Victor di Suvero, local author and owner of Pennywhistle Press, has a large circle of friends, and many of them came from somewhere else.

Inevitably, over many dinners, di Suvero got bits and pieces of the stories of how people came to be residents of The City Different. He thought these stories would make great material to fill a book. So he asked each of his friends to write their story and let him publish it.

"Each one had a very interesting life story," di Suvero said. "Everybody came from somewhere else."

The end result, a book titled We Came to Santa Fe, will officially be released Monday at a celebration at El Museo Cultural.

The book includes stories from 73 people, arranged in alphabetical order by surname.

"They range from gallery owners to gardeners," di Suvero said about the authors. "They all touch upon the fact that the spirit and the land is what attracted them."

Monday will also be known as "We Came to Santa Fe Day," after a proclamation by Mayor David Coss.

"Our fair city was founded by persons who all came from somewhere else," Coss wrote in the proclamation. "Ongoing recognition of the tremendous variety of significant individuals has been made manifest in the book We Came to Santa Fe."

Di Suvero said it is the first time a book has been recognized in Santa Fe in this way.

A place to call home

There are many anecdotes that tell the story of how Ted and Barbara Flicker ended up in Santa Fe. They were a high-powered West Coast couple, but after a long time, that wasn't working.

One of those stories is of the 3 a.m. wake-up call that Ted gave Barbara to tell her it was time to leave.

"Sweetheart, if I don't get out of L.A., my heart is going to attack me," Ted writes in We Came to Santa Fe. "Pick any place in the world and I'll go there with you."

They came to Santa Fe and pursued other interests. Ted — a former writer and director — became an artist for art's sake, sculpting male and female figures. Barbara, the avid gardener, learned to garden in the high desert.

The Flickers jumped at the opportunity to be featured in the book.

"It just sounded like fun," Barbara said. "Everybody loves gossip and I wanted to hear how everyone else came to be here."

Barbara has already had a chance to look at an advance copy.

"I love it," she said. "I read it cover to cover. ... It just kind of gives background and it's interesting."

A new life in New Mexico

Victor di Suvero's first Santa Fe experience was in 1969, when he came for an Easter vacation.

Years later, after dating his wife, Barbara Windom, for five years, di Suvero had a second vacation here — this time for Thanksgiving.

The pair had lived apart for five years and decided to move here because neither Northern California (where di Suvero was living) or Southern California (where Windom was living) would do for the site of their new life together.

"There were too many ghosts if I were to move down to be with her in Malibu; and there were too many ghosts if she moved up to San Francisco," di Suvero said. "So we decided to come to neutral territory."

In Windom's story, she notes that the horrible Malibu traffic and the terrifying earthquakes helped her make the decision to come to New Mexico.

In 1989, they bought a small house on some land in Tesuque. They remodeled the little house and eventually built another.

The couple became interested in breeding Peruvian Paso horses, a passion they still pursue today. That led them to buy a different plot even farther away in Alcalde. Now Windom owns and manages La Estancia Alegre in Alcalde. She shows her horses all over the Western part of the country.

Di Suvero opened up Pennywhistle Press and has published several books of poetry — including the state's only bilingual collection of poetry.

More to come

We Came to Santa Fe is the first book of prose that Pennywhistle Press has released. Di Suvero said the company is planning several more books on various subjects in the near future.

For the most part, Pennywhistle has printed poetry collections.

"The poetry has been very well received in the past, but the market for poetry is limited," di Suvero said.

Di Suvero is planning books with titles such as Women's Voices in the Time of War and Prison Writings.

He is hopeful that they might publish a second volume of the book because many people are disappointed that they weren't included in the first book. Di Suvero said that he thinks the next book will be called We Came To New Mexico, and will include more people.

But for now, he's soaking up the excitement over the latest project.

"There are all kinds of interesting stories in here," di Suvero said enthusiastically as he thumbed through the book. "I really feel privileged that I have these friends willing to share personal histories."

Contact Ana Maria Trujillo at 986-3084 or atrujillo@sfnewmexican.com.

IF YOU GO

What: Launch party for We Came to Santa Fe

When: 5-7 p.m. Monday

Where: El Museo Cultural, 1615 Paseo de Peralta, Suite B

Cost: Free