Event Details

The Friends of Coronado & Jemez Historic Sites present a lecture by Dr. Enrique R. Lamadrid, "Genízaros: Place and Identity in New Mexico." Genízaros are the children of the Indian wars in New Mexico. By 1880, this Indigenous ethnic group made up a third of New Mexico’s Hispano population. Their history encompasses slavery, settlements, religion, and mestizo genetics. They entered colonial society as captives taken during tribal warfare in and around New Mexico. Most Genízaros began as Hispano servants who earned their freedom by working off the ransom paid by their owners. While many assimilated into Hispano and Pueblo society, others settled in land grant communities where they maintained their identity through ritual, self-government, and kinship; a culture that survives to the present.

Dr. Enrique R. Lamadrid is Distinguished Professor Emeritus of Spanish at University of New Mexico (UNM). His research includes ethnopoetics, literature, folklore, folk music, and dance. He edits the Querencia Series at UNM Press. His curatorial and festival projects with the Smithsonian and Museum of New Mexico resulted in being awarded the Americo Paredes Prize. Among other distinctions, he serves on the boards of the National Institute of Flamenco, the Robb Musical Trust, and the New Mexico Historical Review.

The lecture is free and takes place at Martha Liebert Public Library, Bernalillo on Caliche St Behind the Town Hall at 829 Camino del Pueblo.