Colorado's San Luis Valley is home to what's considered the oldest Latino civil rights group in the country
In northern New Mexico and in southern Colorado there is a Spanish-based culture that thrives to this day. It's often forgotten about, but one organization wants to make sure this piece of Colorado history is remembered.
The San Luis Valley, which straddles Colorado and New Mexico, is Colorado's home to this Hispano culture and it is full of stories.
"My dad's family was from Española. but his mom was from San Juan Pueblo, she was a native," said Gerónimo Mateo Olivas.
And the people who live there have been there a long time.
"My family has been here for many generations following the tradition and settlement pattern in northern New Mexico," said Esteban Salazar.
This was where Colorado began. It's home to the oldest town in the state and the oldest church. Before it became a state native peoples lived in the area and the Spanish settled it with small towns.
"The Spanish and later the Mexican government wanted to populate the far reaches of the Spanish colonial empire and in doing so they enacted a system called the land grants. So, this was a way to get people out into the frontier," said Salazar.
For centuries it was a tight knit community whose people raised sheep, farmed and took care of one another. That way of life thrived until 1848 when the United States won the Mexican American war and the two nations signed the treaty of Guadalupe-Hidalgo making New Mexcio and Southern Colorado part of the United States.
"Many of the landowners had (land) titles in Spanish and when the United States acquired the southwest those titles were difficult to honor," said Salazar.
People lost land and water rights because the United States didn't honor documents written in Spanish and the people didn't understand the system of governance they inherited. The people in the Valley fought back the way they always do, by joining together.
They formed Sociedad Proteccion Mututal de Trabajadores Unidos, or S.P.M.D.T.U., a collective dedicated to making sure people kept their land from the hands of new settlers through non-violent means.
Their preamble written in 1900 reads:
"…para la protección de cado uno de los miembros que la forman, y ayudando a sus miembros desvalidos y necesitados, a sus viudas y huérfanos y a todos aquellas personas que por algún vínculo de consanguinidad estén unidas con alguna persona de esta sociedad; para mitigar los estragos y sinsabores de la vida; para protegerse contra las injusticias de los tiranos y de los déspotas, de los usurpadores de la ley y de las justicia, de los ladrones de vidas, honras y intereses; para estrecharnos la mano de hermanos en medio de nuestras alegrías, de nuestras dichas, de nuestras desgracias y nuestros martirios, para caminar por el rudo camino de la vida con los ojos empapados con las lágrimas de la alegría, con la sonrisa verdadera en nuestros labios y con la frente levantada con el laurel del triunfo y de la humanidad, y así prosiguiendo en nuestra vida llevaremos grabada en nuestro corazón la fé segura de que hay una madre tierna y cariñosa que se llama Sociedad de Protección Mutua, que en nuestra última hora de existencia nos impartirá los auxilios bienhechores que toda madre prodiga al fruto de su vientre, y ya en nuestra última morada, regará nuestro sepulcro con las lágrimas del consuelo y plantará la siempreviva fraternal."
In English:
"…for the protection of each of the members that form it, and helping its helpless and needy members, its widows and orphans and all those people who, through some blood relationship, are united with someone in this society; to mitigate the ravages and disappointments of life; to protect against the injustices of tyrants and despots, usurpers of law and justice, thieves of lives, honors and interests; to shake hands as brothers in the midst of our joys, our happiness, our misfortunes and our martyrdoms, to walk along the rough path of life with eyes soaked with tears of joy, with a true smile on our lips and with our foreheads raised with the laurel of triumph and humanity, and thus continuing in our lives we will carry engraved in our hearts the sure faith that there is a tender and loving mother called the Mutual Protection Society, who in our last hour of existence will impart to us the beneficent aid that every mother lavishes on the fruit of her womb, and already in our last resting place, she will water our tomb with the tears of consolation and plant the fraternal immortelle."
"The S.P.M.D.T.U. showed the younger generation that we shouldn't just sit and take it," said Olivas.
The organization has operated for 124 years, but after World War II, interest waned. Until a few years ago.
"A lot of youth are coming in and joining," said Olivas.
They are taking this opportunity to help their members by preserving their culture and teaching the youth new skills and traditions they've lost. like the Spanish language.
"I was able to find a lot of work. i mean there's options when you have two languages," said Olivas speaking about how re-learning Spanish in college helped him.
The S.P.M.D.T.U. also recently completed a two-million-dollar renovation of their headquarters in Antonito, Colorado.
Miembros or "members" say this is good for the people of Colorado and New Mexico.
"We are sharing our skills as young professionals and educated people and passionate community members," said Salazar.
The S.P.M.D.T.U has 7 active Concilios or "chapters" including one in Denver. You can join the S.P.M.D.T.U. by visiting their website.
