On Monday, September 17, 2021 Manuel Romero was interview about his book, “Mi America: The Evolution of An American Family on The University of New Mexico’s radio station KUNM on the Program “Espejos de Aztlan. by Froilan Orozco. Espejos de Aztlan is a Latino bilingual arts and public affairs program that airs weekly on Mondays. Listen in on the link below.
Author Manuel Romero is no stranger to media attention. Throughout his professional career he has attracted it on several occasions. After all, he’s served on the University of Utah’s Chicano Scholarship Board of Trustees, founded the Utah Coalition of la Raza, worked on a number of political campaigns, and interned in Washington D.C. for former New Mexico governor Bill Richardson when he was in congress. But this is his first time receiving any attention as an author. Mi America was covered by the Intermountain Catholic in March of this year, and again in April by the Salt Lake City Weekly. … Read More
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.
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
“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