Examining New Mexico’s Complicated Colonial History

July 9, 2021 – Vanessa Fonseca-Chávez is a New Mexico native and an assistant professor at Arizona State University. She is also co-editor of the book “Querencia: Reflections on the New Mexico Homeland.” As a Chicana who is critical of monuments to Spanish conquistadors, she has also worked on a decolonial bibliography of controversial conqueror Don Juan de Oñate. She discusses that research and how her upbringing in rural New Mexico helped spur her interest in the topic.   

Host: Russell Contreras 

Guest: Vanessa Fonseca-Chávez, assistant professor of Hispanic and Indigenous studies, Arizona State University 

For More Information: 
Researching Oñate: A Working Decolonial Bibliography – by Vanessa Fonseca Chávez, Ph.D. and Estevan Rael-Gálvez, Ph.D. 
“The Last Conquistador” Excerpt and Post-Screening Discussion – NMPBS 
Interview with Filmmaker John Valadez – NMPBS