Page 324: A Profound Sense of Connection

miamerica2020U.S. History

Manuel Romero

Awards In 2010 I was presented with the Martin Luther King Jr. Drum Major Award by the Utah Martin Luther King Jr. Commission, and in March of 2013, I received the César Chávez Peace and Justice Lifetime Achievement award. I expressed my profound sense of connection with the audience by saying, “So many of you are a part of who I am”. Author Manuel Romero My Gratitude These awards were indeed an honor and I was grateful to the many people who “honor and I was grateful to the many people who made them possible. When accepting these awards, I … Read More

Page 100: Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo

miamerica2020American History, Hispanic Genealogy, U.S. Southwest History, Utah History

On February 2, 1848, with the stroke of a pen, Nicolás de Jesús Romero, Francisca Pacheco, (Rodolfo’s great-grandparents) and José de Jesús Domínguez and María Concepción Gonzales, (Amelia’s grandparents) became U.S. Citizens. The signing of the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo, meant that the United State extended its borders to include more than 100,000 former Spanish subjects and Mexican citizens. They brought with them a culture that was different from that of traditional European immigrants.What Nicolas, Francisca, José, and Mariá didn’t know was that they had become foreigners in their native land, which inevitably led to misunderstandings and conflict.

Page 95: Tragedy in Taos

miamerica2020American History, New Mexico History, U.S. History, U.S. Southwest History

On January 21st, Colonel Price led more than 300 U.S. troops and 65 volunteers north through the snow from Santa Fé to Taos, beating back a contingent of some 1,500 Nuevomejicanos and Pueblo Indians at Santa Cruz and Embudo Pass. On February 3rd, Colonel Price marched through the city of Taos unopposed, and discovered the insurgents, who had retreated to the Taos Pueblo, taking refuge in the thick adobe walled church of San Geronimo.While the native resisters fought mostly with bows and arrows along with a few guns, the Americans responded with cannons. Price’s cannons shot through the church walls, … Read More

She did not cross the border. The border crossed her.

miamerica2020American History, Early Spain, New Mexico History, U.S. Southwest HistoryLeave a Comment

“We are no longer citizens of Spain” In the fall of 1821, just after Mexico won its independence from Spain, my mother’s great-great-grandmother, María Dela Cruz Rivera, was 22 years old and living just outside Santa Fé. One day, she saw her younger sister running up a hill with news about to burst from her lips. Short of breath and confused, her sister says to María, “Hermanita, ya no somos ciudadanas de España. Somos ciudadanas de México,” We are no longer citizens of Spain, we are now citizens of Mexico. A citizen of three different countries without ever leaving home … Read More