NEW MEXICAN HISPANIC CULTURE PRESERVATION LEAGUE LA VERDAD CON ORGULLO Forgotten 1800 Cemetary Discovered in Bernalillo BERNALILLO, N.M. (KRQE) by Reporter Kim Holland - The town of Bernalillo uncovered 200 years of history. Neighbors discovered an old cemetery south of U.S. Highway 550 near the railroad just four months ago. Weeds and shrubs grew over the tombstones. Some of the graves date back to the 1800s. Few people even knew the cemetery existed. "A lot of people walk by this cemetery on [a] particular path and don't even realize it's there," said Roxanne Smyth. She and her husband have strolled by the graves for years without knowing it existed. Then, one day, she wandered off the path and stumbled upon a headstone. "There's so much history that's in here," said Smyth. Vandals and sheer time destroyed some of the headstones over the years. Many tombstones are cracked, broken or missing. Other graves are simply marked with rocks. About 100 people are buried there, but no one seems to know who they were. The state archives, the local Archdiocese and the neaby church all had only partial records of those who rest there. There is no complete data of who is buried in those graves. In fact, few knew who even owned the land. The Father Stephen Imbarrato of Our Lady of Sorrows Church in Bernalillo did not know his church owned the property until it was recently rediscovered. Fr. Imbarrato walked through the cemetery for the first time two months ago. He realized the headstones were hard to read, so he set out on a mission. "What a shame," Fr. Imbarrato said in reference to the weedcovered graves. "We can clean this up pretty well." So, they did. Volunteers with the 4-H club and the Knights of Columbus in Bernalillo helped clean up the cemetery and weeded the grounds. Soon, the Knights of Columbus will make 80 crosses to identify the unmarked graves. As for identifying the bodies, the Father is asking around the parish, hoping a conversation sparks someone's memory about a loved one who is buried there. If you think your relative is buried there, call Our Lady of Sorrows in Bernalillo at (505) 867-5252 National Hispanic Heritage Month, Sept. 15 through Oct. 15, is a time for most Hispanos to reflect upon our history and culture. By Historian/ Writer Orlando Romero (The New Mexican 9/18/10. We are such a mix that even before we got here, Semitic blood, both Arabic and Jewish, as well as Visigoth, Roman and Celtic DNA, flowed through our veins. Later, African and Native American genes were also added. Unfortunately, unless they have researched their genealogy their DNA, or studied the histories of New Mexico, Mexico and the Southwest, only a few Hispanos seem able to respond to the misconceived notions and stereotypes non-hispanos carry and espouse against Hispanos when their culture is attacked. One of the most glaring attacks against Hispanos in our area comes from non-hispanos who seem to enjoy driving a wedge between Hispanos and Native Americans. And then making themselves heroes or saviors of the Native Americans. It is beyond what professor John Bodine called the "triethnic trap," where Native Americans are romanticized above everyone else. The truth of the matter is if we study our history, for example, we discover that Hispanos, like no other Europeans, readily married and mixed with Native Americans, Africans, mulattos,and various ethnic groups. Hispanos, or the Spanish, were the first of the Europeans to establish the office of Protector de los Indios and the first to acknowledge, centuries ago, that the tribes had the right to self rule. The Canes of Authority, given by the King of Spain and later by Abraham Lincoln, to various pueblo leaders, are symbols of their office and right torule their own people and themselves. These same Canes of Authority are sometimes confused with sovereignty, which is a totally different issue. And although
President Melvyn Montano s Message GREETINGS! The NMHCPL has been busy with the publication of the interview of Estevan Rael-Galvez, Director of the National Hispanic Cultural Center, in the "Alibi". The comments made by Dr. Galvez obligated the NMHCPL to respond. Letters were sent to the Governor, Secretary of Cultural Affairs, Stuart Ashman, Director of the Palace of the Governor's, Fran Levine, Dr. Galvez and "Alibi". The response to our defense was quick and positive. There was one letter, from a Spanish surnamed woman, to the Alibi editor that supported Dr. Galvez stating there were no Spaniards in New Mexico. Other prominent New Mexicans responded supporting our position on this contentious issue. The NMHCPL's support of the legislation to award the Congressional Gold Medal to our Bataan Veterans is held up in committees in both the Senate and the House of Representatives. This legislation will terminate at the end of this Congressional year. New Legislation will have to be introduced when the new Congress opens in January. Representative Martin Heinrich will introduce it. The language for the new Bill is currently being drafted. Individual packets of information about the Bataan Veterans is currently being prepared to send to all members of Congress in hopes of getting the new legislation passed this coming year. Past President, Conchita Lucero volunteered to make all mailing labels, while S. Pauline Anaya organized the copying for the 400 packets to be sent, all efforts was a great help. Gracias Conchita y Pauline! The legacy of what these veterans experienced needs to be recognized and preserved, we are hopeful our work will pay off! With Spanish Heritage month upon us it is incumbent upon us to inform and educate New Mexicans about who we are and the contributions made by the Spanish in the new world. There will be a presentation by Ruben Salaz at El Rancho de las Golondrinas Harvest Festival at 1 PM on October 2, 2010 on Spanish Heritage. There will be photographs taken of our Banner, with members of the NMHCPL Board and others interested, documenting the exposition of the Banner. I encourage members to attend the Harvest Festival and Spanish Heritage presentation. Have an enjoyable Fall season! NMHCPL BOARD President Melvyn Montano 797-2015 First Vice President S. Pauline Anaya 242-6582 Second Vice President Pátryka Duran y Chaves 281-0766 Secretary Vacant Treasurer Ricardo Quintana Sergeant at Arms Daniel Antonio Herrera President Emeritus Conchita Lucero Board Members Orae Dominguez Ruben M. Salaz Samuel Delgado Honorary Board Socorro Aragon Eva Torres Aschenbrener Pauline Chávez Bent Sheldon Hall, Honorary Council to Spain Adele Baca Hundley Jeff Romero Attorney at Law Ed Romero, Past Ambassador to Spain Corina Santistevan Website Orae Dominguez Patryka Durán y Chávez Newsletter staff Editor S. Pauline Anaya Prayer Requests Our Troops, our youth and answers to our personal petitions. NMHCPL Members and all most in need of healing. Special request from the Dolores, Dennis Marquez, and the family. Many Members have already sent in Renewal Dues due annually in JUNE. Thank you for your many supports! Sincerely, Melvyn Montano, President
Columbus was not Spanish or Hispano, he did "work" for Ferdinand and Isabela, I can't imagine the grief his ghost must endure year after year as his name is soiled by radicalized zealots who either know very little history or do not understand the complexities of history. Do you think for one minute that Columbus, as he stood on the bow of his ship, said, "I think I'll go over there into the unknown, risking life and limb, to plunder, rape, pillage, bring disease and cause general mayhem"? The consequences of discovery and conquest are very real and grim. But even natives in the Americas were at war with each other, conquering and slave-trading, as well as holding human sacrifices. However, it doesn't lessen the impact Columbus' "discovery" caused. But as a learned colleague advises, "history is not for sissies," and I add, "nor for the politically correct. " The Dutch, English, French and Portuguese were no better. And all you have to do is look at the Anglo-American government of the 1800s with its Indian removal and extermination policies to realize that; before you start badmouthing Hispanos you better examine your own sins. Today, I just can't imagine the United States or all of North and South America without Spanish influence and the Hispano, Latino presence. The first university in the Americas, the first printing press, the first literary prizes to the children of the mixed blood of the "conquerors," were all in Mexico City while the U.S. was still in diapers and barely noticeable. The contributions that the Spanish and today's Hispanos and Latinos have given to this country and the world are so numerous that they go beyond this column Cervantes, García Márquez, Fuentes, Borges, Neruda, etc., or the world of music without Domingo, Carrera, etc. The same applies to drama, architecture, science, food, and the cinema. Can you imagine the great loss if Spanish music had not mixed with African rhythms to produce the beat of salsa, cumbia, merengue, etc. I can't imagine a world without the rhumba or flamenco. Can you imagine the beautiful architecture we love so much out here if the Spanish had not brought their technology and mixed it with indigenous elements? How would the Navajo weave their beautiful blankets if the Spanish had not brought the churro sheep or, for that matter, Navajo jewelry if the Mexican platero had not taught the Navajo silversmithing? Can you imagine food without chile? But just try to imagine a world of literature without, food without chile? Who do you think brought it north from Mexico? To the dividers of cultures, you need to take a deep breath before you speak or act. If you must take sides, then do the Native Americans a favor; leave the country. A more rational solution is to enjoy Hispanic Heritage Month, enjoy our mix. A little salsa or merengue, anyone? TRIBUTE to Mr. Don Garate, Chief of Interpretation at Tumacácori National Historical Park, Arizona, passed away Sept 23, after learning only this past July that he had a cancerous brain tumor. His funeral was held in Reno, Nevada, but he will be buried in Ravendale, California, where he grew up. The Environmental Education Exchange has put together a video about Don's unique way of interpreting history for the public, in which he assumed the character of Juan Bautista de Anza at countless events over the past 20 years. Don also played a key role as a narrator and on screen for a video documentary of the Anza Trail that will be released in the summer of 2011. A "rough cut" of the video that has been prepared with available footage and media can be viewed at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vtjf-8ners4 If you have a good internet connection it is recommended that you push the slider in the bottom of the YouTube window up from 360p to either the 720p or 1080p high definition versions. President of the Anza Society, Sharon Meyers stated, He was a wonderful historian and friend, and our group wouldn t even exist if it hadn t been his effort to start the Anza Society. His absence will be felt by all of us.
The Orphan Lambs Rememberance. By Pauline Chavez-Bent Three families in the village of Atarque kept milk cows. My family, the Jose Rafael Martinez family and mi Tio Juan Jose. We always had butter and fresh cheese (quajada); we boiled the milk with salt, never drank it fresh. If my memory serves me right we took a jarful of milk to the David Garcia house every other day or so and provided doña Chencha with fresh cream. When school was out we went to the ranch for the summer, either the one close to Atarque or the leased property near las Salinas.There we took care of the orphan lambs. feeding them with a bottle until they could drink out of a trough. It took four milk cows to provide milk for the lambs, Many times when Dad was away or the ranch hand, Pastorcito was not there, Mom did the milking. This particular summer mi tio David came to call on us before school was out with a proposal. If we stayed in the village he would let us take care of a small bunch of lambs-- for doing that he would give us one lamb and a sheep to butcher in the fall. My Dad thought it over than told him that we could no do that. So we left one of the milk cows for him--and Tio David got two of my aunt Perfilia's boys to milk the cow and feed 4 of the lambs. We took 2 lambs to our place; when we came back at the end of the summer we brought the lambs back and returned them to him. He wanted to keep his side of the offer (about giving us a sheep to butcher in the fall) but my Dad said, "Tenemos carne de oveja saliendo de las oregas". Later he came over to call with a half gallon of kerosene for our lamp. Was that cool or what? Pope Benedicts Historic Visit to England was a proud event for Catholics. The Historic visit to England by the Pope, included the beatification of Cardinal John Henry Newman in Birmingham Sept. 19 and was the central religious event of the visit. That it had been since the time of Henry VIII and the break from the Church in regards to Catherine of Aragon, made this especially intriguing to watch, for this day and age. For Catholics, the celebration of life and living with faith as demonstrated this past week in England is inspiring to keep up our daily efforts in contributing positively in our worlds. YOU ARE INVITED TO Join Us NMHCPL: Wed. Oct 13, 6:30pm Hispanic Cultural Preservation League monthly meetings, for info and directions call: 239-4335 JOIN US IN 2010!! FYI a new website on Hispano issues in NM. by, Anthony M. Martinez, publisher/editor. The name of the site is: hispanonewmexico.com A Colorful New Mexican Character. By Pauline Chavez-Bent In it's long history New Mexico has it's share of colorful characters. One only has to read Las Carneradas by John Baxter to get a "handle" so to speak on men such as Aubry, Alvarez del Castillo, Wooten etc. My favorite one is J. Francisco Chaves, son of Mariano Chaves y Castillo from Los Padillas. In 1854 according to Mr. Baxter, J. Francisco brought a herd of eighteen thousand sheep to California, opening a new route of transport to Los Angeles. Upon arriving he left the herd in the hands of his mayordomo who proceeded north with the sheep to the Bay area. J. Francisco boarded a steamer bound for San Francisco and upon his arrival found that the bottom had fallen out of the sheep business. Facing ruin J. Francisco did not panic, he held tight until prices improved and hung out in California for several years dealing in several livestock enterprises. In Novermber of 1857 J. Francisco married Mary Bowie a native of Montreal who was living in Monterey. After the wedding the couple left for New Mexico, taking an interesting route home via Panama, Havana, New Orleans, New York and Independence. Once back home he began a long and distinguished career in military and political affairs. On Nov. 26, 1904 the staunch Republican was murdered at Pino Wells, Torrance County. Archdiocese of Santa Fe s Annual YOUTH CONFERENCE to be held at Our Lady of the Most Holy Rosary, Oct 22-23, 2010. Fee is $35.00 for both days or $30.00 for Saturday. (14-18 yr olds) Deadline to register is Oct 13. Contact Delia @ (505) 831-8142 or dmontano@archdiosf.org.
FEAST DAY in October National Hispanic Heritage Month October (Respect for Life Month) 1 St. Theresa of the Infant Jesus: Albuquerque 2 Feast of the Guardian Angels: statewide 4 San Francisco de Asis, Basilica: Santa Fé, Nambé, Rancho de Taos 5 St. Alice: Mountainair 7 Our Lady of the Most Holy Rosary: Truchas, Talpa, Albuquerque 11 Mission de San Diego: Los Lunas 12 St. Edwin: Albuquerque 13 Our Lady of Fatima: Albuquerque 14 Santa Teresa: El Turquilla, Rowe 17 Santa Margarita Mary: McCarty, Paraje, Laguna 18 San José: Los Ojos 24 San Rafael: La Cueva 28 St. Jude Theaddeus: Paradise Hills (Albuquerque) Events October 2nd Fall Festival: Ranchos de las Golendrians 1-2pm Ruben Salaz s Presentation on Hispanos 3rd 41 th ANNUAL ROSARY RALLY Isotopes Park, Albuquerque, NM 2:00 PM 10 th 1841 First Tejano Expedition surrendered at Anton Chico 11 h Columbus day Observence 12 th 1492 Columbus day Día de la Hispanidad 18 th 1818 Manuel Antonio Cháves (El Leoncito) birthday 30 th 1815 Padre Gallegos birthday 30 th 1884 Élfego Baca standoff 31 st Holloween Visperas de Todos Santos November 1 Feast of All Saints 2 Feast of All Souls (Día de los Muertos) 3 San Martin de Porros: Albuquerque 4 St. Charles Borromeo: Albuquerque 12 San Diego: Jemez, Tesuque 16 Santa Gertrudis: Mora List of Perpetual Adoration : Albuquerque Española Los Alamos Church of the Ascension Our Lady of the Annunciation Sacred Heart Immaculate Heart of Mary Ohkay Owingeh Pueblo St. John the Baptist Rio Rancho St. Thomas Aquinas Santa Fe Our Lady of Guadalupe Hispanic Genealogical Research Center of NM. (HGRC of NM) Oct. 2. Field Trip to El Morro Monument & Zuni. Nov. 6 Field Trip to be published in Noticias www.hgrc-nm.org or email: hgrc@hgrcnm.org (505) 833-4197. FABRIC OF FAITH at Spanish Colonial Arts Museum through December 2010. Second DISPLAY IN HISTORY OF LA CONQUISTADORA s GARMENTS Camino de Santiago: For a thousand years (1000 yrs) pilgrams have been walking along the Camino de Santiago across Europe and Northern Spain. In 1985 there were 2,491 who completed the Camino 1995, 19,821 and in 2005, 93,921, these are only the pilgrams that ask for and received the Compostela. Therefore there were many more who completed the routes. Figures compiled by the Office de Acogida al Peregrino. WORLD YOUTH DAY to be celebrated August 16-21 2011, in Madrid, Spain. The Pope will be received on August 18 in Madrid s massive Cibeles Square and celebrate Mass August 21. Make plans now! Dioceses all over the world are preparing to send young people to Madrid by fundraising, making travel arrangements, and contacting dioceses in Spain regarding Days in the Dioceses, which provide an opportunity for visitors to spend time in Madrid dioceses for several days before Aug. 16. Of the 69 Spanish Dioceses, 60 will participate. While the Pope was in England, he invited the youth of the world to join him in Madrid for this wonderful event!
Have you renewed your Membership? Will you consider giving a Student Membership gift? Dues are $35 (per family): $ Students $20: $ Student Membership Gift $ Donation: $ Total Amount enclosed $ Make checks payable (NMHCPL) PO Box 7956 (87194) Attention: Irene Schneider, Membership Chairman New Mexican Hispanic Culture Preservation League Name: (please print) Address City & State Zip Phone: Home: Work Fax Email I will help on the: Board Newsletter Website Banquet Silent auction Lobbying Submit articles Other Areas of interest Place of Employment www.nmcpl.org NOTE: Annual Renewal Dues due in JUNE Mission Statement : The mission of the New Mexican Hispanic Cultural Preservation League it to Preserve the heritage, Spanish language and the history of Hispanic New Mexico, to promote the education and understanding of the contributions of Hispanics to the development of New Mexico and the nation, to protect the history of the New Mexican Hispanic heritage and culture. To achieve this mission, we will seek the TRUTH of our heritage and history, and re-store the TRUTH and PRIDE of our New Mexican Hispanic Culture. New Mexican Hispanic Culture Preservation League Old Town Station, P. O. Box 7956 Alburquerque, New Mexico 87194 Non Profit 501 (c) (3) organization