The History Behind Controversial Oñate Statues

New Mexico News Insiders

New Mexicans seem to be grappling with how to choose to display or not to display parts of history. There have been two shootings in New Mexico a little over three years apart - at protests related to statues of the controversial Spanish Conquistador, Juan de Oñate. This week, Chris and Gabby host Moises Gonzales, Associate Professor of Urban Design at UNM, with a focus on Historic Preservation of the Southwest. Gonzales shares some of Oñate’s history in New Mexico, and what’s led up to more recent protests surrounding Oñate statues. What will be the fate of the two statues that still sit in storage? Will New Mexicans come to a place of agreement on what to do with them?

We made a mention of a Larry Barker investigation about the Oñate Center building in Alcalde. Here's a link to that 2016 story, detailing where the northern New Mexico statue was first installed.

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