Posted by [EMAIL PROTECTED] : Tuesday, December 14, 1999 http://www.abqjournal.com/news/8news12-14-99.htm Artists Unveil Oņate Proposal By Anthony DellaFlora Journal Staff Writer A $600,000 memorial honoring the meeting of the Spanish and Native American cultures in New Mexico more than 400 years ago will have to wait a few more weeks for approval from the City Council. The City Council was scheduled to vote Monday on the Cuarto Centenario memorial design by artists Betty Sabo, Reynaldo "Sonny" Rivera and Nora Naranjo-Morse. But councilors instead sent the matter to its Land Use, Planning and Zoning Committee next month. If it passes out of committee, it would then go to the full council in February. Councilor Alan Armijo said he wanted to give the public more time to comment on the proposed piece. Members of the public did get to see sketches and a clay model of the piece for the first time at Monday's council meeting. Most appeared impressed with the design, which has been months in the making. The memorial would take up the northwest corner of Tiguex Park, at 19th and Mountain NW just east of Old Town Plaza. The piece includes a 10-by-60-foot section called "La Jornada," or "The Journey," which includes more than a dozen life-size bronze figures representing New Mexico colonizer Juan de Oņate and the band of settlers and livestock that came north with him from Mexico in 1598. Just west of the group is a wall that would contain bas-reliefs and historical information. The settlers are forging northward into an environmental landscape designed by Naranjo-Morse. The centerpiece is a spiral that will be formed with rock walls, a stone pathway and lots of trees and native plants. Naranjo-Morse said her portion of the memorial is intended to capture the area as it was before the Spanish arrived. As visitors step into the spiral from the west, off 19th NW, they'll be covered by shade trees. As they move through the spiral, on a stone path, they'll emerge into the light. The spiral eventually winds around to a small reflecting pool in the center, surrounded by boulders. At that point, visitors can look up and see the band of settlers arriving. Naranjo-Morse said she tried to envision what her ancestors might have seen as the Spanish entered their land for the first time. All the artists said they were glad to finally get the design before the public. "There's been a lot of question about what is going on concerning this project. I think at this point it's very important to start contextualizing it so the public is aware of the nuances. Because in the nuances is what really makes it very, very poignant -- the whole message, both the environment and 'La Jornada,' '' said Naranjo-Morse. Millie Santillanes, one of the longtime and most ardent supporters of a monument to Oņate, feared the delay could be the result of councilors' concerns about the cost, which has more than tripled since the inception of the project. "We need to stand back and let them understand what has happened -- where a request for a simple bust that would have cost less than $100,000 has mushroomed, so that we can be politically correct, to $550,000 (not including the cost of park improvements). "We, the proponents of the statue, didn't make it mushroom," Santillanes added. "So they can't punish us if it gets so huge and so big. They can't come back and say 'Hey, it's too late, we now get rid of it. You blew it.' We didn't blow it. We asked for something very simple." Santillanes said she was happy with the portrayal of the settlers. "It is magnificent. We would be the pride of the Southwest with this memorial." The project as conceived in its current form began more than two years ago under the Albuquerque Arts Board, and has been hotly debated in the community. Since early 1998, dealing with the controversy, focused mainly on colonizer Juan de Oņate, has involved consultants, mediators and direct intervention by Mayor Jim Baca and the City Council. Oņate has been hailed by supporters as the founder of New Mexico, but hated by detractors for his mistreatment of Native Americans, particularly at Acoma Pueblo. Photo of model of Oņate memorial design http://www.abqjournal.com/news/8photo12-14-99.htm Reprinted under the Fair Use http://www4.law.cornell.edu/uscode/17/107.html doctrine of international copyright law. <><<<<<>>>>><><<<<> Tsonkwadiyonrat (We are ONE Spirit) http://www.tdi.net/ishgooda/ <><<<<<>>>>><><<<<>
