We had homework last night! We were given a book called Telling New Mexico: a New History edited by Marta Weigle. The book presents New Mexico history from its prehistoric beginnings to the present in essays of many diverse disciplines such as anthropology, Native American and Chicano studies, history and geography. We had homework as well as tonight. I am so excited because tomorrow we go to Taos, New Mexico. When I was a freshman in college at Wartburg I went there with several students. We had a makeshift
darkroom in an abandoned tavern and did photography the old fashioned way.
Today we got to know the history museum better and learned more about the Contested Homelands. Dr. Thomas Chavez spoak to us. He is the retired Executive Director of the National Hispanic Culture Center in Albuquerque. He also had been the director of the Palace of the Governors in Santa Fe for 21 years. He was a poetic and thoughtful speaker. He spoak about history as stories. He said "Stories are gifts but they bring great responsibility. He also stressed how history has many layers and complexity of boundaries. The Santa Fe Trail and the Camino Real converge here in Santa Fe. The oldest U.S. church is here in this town as well as what is considered the oldest house.
The final picture is of the New Mexico Veterans Memorial with a picture of the Bataan Memorial Military Museum in the background.
I would have love to heard your speaker. There is much truth to what he says about the layers in history. Is it too late for me to spend the week with you there? Oh well, I'm there in spirit!
ReplyDeleteJH