Immerse Yourself in Historic Indigenous Cultures: Tour Our Lady Of Guadalupe Cemetery in Mesilla/Las Cruces, NM
Saturday, May 25th, 10 AM
Immerse yourself in historic indigenous cultures. The cemetery introduces you to a variety of indigenous cultures as well as Mexican customs. The first inhabitants of Tortugas were made up of Indians from the Guadalupe Mission, Tiguas from Isleta del Sur and Piro Indians from Senecú del Sur and Socorro del Sur (El Paso missions abandoned in the late 1800s). The history of Tortugas, its traditions, and its storied conflicts will highlight the tour.
Directions from Las Cruces: From Stern Drive go south from Union Ave (towards El Paso); turn right on Juan Diego, left on San Felipe, street ends at cemetery
Directions from El Paso: from El Paso exit at Mesquite cross over I-10 to Stern Drive turn right (north-ish) past cemetery and turn left on Juan Diego.
Meet at 10 a.m. at the entrance gate at 1150 San Felipe Ave; also accessible from 1100 Stern Drive (park and walk around west end to entrance).
Your guide will be Mary-Kay Shannon.
You do not need to RSVP or register for this event. Just come.
Tortugas was founded in 1852. Tortugas Pueblo, as it is commonly referred to as, was the area of land that was granted to tribal members of the Piro/Manso/Tiwa tribe in Las Cruces.[3] Originally Tortugas was made up of two Native villages, the Pueblo of Guadalupe and the Pueblo of San Juan de Guadalupe. Many of the people living in Tortugas today are members and descendants of the tribe, as well as descendants of various other tribes in the surrounding area including Jumanos, Sumas, Apaches, Conchos, and Rarámuri. Despite being considered extinct Manso Indians are part of the population that make up members of the Tortugas community. The area of land in present-day Las Cruces down the Rio Grande into Juarez, Mexico was the territory of the Manso people before the Spanish came through and before other tribes began moving in. The Tiwa (or Tigua) from Isleta Pueblo and Piro people from near Socorro, New Mexico moved into the area after the Pueblo Revolt, when many Native Spanish allies as well and Native slaves of the Spanish, also known as genizaros, traveled south from Santa Fe into Paso del Norte (present day El Paso) where missions were established for the Natives in the area to attend. Many people in Tortugas are also descendants of Ysleta del Sur Pueblo, a pueblo in Texas that was established after the Pueblo Revolt as well. Despite not being federally recognized, Tortugas has maintained its Native cultural heritage and traditions and has thrived as an inter-tribal community. The current cacique is Patrick Narvaez.[4][5]
Tortugas is home of the Tortugas Pueblo Fiesta of Our Lady of Guadalupe, a feast day celebration observed every year on December 10-12 that incorporates Native traditions with Catholic influence. There are four dance groups in Tortugas that dance during the ceremony, including the Pueblo Indian dancers, the Danzantes, the Danzantes Guadalupana, and the Danzantes Chichimecas. The latter two being matachines dance groups.