Exhibit showcases Hispanic art and artifacts from a region divided by a state line

DENVER — When the border between Colorado and New Mexico was established 156 years ago, while imaginary, it divided a group of Spanish-speaking peoples whose shared history and heritage continues to persist for more than 400 years. 

An exhibit at History Colorado aims to capture the history and culture of the region through art and artifacts, like an old tortilla rolling pin, bronze sculptures, colchas, santos, retablos and textiles. 

9NEWS reporter Jeremy Jojola sat down with the organizer of the exhibit: Lucha Martinez de Luna, associate curator of Hispano, Latino, Chicano Culture at History Colorado. She has been pushing for more recognition of the region’s artists and its blended Spanish and indigenous heritage. 

“When I first came in, we unfortunately had a very small collection of the early settlement years, and then nothing,” Martinez de Luna said. 

When curating the exhibit, she selected artists from both New Mexico and southern Colorado. Their works will be on display until April 2025. 

Naming the exhibit was challenging, Martinez de Luna said, because of the region’s history of changing borders since the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo in 1848. The name De La Tierra reflects the region’s deep identity to the land, she said. 

“There’s a generation that actually experienced that change of boundaries, the change of power, and it was all about land, this fight for land, ” Martinez de Luna explained. 

“When I am in San Luis, in northern New Mexico, it’s all about the land. It’s always deeply been ingrained in my own memories as a child, especially having parents from the Civil Rights Movement as full-time activists. So it’s always been about the land, and I thought it was the best description for this exhibit,” Martinez de Luna said. 

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