DE VARGAS STATUE IN SANTA FE REMOVED
City to ‘have a conversation’ about future of monument
City says monument was removed for safety reasons ahead of a protest scheduled for later that day.
SANTA FE — Santa Fe joined a host of cities across the nation on Thursday morning, removing one of its controversial statues in the wake of protests.
City workers removed the statue of Don Diego de Vargas, a 17th century conquistador, from Cathedral Park, where it had been dedicated in 2007.
City Parks and Recreation
Director John Muñoz said the de Vargas statue was removed for safety concerns ahead of a protest scheduled for later in the day. He said the statue had been moved to “an undisclosed location.”
However, he said it would not be correct to say the statue is gone permanently. Where it will end up will be decided after the community has had a chance to weigh in.
“I personally think it would be beneficial to have a conversation,” he said.
De Vargas is revered by some as being an early leader among Spanish settlers in New Mexico, but many Native Americans decry his brutal treatment of native people following the Pueblo Revolt of 1680.
The removal of de Vargas came one day after Mayor Alan Webber announced he supported the removal of three controversial monuments in and around the Santa Fe Plaza. They include the de Vargas statue, an obelisk in the middle
of the Plaza dedicated to U.S. veterans and another obelisk, located in front of the U.S. Courthouse, dedicated to Kit Carson.
The obelisk in the Plaza is controversial because of an inscription that reads, “To the heroes who have fallen in the various battles with savage Indians in the Territory of New Mexico.” The word savage was chiseled out of the monument decades ago.
Protesters against the monuments filled the Plaza on Thursday afternoon in an event organized by the Three Sisters Collective, a Santa Fe organization that advocates for the rights of Native Americans.
Many speakers called for the removal of both obelisks in Santa Fe, saying they carry reminders of crimes committed against indigenous people.
“I knew who these people were and what they represented,” Elena Ortiz said to the crowd, referencing field trips she had to take to these monuments as a child.
She, like many other speakers, also acknowledged Webber for calling for the monuments’ removal, “even if that decision was based in fear.”
A statue of conquistador Juan de Oñate in Alcalde was removed Monday, while a similar statue of Oñate in Albuquerque was removed Tuesday. Steven Ray Baca, a former Albuquerque city council candidate, faces several charges including aggravated battery following the shooting of a protester Monday as demonstrators attempted to tear down the statue themselves.