Report on:

The panel discussion on the meaning of New Mexico's Cuarto Centenario held on Friday Nov. 20 at the Alburquerque City Council chambers.

The convening of panelists by the Alburquerque Cuarto Centenario Committee whose chairman is Arturo Sandoval was, it seemed, a last ditch effort to convince themselves that they had actually done something this year. It was also a deliberate attempt to rationalize their position against honoring New Mexico's first governor Don Juan de Oñate and the first settlers. Needless to say, the panel was stacked in favor of the Indian perspective. It appears that the Cuarto Centenario Committee of Alburquerque has used public funds to pursue an agenda, which does not reflect the intent of the Cuarto Centenario celebration and in the process has engaged in cultural sabotage.

The panelists included:

Conroy Chino - The "angel of Acoma" who has made it his mission to defame and destroy our forefathers.

Miguel Encinias - A self-proclaimed part Apache but who identifies himself as "Hispanic."

Cynthia Orozco - A transplanted Texan who took it upon herself to discredit and denigrates our ancestors. She considers herself a Chicana-mestiza.

Petuuche Gilbert - Also a native of Acoma, he is one hundred percent for Indian sovereignty and does not pledge allegiance to the US of A.

Joseph Sanchez - He is director of the Spanish Colonial Research Center at UNM, He spoke about Spanish colonialism and its effect on indigenous people.

As you can see, the discussion was totally one-sided. Not only was it one-sided but some of the accusations made by some of the panelists were completely biased, unfounded and unfair.

About a dozen (12) of our diehard members showed up at the meeting, which was a great show of support for our point of view. Pointed questions were asked of the panelists and there was no running away from them. The dialogue was interesting, at times frustrating and informative.

We have our work cut out for us, but with resolve, determination and tenacity we can certainly accomplish some of our goals.

By the end of the session our mestiza-chicana "friend" said that she now is calling herself Hispana and is planning to visit Spain in the near future.