folklore collection. Cobos published a second edition of his A Dictionary of New Mexico and Southern Colorado Spanish in 2003, when he was in his early 90s.

Cobos died on November 22, 2011, at the age of 99 years and eleven days.