SENATE MEMORIAL 61

50th legislature - STATE OF NEW MEXICO - first session, 2011

INTRODUCED BY

Eric G. Griego

A MEMORIAL

RECOGNIZING THE RICH CULTURAL HISTORY OF ALBUQUERQUE'S SOUTH VALLEY AND DECLARING MARCH 3, 2011 "SOUTH VALLEY DAY" IN THE SENATE.

     WHEREAS, the South Valley of Albuquerque is home to some of New Mexico's earliest settlements and remains the heart and soul of the "Land of Enchantment" to this day; and

     WHEREAS, the South Valley has made rich historical, cultural, political and agricultural contributions to the state of New Mexico; and

     WHEREAS, the South Valley remains true to its original character as a self-sustaining farming community nourished by acequias and the Rio Grande, despite its proximity to New Mexico's largest city; and

     WHEREAS, tens of thousands of New Mexicans proudly call the South Valley home, living and working in and near the communities established long before the town of Albuquerque was established: Armijo, Pajarito, Atrisco and Los Padillas and the Atrisco land grant, the first of more than three hundred land grants in what would become New Mexico and the first in what would become the United States; and

     WHEREAS, the South Valley now includes the culturally interesting and diverse neighborhoods of San Jose, Barelas, Vecinos del Bosque, Adobe Acres, Valley Gardens, Five Points and Mountain View; and

     WHEREAS, many of the families living in the South Valley today can trace their roots to the families that settled the area centuries ago; and

     WHEREAS, the South Valley is home to the national Hispanic cultural center; the South Broadway cultural center; the Rio Grande zoo; Rio Grande high school, home of the Ravens; and Albuquerque public schools' newest high school, Atrisco heritage high school, home of the Jaguars; and

     WHEREAS, the South Valley has provided New Mexico with some of its most influential political leaders such as the Aragons and United States Senators Dennis Chavez and Clinton P. Anderson; cultural leaders such as poet Jimmy Santiago Baca, actors Patrice Martinez and Vivian Vance, author Rudolfo Anaya and musicians Liz Melendez, Roberto Jose Griego and Eddie Dimas; athletes such as mixed martial arts trainer Greg Jackson and boxer Bobby Foster; military leaders such as Orlando Eli Sanchez; and craftsmen and artists such as the Pimentel family; and

     WHEREAS, archaeological evidence indicates that the first pueblo builders entered the valley more than six hundred years ago, as the sites of at least five pueblo Indian communities have been identified in the valley south of Central avenue and north of the Pueblo of Isleta; and

     WHEREAS, the South Valley today is the site of the historical Gutierrez-Hubbell house, Armijo school and Tingley beach; and

     WHEREAS, Isleta boulevard, which has been described as the oldest continuously used highway in North America, existing first as the Camino Real and later as part of United States route 66, runs through the South Valley and was first traveled in the 1500s by some members of the expeditions of Francisco Vasquez de Coronado and Juan de Onate;

     NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED BY THE SENATE OF THE STATE OF NEW MEXICO that the South Valley be honored and recognized for its unique contributions to the state of New Mexico and that March 3, 2011 be declared "South Valley Day" in the senate.

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