Estevan Rael-Gálvez
There are more than a few armchair historians among our blog readers, and it seemed just about all of them jumped out of their easy chairs when on Tuesday we posted and commented on controversial remarks from Dr. Estevan Rael-Gálvez, Ph.D., the executive director of the National Hispanic Cultural Center and a former state historian for New Mexico.

Rael-Gálvez dubbed the Spanish legacy in New Mexico "a fantasy" and "somewhat of a fabrication." He added: "Spain may be the least of what has shaped our heritage of converging streams..."

We argued that Rael-Gálvez is the one in a fantasy world and perhaps the cultural center needed to be located next to Disneyland if it was going to engage in make-believe history.

A flood of email supporting the comments of Dr. Rael-Gálvez flooded in, raising suspicions that his friends organized a support group, but we also received comments agreeing with our assessment.

We're going to run some from both camps, but we start off with the most interesting comment of all. It comes from Rael-Gálvez who originally made his remarks in the Alibi, ABQ's alternative news weekly. After apparently getting an earful from the "fantasy" families who claim Spanish ancestry, he issued this letter to the editor apology:

...I wish to apologize for any misunderstandings and...any offense caused by my remarks in the Alibi... This was never my intention. In no way did I intend to deny the origins of our ancestry and certainly not that of Spain, from which a rich legacy flows in New Mexico. As excerpts, these answers were drawn from a much longer conversation.

I have dedicated my professional life to creating open dialogue, even about issues that are the most difficult to talk about, and I will continue to assume the responsibility of raising consciousness through discourse.

The published interview, however, was only a glimpse at a much longer conversation where I was able to more fully elaborate on years of in-depth research and my professional interpretations on identity and consciousness. I stand by that work. Beyond my inability to better contextualize the answers in the interview, the primary intention of my entire response to the question of identity was to recognize the beauty and complexity of who we have become, long after the first points of contact.

I recognize that identity is such a sensitive topic, but as a community we cannot shy away from engaging in open dialogue about race and ethnicity. Neither can we ignore the notion that identity is not static. My hope is that we can continue this especially important conversation...

Well, thanks for that, Doc. We were starting to wonder if a bunch of Tejanos had kidnapped you ad subjected you to mind control.

That apology doesn't make the email any less fascinating so off we go.

From Taos, Sam Herrera writes:

Approximately 16,000 Spaniards (no women) colonized the Southwest in the entire history of colonization. That is Texas, NM, AZ, and California. Thus, any Spanish blood that may have coursed through anyone's veins is gone now. It is just biologically impossible that any "Spanish blood" is left in anyone from around Northern NM. Prior to 1900, the Hispanics around Northern NM called themselves "Mexican." After 1900, when more Anglos were moving to the area, in an effort to combat discrimination against themselves, the Hispanics started emphasizing their white "Spanish" background and de-emphasizing their brown Indian blood. The myth was created that people around here were therefore Spanish, and not Mexican or Mestizo, etc.

Various rationales were bandied about, like we were isolated, our Spanish is different, etc. But ultimately, it was a myth concocted as a hedge against racism. Today, the local "Spanish" people now believe they have no kinship with their brothers south of the border--Mexico, Guatemala, El Salvador, etc. and discriminate against these peoples. It appears that Dr. Estevan Rael-Galvez is attempting to bring some reality to the situation so that we (Hispanic people) can appreciate and accept our brotherhood with other Latins around the world. As a Hispanic born in Northern NM and whose parents call themselves "Spanish," I believe this farce needs to end. It may have had a good purpose when this myth was created but now it is hurting us and keeping us from progressing. If anything, Dr. Estevan Rael-Galvez, a native of Northern NM, should be commended for his standing up against the tide of historical revisionists.

From a reader who requested anonymity:

Joe, You've been dealing with politicos too long and thus were too dismissive of real academic research. Dr. Rael-Galvez talked about Spanish "heritage" fantasy and you referred to it as Spanish influence. There is a difference. Dr. Rael-Galvez is quite correct is his discussion of the myth of Spanish ancestry. A recent book by Laura Gomez, a native New Mexican, describes that issue in academic depth in her book "Manifest Destiny: The Making of the Mexican-American Race," which focused on New Mexico.

"Mexican" was the term most consistently used in the historical records of the nineteenth century. Second, it more accurately describes the population's mestizo--or mixed Indian/Spanish/African--racial heritage" and "by the early nineteenth century, very few of these people were born in Spain or had parents or even grandparents who were Spanish, although they spoke the Spanish language, were practicing Roman Catholics, and otherwise conformed to cultural practices consistent with having been colonized by Spain.

In terms of ancestry, the vast majority of these people were more indigenous than Spanish, and some of their religious, cultural, and political practices had indigenous origins." There was a lot of opposition to New Mexico statehood at the end of the nineteenth century, much of it because of the number of "Mexicans" in the state that only spoke Spanish. Thus, the effort at statehood included comparing New Mexico settlers with the settlers of the eastern United States -- Europeans and, hence, Spanish became the operative word.

Call it a melting pot or a tapestry, but the insistence by so many New Mexicans that they are "Spanish" (God forbid you call them Mexicans), is not only incorrect, it's also insulting to those of us who acknowledge and are proud of the mestizo or Mexican heritage. Spain is a part of that heritage neither the sole or major part of that heritage...

Ed Romero, former US Ambassador to Spain and Edward Lujan, a founding father of the Hispanic Cultural Center an former chairman of the NM Republican Party (via the Alibi):

...The front page carries the title that states Rael-Gálvez is “the mind” behind the NHCC. This statement denigrates all the present and past staff at the NHCC. It also belittles the inspiration, determination and work of the many people and institutions that made the NHCC what it is today. Simply put, there is no single mind behind the NHCC but many minds.

Second, the interviewee was allowed to edit his answers via the Internet. The reader must assume that he chose his words with care, which gives rise to our third and most troubling concern.

Rael-Gálvez described Spanish identity in New Mexico as “somewhat of a fabrication” after “a mere two centuries of Spanish occupation.” “The Spanish heritage fantasy,” he continues, “is really about denial and not based on history.”

Really? Are not his very names Spanish? Is not Spanish still widely spoken here? Does he not direct the National Hispanic Cultural Center? Does he not live in Santa Fe and work in Albuquerque? Were not both cities founded under Spanish administrations? Didn’t Spain administer New Mexico longer than the United States has administered here? Is not our state constitution written in Spanish and English? Is all this (and more) fantasy, myth, denial and not based in history? Really?

Then, after claiming the myth, he talks about what it means to be “ ‘Hispanic’ in New Mexico” and that New Mexico Hispanics are part of a multicultural tapestry. How can they be a part of anything if they do not exist? This illogic is very troubling, embarrassing and sad when it comes from the executive director of the NHCC, as a self-described “accidental historian.”

Reader Juan Fernandez writes:

Hi Joe, I happen to agree very much with Dr. Estevan Rael-Galvez. Spaniards went all over Latin America, not just to New Mexico. The argument that New Mexicans are "Spanish" and wish to distance themselves from Mexicans is truly misguided, at best. New Mexicans are as much Spanish as Mexicans are. Let's remember that Mexicans have Spanish blood in them and many of them are very white (watch Univision anytime and you'll see). New Mexican customs are much more linked to Mexican customs: the food, the music, the attire and decorations.

All that said, it's unfortunate that as Hispanics we always seek to make up in our minds that one nationality or birthplace makes you "better" than those Hispanics of another area. Instead, Hispanics should come together and seek ways to improve our common problems and challenges.

From the ABQ South Valley and reader Andrew Leo Lopez:

The professor who debunks Spanish influence in New Mexico will next deny the Holocaust or our own civil war! Dementia runs amok among history professors!

Now in random order is the enshrinement of Spanish in the New Mexico Constitution. How about the Catholic religion brought by the colonists and the interesting sidebar of the Penitentes?

The acequia system of irrigation survives to the present as does their system of governance.

The Spanish brought their domesticated animals which I see everyday.

The Spanish were the only Europeans invited back by the indigenous peoples to keep the peace and insure prosperity.

The city of the Holy Faith celebrates its quadcentennial this year. Can the professor count to 400?

The entire Native population and pueblo and reservation sovereignty owe their present existence to the Spanish and the Spanish King.

Finally, a word about the greatest legacy of my Spanish ancestors on both sides of the bed.

My ancestors arrived during one of the most intolerant periods of history known as the Inquisition.Having none of it at a time when defiance was a death sentence, the Spanish brought a degree of racial and religious tolerance to New Mexico unknown in its day that exists to a large degree until the present.The foundation laid down by the Spanish centuries ago exists to the present. The professor is a madman.

Reader Vince Ramos opines:

One of the things which might be worth noting about our inheritances from the Spanish occupation that Dr. Estevan Rael-Gálvez refers to is the essentially feudal patrón/peón relationship that'ss so firmly entrenched in the culture and goverance of Northern New Mexico.

Generally this relationship is characterized as a proscriptive social norm that serves to not only enforce blind loyalty to ethnic leaders but ensures a continuing need to enter into and rely upon secure political or economic positions of dependency, which derives from a preference for a stable hierarchical social system with well-defined strata, roles and utilizations--all of which sustains a continuing resistance on the behalf of Norteños to social, cultural and political changes.

Reader Emilio Sanchez comes with this:

I have been working on my genealogy for over 15 years and have documented numerous ancestors who were born in Spain or the Canary Islands.

If Rael-Galvez has done his genealogy, then he may well have few Hispanic ancestors and is primarily native American. He has not publicized his genealogy therefore I can only guess that he has extensive Native American ancestors.

However, most Sanchez, Chavez, Martinez, Garcia, Marquez, Ulibarri, Padilla, et al, can trace their ancestors through Mexico to Spain. Some of these ancestors married Native Americans, but many married only "Espanoles" or as they were called "gente de sangre pura".

Rael-Galvez has fallen into the mindset of some at the Hispanic Cultural Center who deny their Hispanic heritage and call themselves "Chicanos" rather than "Hispanic American."

Hispanic and proud of it.

Here's blog reader Jacob "Jackie" Block:

Back to the History books. Actually the settlers of New Mexico came from Northern New Spain (Mexico). The Onate expedition actually started in Zacatecas. I am pretty sure that none of the expeditions into what is now New Mexico started in Spain.

Reader Joseph Gurule supports Rael-Galvez:

Dear Joe, I am a proud graduate of NMSU (08). I wanted to take issue with your categorization of Dr. Rael-Galvez' work as "historic revisionism". Having been a history major at State this section of the blog was of particular interest to me. There is indeed an element of fantasy accompanying the "Spanish Heritage" of New Mexicans, particularly in the north. Yes, you are correct in pointing out that New Mexico was settled by Spain 400 years ago, 1598 to be exact. But so was much of the Western Hemisphere at the time. Folks in modern Latin America certainly don't share this "obsession" with "Spanish Heritage" that is just as as much a part of their history and culture, but why is that?

It's ironic that this debate surfaces at a time when New Mexico is beginning it's Centennial of Statehood commemoration. The quest for statehood one hundred years ago is exactly when the notion of "Spanish Heritage" began to take hold in New Mexico. Prior to this, "New Mexicans" more closely identified with Mexico, and Mexican heritage. Remember, much of present day New Mexico was a part of Mexico much longer than colonial Spain. It is in fact New MEXICO, and not New SPAIN as originally named by Spain.

Opponents of Statehood slammed New Mexicans as "inferior" and aligned them with Mexico. It was steeped in prejudice, racism and fear of Mexican culture, sound familiar to any present day debates? Proponents began to stress the "Spanish Heritage" of New Mexico. It was an attempt to align New Mexicans with a more European identification, something Americans could certainly share. It's also ironic this debate is occurring at a time of an increasing populist anti-Mexican mood due to our country's disastrous immigration policy. Sure is a lot easier to call yourself "Spanish" in Northern New Mexico, now more than ever. Perhaps instead of the National Hispanic Cultural Center moving to Anaheim, a new fantasy theme park should be constructed in Santa Fe. It could be called...New Spain.

From blog reader Bill Hume, former editor of the editorial pages of the ABQ Journal:

In reference to your comment on the Spanish influence in New Mexico. I don't completely disagree with your conclusions, but...

"...They (the Spaniards) mated with Mexicans and Native Americans..." Just who were these "Mexicans" -- as distinct from "Native Americans" -- that these Spaniards mated with?

The ethnic and cultural history of New Mexico was essentially identical of that of what is now Mexico up until the Mexican war for independence. Following victory in that, however, what is now New Mexico, Arizona, Texas, California, and parts of Colorado (did I miss any?) was part of the Republic of Mexico only for 25 years, until the U.S. took the territory away in the war ending with the treaty of Guadalupe-Hidalgo. So, "New Mexico" was only a part of "Mexico" for about a quarter-century, out of the 400-plus years of European interaction.

So in my view, the ethnic and cultural ingredients that formed today's Hispanic New Mexicans of the old families are largely identical to those of the families of today's Mexico--but they experienced essentially none of the cultural history of the modern country of Mexico before becoming part of the United States by conquest.

Still more reader comment and Eddie Martinez:

..The fact is that Dr. Rael-Galvez is correct and your criticism is unwarranted, particularly when facts, history, and culture and other prominent scholars can concur with and support the statements by Dr. Rael-Galvez.

Without going into too much detail here, while it is true that certain socio-cultural elements are residual or reflect Spanish culture, so too does Mexico (especially northern) and many areas of Latin America. This does not mean these people are "Spanish", just like some Americans who may have British ancestry are not "English."

My family (both sides) have lived in New Mexico for over 400 hundred years. The majority of the original settlers were from Mexico, i.e., New Spain and were Mestizo (very few were from Spain, and some of these married Mexican or Indigenous women). My grandparents used to say "somosMexicanos" when referring to New Mexico Hispanics amongst themselves. The "Spanish" referral was an attempt after the American conquest of New Mexico to "whiten/purify" themselves in the eyes of the Anglo Americans. This is where the Spanish fantasy derives from.

Anyway, next time I suggest stopping and taking a good look at us. We're not pure Spanish and neither is the culture. I have been to Spain and enjoyed their "gastronomía," but they sure do not serve posole, red or green chile, or sopapillas (smile). We can thank our pueblo/mestizo brethren for these New Mexican delicacies!

By the way, I have enjoyed your blog over the years and have found it to be very informative and timely.

Hope you enjoyed the discussion. There are few other states like ours that provoke such spirited discussion over their histories. It's another reason we find it so satisyign to be a New Mecian.

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(c)NM POLITICS WITH JOE MONAHAN 2010
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Here are some clippings from my newsroom floor before you jump back in the pool this Labor Day 2010 and get a final refresher before the campaigns kick into high gear tomorrow. We start off with jet fatigue...

The same press that gave us oodles of coverage of the purchase of a $5.5 million state jet and whose backsides were being comfortably ensconced in the plane are now complaining that the jet has dominated too much of the campaign for Governor which now has less than two months to go.

The Rio Grande Sun cries in its beer over the campaign jet coverage, saying it's time to move on to more substantive matters. But it was early in Big Bill's administration that the paper devoted reams of copy (and conspiracy theories) about the various state plane rides he took. And the ABQ Journal--previously jet-obsessed with front-pager after front-pager--now laments that the story it ran riot with is now nearly daily fodder on the campaign trail.
One hundred years ago a Mexican philosopher and education minister coined the phrase the "Cosmic Race" noting that Mexicans were the best of all groups because they were a mixture of all races. His perceptions were a reaction to the Spanish and French elite-class pressure to define the Mexican Culture. New Mexico was experiencing a similar pressure at the time as we bid to be a state. We were being defined in Washington DC as "mongrels" unable to speak English. Elite pretensions and expediency prevailed and our genetic roots were edited and most of us were accepted as full fledged citizens.

In the 1960s Reies Lopez Tijerina awakened many of us to the commonality of our genetics by referring to us as Indo-Hispanics as he attempted to created a "brown movement." He wasn't able to sustain a movement but he did raise our consciousness. And, of course, there was "push back" by those who preferred the "pure" Spanish myth. I have felt that it was a class-based myth, denying that we were Mexicans or Indians and leaving us with hard to explain physical characteristics. Those of us who are interested can trace our roots back four centuries but an honest accounting nearly always finds some Indian in the genealogical wood pile. We are proud of Estevan Rael-Galvez, his intellect and accomplishments. We need to lose our class pretensions and embrace our multi-genetic and multi-cultural reality.

Finally for today, here's ABQ's Louis Martinez with a quick take:

We need to check the Rael-Galvez DNA...Living on Venus has fried his brain. My family has records of their continuous habitation of the high desert upper Rio Grande Valley for four centuries and how they originally came from Spain and the Iberian Peninsula..

WE'RE HIGH ON THIS LIST

In times past we were first in the nation in this category, but we are still way up there, underlining the importance of the federal establishment here:

The state ranks fifth in the nation for the amount of money the federal government spent per resident in fiscal year 2009, according to a report released Tuesday by the U.S. Census Bureau.

Direct federal per capita spending in New Mexico totaled a little less than $14,000 in FY09... Alaska topped the list with more than $20,000 in per capita federal spending.

New Mexico, the report said, received $27.4 billion in direct federal spending in the fiscal year. Direct spending includes federal salaries, retirement, disability payments, unemployment benefits, procurement spending and federal grants...

HUMOR WATCH

Sure, the Guv campaign has been dry as cactus, but there is some humor out there. One of our readers asks:

Have you seen the "No Tejana Susana" bumper stickers? I just saw one.

Well,the Martinez camp might find that too amusing but their El Paso born candidate will be taking much tougher hits than that should she be elected November 2.

And how about some tongue-in-cheek yard sign tips? We've got some from a wag in the Denish camp. Enjoy them. Happy Labor Day, New Mexico:

--Make sure you put them up in a well-lit area. Preferably shrouded in a halo of Christmas lights that you know you will be putting up in a month anyway. You don't want that yard sign walking away late at night as they have been known to do.

--Please do be sure to put your yard sign in the front yard. Backyard signs can usually only be seen by voters who have made up their minds (you), children with too much time on their hands, and of course Fido who may want to take a bite or leave his mark.

--The signs are designed to easily go into grass or dirt yards, so please no jackhammer rentals this year to install signs into your driveway, sidewalks or city streets. The excitement is appreciated, but probably not by your local municipality or your neighbors!

--We try to be very green here at the Denish-Colon campaign and re-use things as much as possible, but please keep in mind for after the election that these recycled yard signs are not edible, and no amount of red chile will change that.

This is the home of New Mexico politics.

You mean you are only now starting to pay close attention to the state political scene? Bully for you. Someone has to show some restraint in this age of around-the-clock minutiae posing as news. Heck, when we were kids they would throw a hot dog at any politician who came around before Labor Day. Nowadays voters just learn to ignore them--until now.

With the last summer holiday in the rear view mirror, Mr. and Mrs. New Mexico are ready to do their duty (albeit reluctantly) and actually start watching some of the already ubiquitous TV ads, read a few articles and maybe even glance at yer little 'ol blog now and again as they prepare to sort out who's who and who should get their vote.

While they'll be looking for info on the major candidates, they won't be wandering all over the map when it comes to the issues. Not this year. Abortion? Save it for next time. Gay marriage and civil unions? Say what? Medical marijuana? Who cares?

No, this election is about nothing less than the future economic security of the nearly two million souls who populate the state. Sure, the candidates may try to make it about something else, but everything will be filtered through a voter lens that is focused sharply on their jobs, their savings accounts, their kids' jobs and educations, their health costs and that of their parents. In other words, the bread and butter issues.

The official jobless rate in the state is averaging a bit below 9 percent, but the experts tell you that when you count those who can only find part-time work or have given up on getting a job all together, the actual rate here is probably in teenage numbers--13 percent or more. Add to that a state budget crisis that looks like a rolling stone storming down a mountain and you have the most challenging economic circumstances of our lifetimes. And that's no hype.

Not that any of this is going to prevent us--and you--from having a whole lot of fun in the next two months. Just drop by here every day from now until November 2. The stuff these candidates do will get your mind off any depression--economic or otherwise. And you don't even have to donate a can of food.

NOW TO THE ACTION...

Will the refusal of ABQ Dem US Congressman Martin Heinrich to meet Republican challenger Jon Barela at a mid-October TV debate sponsored by KOAT and the ABQ Journal do him any harm? Probably not, but that doesn't make it a good decision.

Heinrich had a polling scare this summer when the SurveyUSA showed him running behind Barela, but the first ABQ Journal poll straightened that out and gives Heinrich a healthy 47% to 41% lead (Even a conservative group's poll shows Heinrich leading 49% to 42%). We rank the race "likely Dem." Political guru Larry Sabato of the University of Virginia calls it lean Dem. Rothenberg also now has it lean Dem.

But Heinrich is in the "People's House" and it's unusual for an ABQ congressman to not show up to just about everywhere he's invited. It leaves a bad taste that Heinrich is refusing the TV debate and shows that the young politico may be overly cautious. We hope this reticent temperament does not take hold when he is called upon to defend ABQ's interests on Capitol Hill.

Heinrich will do at least one TV debate with Barela--on public television KNME-TV, which won't be as nearly as watched as a face-off on KOAT, but it does prevent Barela from claiming that Heinrich won't debate him. In addition, the congressman is attending various candidate forums where he and Barela will both be in attendance.

KOAT-TV GM Mary Lynn Roper says she can't recall a candidate refusing to debate at the station in its "33 year history" of hosting such events. Well, not quite. Mary Lynn would be correct in saying it is very rare, but we clearly recall, in 1984, when GOP US Senator Pete Domenici, seeking a third term, refused to debate State Rep. Judy Pratt, his Dem opponent, on commercial TV. Like Heinrich, Pete agreed to one debate on KNME-TV so the press could not make it a major issue. (Pete beat Judy that year by garnering 72 percent--his highest ever).

TEAGUE TV

Embattled southern Dem Congressman Harry Teague has a lot more to worry about than Heinrich. He has Republican Steve Pearce breathing down his neck so he's starting to spend. Here's his first TV ad debuting today. It's a 60 second spot that concentrates on his visits to the districts, not his work in Washington. Heinrich did the same. While Teague stays on the high road (they show him driving his truck around) Pearce has been getting beat up by out-of-state interest group money that bought TV time. The spots appear to have helped Teague grab the early polling leading in the Journal survey. At best the race is a toss-up for Teague. DC's Rothenberg says it is "lean R" and he won't get a fight from this corner.