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| A NEWSLETTER PUBLISHED
BY THE NEW MEXICO STATE RECORDS CENTER AND ARCHIVES 1205 Camino Carlos Rey, Santa Fe, New Mexico 87507 (505) 476-7900 FAX (505) 476-7901 Web site address: www.nmcpr.state.nm.us |
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January 2005 Volume 10.0
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In This Issue:
Contributing
Writers
Daphne Arnaiz-DeLeon is a native of Riverside, California and a graduate of the University of California at Riverside with a Master’s degree in History and a subspecialty in Archival Management (1994). She is the Archives and Historical Services Division Director. Randy Forrester received a Bachelor’s degree from the University of Missouri in Political Science and a Master’s degree from the University of Maryland in Government and Politics. He is the Grants Administrator for the New Mexico State Archives. Lucille Martinez graduated from Eastern New Mexico University with a Bachelor of Science degree in Biology. She is an archivist with the SRCA.
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Farolitos, luminarias, tamales, posole, empanadas, biscochitos, Los Matachines, and Los Comanches are all reminders of New Mexico’s winter holiday season. Although the pageants have already been played out, they will return to New Mexico next year as they have for centuries. For those unfamiliar with the dramas of Los Matachines and Los Comanches, the following are brief descriptions. Los Matachines is a folk dance of unknown origin performed either during special fiestas or traditionally around Christmas time by both Hispanics and Indians in New Mexico. Yet there are many versions regarding its meaning and purpose. Some believe the dance represents the expulsion of the Moors from the Iberian Peninsula in 1492 by the Christians. They believe the dance was brought to the New World by the Conquistadors. However, another play, Los Moros y Los Cristianos, depicts this conflict specifically and is performed during Holy Week in some New Mexico towns. Others believe the dance depicts the triumph of Cortez over Montezuma and his people and their conversion to Christianity. The dance, in its simplest form, portrays the triumph of good over evil. The characters include the Monarca or the Monarch; La Malinche, the little girl or bride; El Toro, the bull; the Matachine dancers who usually number twelve; and Los Abuelos or Agüelos, two clowns whose purpose is to provide entertainment and keep the spectators from interfering with the dancers. The costumes for the Monarca and Matachine dancers consist of miter-like coronas or crowns with fringe to cover the eyes, a veil to cover the mouth, and ribbons that fall down their backs. Also included is a colorful silk tápalo, which drapes from the shoulders to the knees. In one hand they carry a palma, a three-pronged wand representing the holy trinity. In the other hand they carry a guaje or gourd rattle to keep time with the music. La Malinche is costumed in a white dress, a white veil, white gloves, white stockings, and white shoes. El Toro wears a bull’s headdress and a fur that drapes down his back. Los Abuelos wear comical outfits. One is usually dressed as a female and the other, the male, wears a mask and carries a whip to keep order. During the dance, the Matachines form two even-numbered, parallel lines with the Monarca and La Malinche dancing between the two lines. They use polka-like dance steps and perform various dance sequences. Distinctive elements in the Matachine dance are the guitar and violin music. Some Indian pueblos also include a drum as part of the accompaniment. In the Pueblos of Taos and Picurís, a Maypole-like dance is added as a closing sequence. Like the Matachine dance, the theme of Los Comanches is characterized by a struggle between good and evil. However, Los Comanches is an equestrian folk play performed in northern New Mexico during the Christmas season. This drama too has been confused with Los Moros y Los Cristianos, also an equestrian folk play. Throughout the years, New Mexicans have taken the main parts of Los Comanches and mixed in their own characters, resulting in several variations. One version as described by A. L. Campa in the Dorothy Woodward Memorial Penitente Collection, No. 1987-045, is a nativity play where the Comanches steal Baby Jesus. “The villagers having discovered his capture set about to find him by following his footsteps in the snow. When they come upon the Comanches and the baby Jesus, the Comanche chief attempts to bargain with them. They refuse and explain the role of the baby Jesus and his sovereignty over mankind. Having heard this story, the chief then relinquishes his hostage along with offerings of blankets, bows, and arrows.” A second version described in the Works Progress Administration Collection, No. 1959-232, is an actual play performed at Ranchos de Taos. In this play the Comanches capture two principal characters, Rosita and Ramon. Don Carlos Fernandez and the other males in the community go in search of the Comanches and the captives. A battle ensues and the captives are rescued and brought home. During a celebration which takes place a few days later, the Comanches led by Chief Cuerno Verde return in peace and profess their willingness to convert to Christianity. A third variation focuses on a battle between the Spaniards of New Mexico and the powerful, marauding Comanches led by Chief Cuerno Verde. This battle ends in triumph for the Spaniards with the killing of Chief Cuerno Verde and the diffusion of Comanche power in New Mexico. It is unclear when the battle in this last version of Los Comanches takes place. Amado Chavez, in his collection, No. 1963-001, states that it occurred as early as 1723. Others believe it occurred either in 1774 or 1779, and no one knows who wrote the play or when it was written. What is known is that it is still being played out in many northern New Mexican villages more than 200 years after the battle occurred. The principal characters are Don Carlos Fernandez and Chief Cuerno Verde, and this is where the controversy begins. If it is correct that Don Carlos Fernandez is the leader of the Spaniards, then the battle occurred in 1774. However, Chief Cuerno Verde does not die in this battle. He recovers and comes back to continue his attacks. If the battle portrays the defeat of the Comanches and the ultimate death of Chief Cuerno Verde, then it would have occurred in 1779. But the leader of the Spaniards in this battle would have been Governor Juan Bautista de Anza. A map of the route Governor Anza took to this battle site can be found in the New Mexico State Archives’ map collection and in the book entitled Anza’s 1779 Comanche Campaign by Ronald E. Kessler. To add more confusion, Wilfred O. Martinez in his book, Anza and Cuerno Verde, Decisive Battle, states that Chief Cuerno Verde in these two latter battles is the son of Chief Cuerno Verde who died in battle against the Spanish in what is now Ojo Caliente, New Mexico in October 1768. Nevertheless, this version of the drama is played out in an open field with the two opposing forces on horseback forming battle lines. The characters on both sides give arrengas or speeches and profess allegiance to their leaders and death to the enemy. Copies of these poetic verses can be found in the book Hermanitos Comanchitos by Enrique R. LaMadrid, the L. Bradford Prince Collection, No. 1959-088, and in the Amado Chavez Collection, No. 1963-001. The battle begins after the last speech. Again, New Mexico has more than one version of both dramas. The Matachine dance, the characters, and the costumes along with the third version of Los Comanches described above are taken from performances held annually on December 27 in Alcalde, New Mexico. Other collections utilized for this article (and for its corresponding exhibit, displayed at the New Mexico State Archives’ entrance) include the following: Lucien A. File Research Files Collection, No. 1971-006; E. Boyd Collection, No. 1971-029; New Mexico Magazine Collection; the Flavia A. Champe Dance Photograph Collection, Photo 0033:A-B; and the Jacqueline Dunnington Photograph Collection, Photo 0077:A. All collections are housed at the New Mexico State Records Center and Archives. The following books were consulted in writing this article: Los Matachines by Patricio A. Cruz; The Matachines Dance by Sylvia Rodriguez; The Matachines Dance of the Upper Rio Grand: History, Music, and Choreography by Flavia Waters Champe; The Matachines Music and Dance in San Juan Pueblo and Alcalde, New Mexico: Contexts and Meaning by Brenda Mae Romero and New Mexico Historical Review, Volume 69, April 1994, Number 2.
NMHRAB Grant and Scholarship Awards Among the key activities of the New Mexico Historical Records Advisory Board (NMHRAB) is the provision of grants to historical records repositories throughout the state. These grants are awarded to qualifying projects that promote preservation of and access to New Mexico's historical records. During its initial strategic planning process, the Board identified a number of problems that posed threats to the preservation of New Mexico's historical records. Funding issues were found to be the bases of many of these problems, and the Board, in response, established its grant program. Eligible applicants are State, local and tribal governmental agencies and private, non-profit historical records repositories. Applicants must document the local historical importance of the records that are the target of their projects; they must demonstrate financial need and commitment to the projects; and they must underwrite that commitment by providing a match in funding of at least 25 percent of the total grant amount. The scholarship program is an outgrowth of the original NMHRAB grant program. One of the most apparent needs identified by the Board was training for repository staff. People with little or no professional training were often charged with the care of fragile and irreplaceable documents, and money for training was not available. The scholarship program was initiated in an attempt to address the need for training. The training for which funding is sought by a scholarship applicant must support the strategic goals of the NMHRAB. Scholarships cover the cost of the training programs or courses and defray a portion of travel expenses. The money for the grants and scholarships comes from State appropriations and, when available, from Federal grants. The Board sets the grant and scholarship schedules, but generally, calls for proposals are issued in late spring and awards are made in the fall. The NMHRAB received a record number of project and scholarship grant applications during its recent funding cycle. Seventeen project applications and six scholarship applications were received. The Board, at its September 30 meeting, awarded $45,150.00 in grants and $3,188.86 in scholarships for projects and training that preserve and make accessible New Mexico’s historical records. The award recipients included those listed below: Projects Center
for Land Grant Studies City of
Las Vegas City of
Sunland Park Moriarty
Historical Society New Mexico
Preservation Alliance Palace
of the Governors (History Library) Palace
of the Governors (Photo Archives) Project
Crossroads Rio Rancho
Public Library San Juan
Pueblo Santa Fe
Indian School Santa Fe
Opera University
of New Mexico (General Library) Scholarships City of
Gallup New Mexico
Public Regulation Commission University
of New Mexico (Political Archives)
New Mexican Perspective on the Bataan Death March Perhaps the World War II events that resonate most with New Mexicans are those that surround the Bataan Death March. The 200th and 515th Coast Artillery Regiments stationed on the Bataan Peninsula were predominately New Mexican troops. After the Battle for Bataan in the Philippines ended on April 9, 1942, captured American soldiers were marched by Japanese armed forces 65 miles from Mariveles to San Fernando. Along the way, 1,000 soldiers died. After 40 months of captivity in Japanese P.O.W. Camps, less than 900 of the original 1,800 New Mexican soldiers returned home. Records in the New Mexico State Archives provide intimate, passionate, and often unique perspectives of these events. Currently, the images that were created by the New Mexico Department of Tourism are being digitized and posted on-line. Among these images are several of the 200th Coast Artillery Regiment during their annual encampment at Camp Maximiliano Luna outside of Las Vegas, New Mexico. These images document the vitality of these men before the events on the Bataan Peninsula that would irrevocably change their lives. General Douglas MacArthur was the top ranking U.S. Army officer in the Philippines until he was transferred to Australia in early 1942, just before the Bataan Battle. In his February 9, 1943 response to a letter from Mr. V. H. Spensley, Chairman of the Bataan Relief Organization of Albuquerque, New Mexico, he expressed his commitment to return to the Philippines and liberate the survivors of the Bataan campaign. The following is transcript of the letter. Dear Mr. Spensley: General MacArthur liberated the Philippines from the Japanese in 1944. New Mexicans at home also wrote to Governor Dempsey and expressed their frustrations in the apparent lack of support for their fellow New Mexicans that were imprisoned by the Japanese. Following is a letter from Ms. David Jones of Silver City to Governor Dempsey, dated June 10, 1943. Dear Gov. Dempsey, Governor Dempsey replied to Mrs. Jones on June 17, 1943 and expressed his commitment to the possibility of exchanging American prisoners of war for Japanese civilians interned in the United States. Records concerning New Mexico's response to the events of the Bataan Peninsula and World War II can be found within collections maintained by the New Mexico State Records Center and Archives (SRCA). Research Rooms at the SRCA are open to the public Monday through Friday, 8:00 AM to 4:45 PM. Archival assistance is available from 9:00 AM to 4:30 PM. Collection information and digital images of select records can be accessed on the Internet via the on-line collection catalog, which is accessible from the homepage of the SRCA at http://www.nmcpr.state.nm.us/archives/archives_hm.htm.
* The “3 B’s” stood for the “Battling B***ards of Bataan”. The blank space in this passage represents a word that was illegible to the archivist.
ARCHIVES
AND RECORDS MANAGEMENT
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Lucille
Martinez