Hispanos of New Mexico
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The Hispanos of New Mexico, also known as Neomexicanos (
The descendants of these New Mexican settlers make up an ethnic community of more than 340,000 in New Mexico, with others throughout the historical Spanish territorial claim of Nuevo México. Alongside
Neomexicanos speak
Hispanos identify strongly with their Hispanic heritage, and have pride for their varying levels of Spanish and Indigenous ancestry, and are focused on their aforementioned New Mexican identity.[13] Exact numbers for the population size of New Mexican Hispanos is difficult, as many also identify as Mexican Americans (with a small minority identifying with the Chicano movement) or Spanish Americans.[14]
For most of its modern history, New Mexico existed on the periphery of the viceroyalty of
New Mexicans of all ethnicities were commonly enslaved by the Comanche and Apache of Apacheria, while Native New Mexicans were commonly enslaved and adopted Spanish language and culture. These natives, called Genízaros, served as house servants, sheep herders, and in other capacities in New Mexico including what is known today as Southern Colorado well into the 1800s. By the late 18th century, Genízaros and their descendants, often referred to as Coyotes, comprised nearly one-third of the entire population of New Mexico.[16][17] After the Mexican–American War, New Mexico and all its inhabitants came under the governance of the English-speaking U.S., and for the next hundred years, English-speakers increased in number. By the 1980s, more and more Hispanos were using English instead of New Mexican Spanish at home.[12][18]
Term
In New Mexico, the predominant term for this ethnic group is hispano, analogous to californio and tejano. In New Mexico, the Spanish-speaking population (of colonial descent) was always proportionally greater than those of California and Texas. The term is commonly used to differentiate those who settled the area early, around 1598 to 1848, from later Mexican migrants. It can also refer to anyone of "Spanish or Indo-Hispanic descent native to the American Southwest."[12] Since the spread of the terms Hispanic and Latino since 1970 to encompass all peoples in the United States (and often beyond) of Spanish-speaking background, the terms Nuevomexicanos, Novomexicanos, and Neomexicanos are sometimes used in English to refer to this group, but this is less common in New Mexico.
History
Spanish governance
The first Spanish settlers emigrated to New Mexico on July 11, 1598, when the explorer Don
Oñate also conquered the territories of the
In the 1650s, Governor Bernardo López de Mendizábal, and his subordinate Nicolás de Aguilar, enacted a law to force the settlers and Franciscans to pay Native Americans for their work. He opposed what he perceived to be the mistreatment of the Indians by the Franciscans and proposed to allow the Indians to preserve and to practice their culture, religion, and customs. The Franciscans protested the law and accused the governor before the Inquisition. Later he was tried in Mexico City. So, the Franciscans indirectly governed the New Mexico province.
In 1680, the Native American groups that lived along the Rio Grande successfully rose against the Spanish colonizers in what became known as the Pueblo Revolt. When the Spanish returned to the province in 1692, Don Diego de Vargas became the new governor of New Mexico. He entered the former capital bearing an image of La Conquistadora. The Native Americans were so intrigued by the statue of the Virgin Mary that they are reputed to have laid down their arms at the sight of it. This Reconquista of New Mexico is reputed to have been bloodless and every year since then this statue of the Virgin Mary has been carried in procession through the City of Santa Fe to commemorate the event.
At the time of Vargas's arrival, New Mexico was under the jurisdiction of the
Mexican governance
The mainland part of New Spain won independence from Spain in 1821, and New Mexico became part of the new nation of Mexico. The Spanish settlers of New Mexico, and their descendants, adapted somewhat to Mexican citizenship. The Hispanos chose to make New Mexico a territory of Mexico, rather than a state, in order to have more local control over its affairs. In 1836, after the Republic of Texas gained independence, Texas claimed part of the Province of New Mexico, and sought "if possible, to establish Texas jurisdiction over Santa Fe", the capital, which was disputed by Mexico. In 1841, the Texians sent an expedition to occupy the area, but it was captured by Mexican troops.[20]
The
New Mexico grew economically and the United States began to take notice of the strategic position New Mexico played in the western trade routes. In 1846, during the
United States governance
After the Mexican–American War, Anglo Americans began migrating in large numbers to all of the newly acquired territory. Anglos began taking lands from both
The
After the Civil War, Congress passed the Peonage Act of 1867, aiming to abolish the historical system of peonage that had existed among the Hispano population.[13]
After New Mexico's annexation and before statehood, Anglos called New Mexico's Hispanics "Mexicans", with little distinction being made from those who lived south of the border. The loss of land, the encroachment of Anglos and ensuing conflict led to a growth in ethnic identity among New Mexican Hispanos. At the same time, economic growth led to Hispanos' being brought into the American cash economy, whereas previously most rural Hispanos lived at a subsistence level. Many Hispanos ended up moving to other areas as migrant laborers to be able to support their families. With the development of the curio market in the early 20th century, others were able to employ traditional crafts, such as weaving, to supplement their income.[23]
In January 1912, New Mexico became an American state, and
The United States and the New Mexico State governments tried to incorporate the Hispanos into mainstream American life. Examples of this include: is the mixing of Hispanos' images with American patriots' symbols, the first translation of the national anthem into Spanish, and the recruitment of numerous Hispanos ranchers, horsemen, and farmers to fight for the U.S. in both the Spanish–American War and the First World War. One early contribution by the Hispanos to American society was their support for women's suffrage. Contributions from both sides helped to improve the conditions of citizenship in the community, but social inequality between the Anglos and Hispanos remained.[24][25]
Anglos and Hispanics cooperated because both prosperous and poor Hispanics could vote and they outnumbered the Anglos. Around 1920, the term "Spanish-American" replaced "Mexican" in polite society and in political debate. The new term served the interests of both groups. For Spanish speakers, it evoked Spain, not Mexico, recalling images of a romantic colonial past and suggesting a future of equality in Anglo-dominated America.[26] For Anglos, on the other hand, it was a useful term that upgraded the state's image, for the old image as a "Mexican" land suggested violence and disorder, and had discouraged capital investment and set back the statehood campaign. The new term gave the impression that Spanish-Americans belonged to a true American political culture, making the established order appear all the more democratic.[27]
World War II was a transformative time for New Mexican Hispanos. Increased federal investment in the state, such as the Manhattan Project and the founding of Los Alamos, provided employment to Hispanos. At the same time, Hispanos joined the military and served abroad at a higher-than-average rate. A large number were victims of the Bataan Death March. As a result, there are many memorials and commemorations of that events' victims in New Mexico.[28]
Population
Currently, the majority of the Hispano population is distributed between New Mexico and Southern Colorado, although other southwestern states have thousands of Hispanos with origins in New Mexico. Most of New Mexico's Hispanos, numbering in the hundreds of thousands, live in the northern half of the state, mainly Santa Fe, Taos, and Española, although they are distributed throughout the north of the state. Also there communities in the Albuquerque metro and Albuquerque Basin, in mountain ranges like the Sangre de Cristo, Sandia–Manzano, Mogollon, and Jemez, and along river valleys statewide such as Mimbres, San Juan, and Mesilla. Most of Hispanos of New Mexico have significa
The Hispano community in Southern Colorado is descended from Hispanos from New Mexico who migrated there in the second half of the 19th century. Several Hispano ethnographers, linguists, and folklorists studied both of these centers of population (particularly Rubén Cobos, Juan Bautista Rael and Aurelio Macedonio Espinosa Sr.).
New Mexican families
The following family names are listed in the New Mexico Office of the State Historian,
- Abendaño
- Abeyta
- Alderete
- Alire
- Anaya Almazán
- Apodaca
- Aragón
- Archibeque
- Archuleta
- Arellano
- Armijo
- Atencio
- Baca
- Benavides
- Borrego
- Bustamante
- Bustos/Bustillos
- Candelaria
- Casados
- Cedillo Rico de Rojas
- Chávez
- Cisneros
- Córdova
- Domínguez de Mendoza
- Durán
- Durán y Chaves
- Encinias
- Esquibel
- Espinosa
- Gallegos
- Gabaldón
- García
- García Jurado
- Gómez
- González
- Griego
- Guadalajara
- Gurulé
- Gutiérrez
- Herrera
- Jaramillo Negrete
- Jirón de Tejeda
- Jorge de Vera
- Jurdo de Gracia
- Leyva
- Lobato/Lovato
- López
- López de Ocanto
- López del Castillo
- López de Gracia
- López Holguín
- López Sambrano
- Lucero
- Lucero de Godoy
- Luján
- Luna
- Madrid
- Mirabal
- Maese
- Manzanares
- Martinez
- Márquez
- Martín Serrano
- Mares/Marez
- Mascareñas
- Medina
- Mestas
- Montes Vigil
- Miera y Pacheco
- Mirabal
- Molina
- Mondragón
- Moreno de Trujillo
- Montaño
- Montoya
- Moraga
- Moya
- Naranjo
- Nieto
- Olivas
- Ortega
- Ortíz
- Páes Hurtado
- Pacheco
- Padilla
- Paredes
- Pérez de Bustillo
- Peña
- Pino
- Quintana
- Rael de Aguilar
- Rivera
- Robledo
- Rodríguez
- Romero
- Romo de Vera
- Roybal
- Roybal y Torrado
- Sáez/Sáenz
- Sandoval Martínez
- Salas
- Salazar
- Sánchez
- Sánchez de Iñigo
- Santisteban
- Sedillo
- Segura
- Sena
- Serna
- Silva
- Sisneros
- Solano
- Tafoya
- Telles Jirón
- Tapia
- Tenorio
- Torrado
- Torres/Torrez
- Trujillo
- Ulibarrí
- Vásquez de Lara
- Valdes
- Varela
- Vallejos
- Valles
- Vega y Coca
- Velásquez
- Vera
- Vigil
- Vitoria Carvajal
- Villalpando
- Zamorano
Ancestry
Amerindian ancestry
According to DNA studies, Hispanos of New Mexico have significant proportions of Amerindian genes (between 30 and 40% of the Nuevomexicano
Crypto-Judaism
According to the Kupersmit Research, in 2015 there were about 24,000 Jews in New Mexico, 1,700 of whom were born in the state.[33] However some have proposed that there may be a significant number of Latinos in New Mexico who are descendants of Anusim, or crypto-Jews.[34]
In Old Town Albuquerque, the San Felipe de Neri Church, built in 1793, contains a Star of David on the left and right sides of the altar. Some observers believe that this is evidence of the influence of Crypto-Jews in New Mexico, but others think there is not enough to support that interpretation. Researchers have found cemetery headstones in Northern New Mexico with Hebrew and Jewish symbols alongside those with Catholic crosses.[35]
Genetic studies have been conducted on some Spanish New Mexicans. Michael Hammer, a research professor at the University of Arizona and an expert on Jewish genetics, said that fewer than 1% of non-Semites, but more than four times the entire Jewish population of the world, possessed the male-specific "Cohanim marker" (this is not carried by all Jews, but is prevalent among Jews claiming descent from hereditary priests). Some 30 of 78 Hispanos tested in New Mexico (38.5%) were found to carry the Cohanim marker according to claims in media reports.[36]
Bennett Greenspan, Family Tree DNA's founder, whose recent ancestors were Ashkenazi Jews in Eastern Europe, also carries a Sephardic Y-chromosomal lineage, belonging to haplogroup J-M267. Greenspan's 67-marker STR matches include two Hispanic descendants of Juan Tenorio of Seville, Spain, one of whom is Manuel Tenorio, a Catholic from a New Mexican Hispano family.[37][38]
New Mexican Hispanos have been found to share identical by descent autosomal DNA segments with Ashkenazi Jews, Syrian Jews, and Moroccan Jews in GEDmatch.[39] However, Hispanos of New Mexico have no more Sephardic Jewish genes than the Hispanic American population.[32]
Culture
Weaving
New Mexico's Hispanos have developed a rich weaving tradition, with roots in the weaving practices of Spain and Mexico and heavy influences from the local weaving traditions of the Navajo and Puebloans. Hispanic weaving's Spanish roots also bear Moorish influence, due to their occupation of Spain, and New Mexican Hispanic weaving also shows influence from trade goods imported from the Far East. Hispanic Weaving has evolved considerably from its establishment, while at the same time Hispanic weavers have always maintained continuity with their forebears practices.[40]
Mexican influence on New Mexican Hispanic weaving did not stop once Hispanics in New Mexico began developing their own weaving tradition. New Mexican weavers adopted the Saltillo style of serape from Mexico, and Mexican weavers would continue moving into New Mexico and influencing local weaving up through the early 20th century. New Mexican Hispanics also developed their own styles of weaving. The Río Grande style, named after the river, was heavily inspired by the Saltillo style but it also shows many simplifications. The availability of commercial yarns in the late 1800s led to more intricate designs, such as the blankets which came to be known as "Hispanic eyedazzlers". A new type of design from this time, typically featuring eight-pointed stars, became known as Trampas or Vallero, after the villages where it originated. A Chimayó style, named after the town of Chimayó, developed between 1920 and 1940. It is characterized by well-developed transverse bands and a prominent central motif. The central motif is usually diamond or hourglass shaped and very elaborate. The Chimayó style is the most common one today, but other weavers recreate older designs, and some make very individual pieces.[42]
While New Mexican Hispanic weaving started out with the production of woven goods for local consumption, even in the colonial era New Mexican Hispanos traded their woven blankets with native Americans and with residents of Mexico's interior. These blankets formed an important part of trade with local native Americans. New Mexico's annexation to the United States resulted in the establishment of a curio market, to which Hispanic weavers adjusted their production. This market provided an important opportunity for Hispanics who became middlemen between weavers and customers. During this period, the Anglo-American market was interested in native American collectables, and as a result weavers incorporated many Amerindian designs into their weavings.[43]
Later, after the first World War, Anglo-Americans interested in a revival of Spanish arts and crafts in New Mexico began to promote what they saw as authentic Spanish weaving. They rejected native American and Mexican influences in New Mexican Hispanic weaving and promoted the idea of Hispanic weaving as a "pure" preserved Spanish custom. They rejected the supposed inauthenticity and commerciality of the curio market. In many cases, they ended up attempting to impose their own artistic tastes on Hispanic weavers. Later, with the Great Depression came government programs promoting weaving as a skill.[44]
New Mexican Spanish
It is commonly thought that Spanish is an official language alongside English because of its wide usage and legal promotion of Spanish in New Mexico; however, the state has no official language. New Mexico's laws are promulgated bilingually in Spanish and English. Although English is the state government's paper working language, government business is often conducted in Spanish, particularly at the local level. The original state constitution of 1912, renewed in 1931 and 1943, provided for a bilingual government with laws being published in both languages.[45][46] The constitution does not identify any language as official.[47] While the legislature permitted the use of Spanish there until 1935, in the 21st century all state officials are required to be fluent in English. Some scholars argue that, since not all legal matters are published in both languages, New Mexico cannot be considered a true bilingual state.[46] Juan Perea has countered with saying that the state was officially bilingual until 1953.[48]
With regard to the judiciary, witnesses have the right to testify in either of the two languages. Monolingual speakers of Spanish have the same right and obligation to be considered for jury duty as do speakers of English.[47][49] In public education, the state has the constitutional obligation to provide for bilingual education and Spanish-speaking instructors in school districts where the majority of students are hispanophone.[47]
In 1995, the state adopted a State Bilingual Song, "New Mexico – Mi Lindo Nuevo México".[50]: 75, 81
Because of the relative isolation of these people from other Spanish-speaking areas over most of the area's 400-year history, they developed what is known as New Mexico Spanish. In particular the Spanish of Hispanos in
Politics
Per exit polls by the Associated Press for the 2020 United States presidential election, much of Joe Biden's strength in New Mexico came from Latino voters, from whom he garnered 61% of the vote. These included 54% of Latinos of Mexican heritage and 70% of Spanish-Americans.[52]
Notable people
See also
- Hispanics and Latinos in New Mexico
- Hispanos (Californios, Genízaros, and Tejanos)
- Cuisine of the Southwestern United States
- Floridanos
- Hispanic
- New Mexico
- Santa Fe de Nuevo México
- History of New Mexico
- New Mexico music
- New Mexican cuisine
- New Mexican Spanish
- Spanish Americans
References
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- ^ "The Oñate-Moctezuma-Zaldívar Families of Northern New Spain". ProQuest.
- ^ [1] Archived April 30, 2008, at the Wayback Machine
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- ^ https://www.caminorealheritage.org/articles/0905_names1.pdf
- ^ "For New Mexico Families, Connecting the Dots of an Ancestral Disease". 10 October 2017.
- ^ Álvarez, Jorge (May 30, 2022). "Oasisamérica, la antigua región entre México y Estados Unidos cuyos habitantes esperaban que el mundo acabase en 1695". La Brújula Verde (in Spanish). Retrieved March 1, 2023.
- ^ Lazcano, Carlos. "Algo de México en EEUU". Periodico El Vigia (in Spanish). Retrieved March 1, 2023.
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For centuries the Walatoans practiced both Christianity and their native religion, but slowly the religions merged, and by the time of the novel's central action the people of Walatowa have their own peculiar brand of Pueblo Christianity, with its own rituals and mythology.
- ^ a b c d e Cobos (2003), p. ix
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- ^ House Memorial 40 (HM40), "Genizaros, In Recognition," 2007 New Mexico State Legislature, Regular Session.
- ^ Senate Memorial 59 (SM59), "Genizaros, In Recognition," 2007 New Mexico State Legislature, Regular Session.
- ^ a b Romero, Simon (January 28, 2018). "Indian Slavery Once Thrived in New Mexico. Latinos Are Finding Family Ties to It". The New York Times. Archived from the original on January 28, 2023. Retrieved July 23, 2018.
- ^ Simmons, Marc, The Last Conquistador, Norman: U of OK Press, 1992, pp. 96, 111
- Handbook of Texas Online. Texas State Historical Association. Retrieved May 29, 2011.
- ^ Rosales, F. Arturo Chicano: The History of the Mexican American Civil Rights Movement (Houston, Texas: Arte Publico Press, 1997) p. 7-9
- ^ "MOLLUS Articles - art015". suvcw.org. Retrieved 11 March 2023.
- ^ Lucero & Baizerman (1999), pp. x–xi, 27–31.
- ^ a b Phillip Gonzales and Ann Massmann, "Loyalty Questioned: Neomexicanos in the Great War." Pacific Historical Review, Nov 2006, Vol. 75 Issue 4, pp 629–666
- ^ a b Phillip B. Gonzales, "Spanish Heritage and Ethnic Protest in New Mexico: The Anti-Fraternity Bill of 1933," New Mexico Historical Review, Fall 1986, Vol. 61 Issue 4, pp 281–299
- ^ Gubitosi, Patricia; Lifszyc, Irina (2020). "El uso de vosotros como símbolo de identidad en La Bandera Americana, Nuevo México" (PDF). Glosas (in Spanish). 9 (9).
- ^ Charles Montgomery, "Becoming 'Spanish-American': Race and Rhetoric in New Mexico Politics, 1880-1928," Journal of American Ethnic History, Summer 2001, Vol. 20 Issue 4, p59-84
- ^ Lucero & Baizerman (1999), pp. 97–98.
- ^ "Genealogy". New Mexico Office of the State Historian. Retrieved July 23, 2018.
- ISBN 978-1-4907-3952-6. Retrieved July 23, 2018.
- ^ Romero, Simon (1 February 2018). "Familias de Nuevo México descubren que sus antepasados eran esclavos indígenas". The New York Times (in Spanish). Archived from the original on 13 February 2023. Retrieved 5 February 2022.
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- ^ Uyttebrouck, Olivier (October 1, 2013). "Study estimates 24,000 Jews living in NM". Albuquerque Journal. Retrieved October 26, 2016.
- ^ Nathan, Barbara Ferry, Debbie (1 December 2000). "Mistaken Identity? The Case of New Mexico's "Hidden Jews"". The Atlantic.
{{cite news}}
: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link) - Crypto-Jews) in Contemporary Mexico (PDF). Hebrew University.
- ^ Kelly, David (5 December 2004). "DNA Clears the Fog Over Latino Links to Judaism in New Mexico". Los Angeles Times.
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- ^ Brook, Kevin Alan. "Sephardic Jews in Belarus". ZichronNote, newsletter of the San Francisco Bay Area Jewish Genealogical Society, volume 38, number 1/2 (February/May 2018) on pages 5-6.
- ^ Brook, Kevin Alan. "Sephardic Jews in Central and Northern Poland". ZichronNote, newsletter of the San Francisco Bay Area Jewish Genealogical Society, volume 37, number 1/2 (February/May 2017) on pages 18-20.
- ^ Lucero & Baizerman (1999), pp. 9–13.
- ^ Lucero & Baizerman (1999), p. 161.
- ^ Lucero & Baizerman (1999), pp. 176–178.
- ^ Lucero & Baizerman (1999), pp. x–xi.
- ^ Lucero & Baizerman (1999), pp. xi–xii, 71–85.
- ^ Crawford, John (1992). Language loyalties: a source book on the official English controversy. University of Chicago Press. p. 62.
- ^ a b Cobarrubias, Juan; Fishman, Joshua A (1983). Progress in Language Planning: International Perspectives. Walter de Gruyter. p. 195.
- ^ a b c Constitution of the State of New Mexico. Archived 2014-01-02 at the Wayback Machine Adopted January 21, 1911.
- ^ Perea, Juan F. Los Olvidados: On the Making of Invisible People. Vol. 70. pp. 965–990.
{{cite book}}
:|work=
ignored (help) - ^ Roberts, Calvin A. (2006). Our New Mexico: A Twentieth Century History. Albuquerque: University of New Mexico Press. p. 23.
- ^ "State Symbols". New Mexico Blue Book 2007–2008. New Mexico Secretary of State. Archived from the original (PDF) on November 29, 2008. Retrieved January 3, 2009.
- ^ Cobos (2003), pp. x–xi
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- ^ Hernandez, MacArena (19 August 1998). "Conservative and Hispanic, Linda Chavez Carves Out Leadership Niche". The New York Times. Retrieved 11 March 2023 – via NYTimes.com.
- ^ "American Identity: Dolores Huerta traces her family history". Yahoo News. 2021-09-18. Retrieved 2024-03-03.
- ^ Jessica Montoya Coggins (April 11, 2014). 'I'm From Here': Not All Hispanics Are Recent Arrivals. Published on NBC News.
Bibliography
- Cobos, Rubén (1983). Dictionary of New Mexico and Southern Colorado Spanish (1st ed.). University of New Mexico Press. ISBN 0-89013-142-2.
- Cobos, Rubén (2003). "Introduction". A Dictionary of New Mexico & Southern Colorado Spanish (2nd ed.). Santa Fe: Museum of New Mexico Press. ISBN 0-89013-452-9.
- Lucero, Helen R.; Baizerman, Suzanne (1999). Chimayó weaving: the transformation of a tradition (1st ed.). Albuquerque: University of New Mexico Press. OCLC 955185451.