'A huge and vast history': New exhibit details Hispanic migration to Pueblo
Weeks after the holiday season, a local genealogical society will gift the community with a new exhibit at the Pueblo Heritage Museum, 201 W. B St.
"Hispanic Migration to the Southwest and Pueblo" documents 21,000 years of Hispanic American history. The Fray Angelico Chavez Chapter of the Genealogical Society of Hispanic America will host a free grand opening ceremony for the exhibit on Saturday, Jan. 14. The event is open to the public from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m.
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Designed to be user-friendly, the exhibit features a large timeline extending from the arrival of Indigenous peoples to the present day. Document holders and touch screens with QR codes will assist visitors in taking a deep dive on elements of interest, like migration to the San Luis Valley, Pueblo's significant role in the Chicano movement and Doña Tules — a famous businesswoman and gambler in mid-19th century New Mexico.
"There was no way that we could fit in everything that is part of our history and our culture, so we kind of picked and chose what we thought were some highlights," said Mary Ellen Burciago, committee chair for the exhibit.
Several families in Pueblo share DNA with Spanish conquistadors who traveled from Mexico City to the Ohkay Owingeh Pueblos in Northern New Mexico, Burciago said. Most of these families also share DNA with Indigenous peoples who crossed the Bering Land Bridge from Asia into North America before settling in places like Mesa Verde and Chihuahua.
"(Conquistadors) came without partners, so what did they do? They took Native partners ... very few of us have no Native blood. I would dare say anyone who's Hispanic from Pueblo whose family came this way has some to a lot of Native DNA," Burciago said.
Some Hispanic American families came to Pueblo from New Mexico near the turn of the century to work for Colorado Fuel and Iron. They settled in neighborhoods like Goat Hill, Salt Creek and the East Side.
"They were sheepherders, but there was no commerce going on and they were starving," Burciago said. "They started coming to (Colorado Fuel and Iron). Another branch went over to California and lived there. ... It's a huge and vast history of our people."
Burciago chairs a four-person committee for the "Hispanic Migration to the Southwest and Pueblo" exhibit. She is joined on the committee by Tom Martinez, Claudine Riccillo and Connie Romero. All are members of the Fray Angelico Chavez Chapter, a Pueblo genealogical society meeting on the second Saturday of the month from 8:30 a.m. to noon.
More information about the Fray Angelico Chavez Chapter may be found on their website, facc-genealogy.weebly.com.
Pueblo Chieftain reporter James Bartolo can be reached by email at JBartolo@gannett.com.
This article originally appeared on The Pueblo Chieftain: Pueblo Heritage Museum to unveil new Hispanic migration exhibit
