Justice
In Santa Fe, Tradition and Identity Clash Over an Annual Festival
Can one of America's earliest civic celebrations reckon with its violent colonial roots?
Each September in downtown Santa Fe, a young man dons a silver helmet with a curling feather, and a gold-trimmed black velvet cape. Dressed as Spanish conquistador Don Diego de Vargas and accompanied by his cuadrilla, he approaches a man playing the role of a Pueblo Indian cacique as the two reenact the Spanish reoccupation of Santa Fe in 1692.
This entrada, as it’s known, is the culmination of Fiestas de Santa Fe, a week of festivities honoring the history of one of America’s oldest cities. In a city conquered twice—first by Spanish conquistadores, then by the U.S. Army—the memory is a fraught endeavor. This year, the voices of Don Diego and the cacique competed with the voices of about fifty protesters, calling for an end to the ceremony.