UNM's Center for Southwest Research Exhibits Archival Treasures for Albuquerque Tricentennial Celebration


Albuquerque, New Mexico, was founded by Spanish colonists in 1706, seventy years before the establishment of the United States. To celebrate Albuquerque's birthday, the Center for Southwest Research (CSWR), the special collections and rare books division of the University of New Mexico Libraries in Albuquerque, has mounted a special exhibit entitled “Albuquerque: 300 Years of History from the Center for Southwest Research.” Noted here are a few selected highlights from the show. There is much much more to see!

This free exhibit has been EXTENDED THROUGH NOVEMBER, 2006 so that more people will be able to view this important resource. It is located in Zimmerman Library on the UNM Main Campus, and is open every day of the week from 9:30 to 5:30 (plus the other hours that Zimmerman Library is open.) Call 505-277-2003 for library hours.

The CSWR is one the finest archives in the southwest, and houses a wide variety of primary sources on New Mexico and regional history, in addition to an extensive book collection. Patrons from across the campus, city, state and around the world come to the CSWR to conduct their research. The documentary history of Albuquerque and the State of New Mexico draws heavily on resources at the CSWR and could never have been written without these archives.

The exhibit features selections from the CSWR's archives, showcasing Albuquerque's 300-year history, including manuscripts, oral histories, photographs, posters, maps, architectural drawings and models, newspapers, books, pamphlets, memorabilia, and music recordings. Contemporary images of local historical reenactors and revitalized landmarks give color and life to the displays. Several CSWR students developed their own sections for the main exhibit, thereby gaining valuable research and museum skills. City agencies, historical groups and individuals generously provided items for the show and helped to promote it.

As curator of the show, I had the fun job of looking through the CSWR collections for things that people may have never seen before. I selected a wide variety of pieces to represent the history of the city and its multicultural society, as well as the various kinds of material held at the CSWR. I hope the result is an experience of discovery for university students, scholars and community members. Many of the Albuquerque pieces from the CSWR collections are not found anywhere else. The display provides an excellent opportunity to gain a more complete understanding of the city's history and offers a glimpse of the rich variety of archival material in the CSWR collections.

THE SPANISH FOUNDING

A few of the key documents regarding Albuquerque history are on display. Among them is a 1706 Spanish colonial document (copy) and its transcription, certifying the establishment of the villa as the governmental entity of Alburquerque (original Spanish spelling), named for the Duke of Alburquerque. Considered to be the city's birth certificate, this document and other items related to early Albuquerque history were discovered by UNM History Professor Lansing B. Bloom in the old archives in Spain and Mexico. Dr. Bloom copied and deposited in the UNM Library.

The exhibit is graced by a statuette of Don Martin Hurtado, by Bruce Papitto, of Las Cruces . In 1706 Hurtado led the Spanish settlers down from Bernalillo, established the new Villa and was the first Alcalde Mayor (high mayor) of Alburquerque. Papitto's full-size statue of Hurtado was chosen by the city to be placed near Old Town for the Tricentennial but the proposed funding was redirected to other projects. The show also includes a photo of Spanish reenactors at the 2005 Albuquerque Founders Day, graciously provided by Conchita and John Lucero. Historical reenactor Roberto Valdez of Española is pictured in the show also, dressed in the uniform of a presidio soldier like those stationed in Alburquerque in the 1700s.

Symbolizing our close ties to Spain is the speech given by the 18th Duke of Alburquerque, Don Beltran Osorio Diez (1918-1994), during his visit to Albuquerque in 1956. He was a descendant of the Duke for whom the city was named. He not only presented our city with a great wall tapestry bearing his royal family's coat of arms, but also reminded us again in his speech that his country Spain has been a friend of the United States since its beginning in George Washington's time! Also displayed is a thank you card from the Duke written to UNM Professor T. M. Pearce, who hosted the royal guest during his visit in 1956, and again in 1983. It is signed with the Duke's name clear and bold – Alburquerque – like the city's name really should be spelled historically.

SPANISH-MEXICAN ALBUQUERQUE

There are other key historical documents in the show, too. One is a copy of the 1806 orders of the Spanish Governor of New Mexico ordering his frontier presidio scouts to arrest U.S. Army Lt. Zebulon Montgomery Pike and his forces for trespassing into what was then sovereign Spanish territory near San Luis, Colorado. The Spaniards generously shared their food and blankets with the starving and freezing Norteamericano captives, thereby saving their lives. They escorted them to Santa Fe and then Alburquerque, thereafter dispatching them south to the military headquarters in Chihuahua . A copy of Pike's 1806 map of New Spain and a copy of the report of his expedition are also in the display, too. Pike spelled the city's name without its extra ‘r' and described the people of Albuquerque whom he met as very generous, kind, and hardworking.

Another beautiful piece is an original August 16, 1809 handwritten land document from La Villa de San Felipe de Neri de Alburquerque (clearly written at the top). In it, the then Alcalde Mayor of Alburquerque, Don Lorenzo Gutierrez, authorized a property transfer between Jose Martin of La Villa, and Juan Miguel Santillanes of Alamada. A transcription of the document is available upon request.

The life of our Spanish forefathers in the 1880s and ‘90s is vividly depicted in some of the memorable old photos in the exhibit. Among them are scenes of San Felipe Church, the busy Plaza de Los Griegos, and children along the North Valley acequia madre (mother ditch). There is also a charming shot of Bernalillo County Sheriff Perfecto Armijo and his family and friends on a picnic in Bear Canyon in the Sandias, and a priceless portrait of Albuquerque pioneer Dave Metzgar and his family.

COMING OF THE AMERICANS

Another interesting piece is an original 1858 Quartermaster's letter from the Albuquerque U.S. Army Post. The post was established in the Spanish-Mexican barracks of the old city after the U.S. occupation in 1846. Also displayed is Franz Huning's original memoirs, which he began in 1894, recalling his life since the 1850s trading on the Santa Fe Trail and doing business in (Old) Alburquerque.

The railroad reached Alburquerque in 1880 and a new American town sprang up beside the original community – appropriately called New Town. Representing the new era in the exhibit are an original 1898 muster list for Albuquerque men enlisting for the Spanish American War and an original World War I cartoon by noted Albuquerque teacher Glen O. Ream while serving in France . Hispanos continued as strong leaders in economics and politics during this era as seen in Jose Felipe Chavez' original Wells-Fargo Co. 1882 business forwarding receipt book, and an envelope with an intact WF Co. seal, which was found with Atrisco Land Grant papers in the Thomas B. Catron MSS Collection.

The exhibit then features the later decades of Albuquerque history. For example a 1936 map of Albuquerque wonderfully outlines the Spanish land grants that once spread across the city – their former presence is slowly fading from our modern consciousness. Albuquerque Attorney Elfego Baca's briefcase, business cards and a letter to his wife are also displayed. Baca was the teenage New Mexico lawman who stood up for justice and survived the shootout with Anglo ranchhands at Frisco (Reserve) in 1884. You can also see the replica Spanish helmet worn by the reenactor who portrayed Don Francisco Vasquez de Coronado for the 1540-1940 Cuarto Centennial Celebration and Entrada, an anniversary patch, and the program for the huge outdoor extravaganza staged at UNM stadium that year.

WORLD WAR II AND CHANGE

A very interesting display features a WWII letter by an Albuquerque man captured by the Japanese at Bataan. Major William B. Reardon, a 1928 UNM graduate served in the New Mexico National Guard, 200th Coastal Artillery, Anti-Aircraft Unit, in the Philippine Islands. After the war he served on the International Military Tribunal for the Far East, investigating Japanese war crimes. Also included are his photo and a U.S. Army propaganda poster depicting the Bataan Death March.

Included, too, are photos and mementos from the Albuquerque land grant activist Reies Lopez Tijerina and the Alianza Federal de Mercedes, and from the Los Duranes Community Improvement Association School Protest in the late 1960s. Led by Carlos Cansino, the protestors, who were neighborhood Hispanic parents and teachers, fought against inadequate schools, poverty, discrimination and joblessness and achieved many successes. There are also glimpses of the 1970s, when the New Mexico National Guard was deployed on the UNM campus and riots broke out in the city. The space age is represented by photos of astronauts Harrison Schmitt and Sidney Gutierrez, and the NASA rocket and lunar module model keepsakes of New Mexico's U.S. Senator Clinton P. Anderson.

ARCHITECTURE

Architectural models of the Kimo Theater and the Occidental Insurance/New Mexico Title Building are in the show, too. Another interesting display features John Gaw Meem's Albuquerque Southern Union Gas Co. building on 8 th and Silver, with shots of the neighborhood before it was built, Meem's photos of the gas building, and photos of how the Flying Star adapted it to their needs today. There are also “then and now” images of the Alvarado, Tingley Beach , the streetcar, and the railroad.

MUSIC

Visitors to the exhibit are entertained by recordings of selected songs composed about Albuquerque over the decades, including pieces by Vicente Saucedo and Eddie Gallegos from the John Donald Robb Archive at the CSWR, as well as by other popular local vocalists.

(See Songs of Albuquerque page.)

YOU ARE INVITED

Albuquerque is a special city. Ancient pueblos and Spanish churches, dances and rodeos, blue corn and chiles, and luminarias and neons hold their own in this unique multicultural city, existing side by side with skyscrapers, Interstate highways, chain stores, casinos and atom smashers. Albuquerque continues to thrive as vibrant Native, Hispanic, Anglo, Afro-American and Asian traditions enrich the community's life. The CSWR Tricentennial exhibit presents a powerful synthesis and visual view of Albuquerque 's fascinating history. I could only tell you about a few things. I hope you will come by to see it all.

 

Nancy Brown Martinez, Curator of the Exhibit
Reference Coordinator, Archivist
Center for Southwest Research, University Libraries,
University of New Mexico, Albuquerque
nbrown@unm.edu
505-277-6451