Title
The Don Juan de Oñate Expedition at Paso del Norte
Creator
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Description
Offset lithograph on paper, 17.5 in. x 23 in. El Paso artist José Cisneros created this print interpreting the Don Juan de Oñate expedition at El Paso del Norte. Tasked with establishing a colony in New Mexico after scouts saw the Gipuy (or Kewa Pueblo) and Acoma people living stationary, agricultural-based lives, Spanish conquistador Oñate (1550-1630) led his army, settlers, missionaries, and farm animals in 1598 through the challenging Chihuahuan Desert, searching for a passage to New Mexico. After four months, Oñate discovered the Rio Grande and established headquarters at El Paso del Norte. He organized a mass and ceremony, el toma, to claim the lands for Spain, celebrating their survival and giving thanks to God. The mass and the feast are thought to be the first Thanksgiving ceremony in North America. Oñate marched through El Paso del Norte towards New Mexico, invading pueblos of the Gipuy (or Kewa Pueblo) along the way. Upon reaching the area of modern-day Santa Fe, he briefly lived in peace with the Acoma people before his nephew, Juan de Zaldívar, led a coup against the Acoma People, pillaging food and prisoners in his wake. Zaldívar was killed in the struggle. Oñate retaliated in January of 1599, known as the Acoma Massacre. An estimated 800-1,000 Acoma were murdered, while another 500 were punished through extreme mutilation and sold into slavery. News of Oñate’s atrocities reached the Spanish crown, and King Phillip II banished Oñate from New Mexico and Mexico. José Cisneros (1910-2009) has been described as a leading historical illustrator of the Southwest. While he was a painter, wood carver, writer and muralist, his primary focus was recording the history of the Southwest border region through his illustrations. Born in Villa Ocampo, Mexico, Cisneros eventually moved to Juarez with his family in 1925 where he obtained a school passport to attend the Lydia Patterson Institute in El Paso, Texas. While enrolled in a painting class, he discovered during one of the lessons that he was color blind. Two years later, he was forced to quit school to help financially support his family. He procured a position at El Paso’s White House Department Store, where he designed displays and began to draw on Poster Board. He introduced himself to artist Tom Lea, which led to an invitation for Cisneros to exhibit his work at the El Paso Public Library in 1938. His work was so popular that his exhibit was extended for two weeks, and he was eventually exhibited in Juarez. Later, he was invited to illustrate many books and printing projects through a long-term collaboration with Carl Hertzog, the famous typographer, book designer, and publisher. During this time, he designed the coat of arms for the city of Juarez, and eventually the seal for The University of Texas at El Paso. Among his many honors are the Americanism Award given to him by the Daughters of the American Revolution; he was knighted by Pope John Paul II in 1990, and he was given the Order of Civil Merit by King Juan Carlos I of Spain in 1991. In 2001, he received the National Humanities Medal presented by President George W. Bush. José Cisneros remained a lifelong resident of El Paso, Texas up until his death on November 14, 2009.
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Access Rights
Mexic-Arte Museum has created and maintains websites and other digital properties to support its mission to enrich the community through education programs, exhibitions, and interpretations of the collection. These Websites include https://mexic-artemuseum.org/ and https://mexicartemuseum.pastperfectonline.com/. This does not mean that Mexic-Arte Museum owns each component of the compilation, some of which may be owned by others and used with their permission or used in accordance with applicable law (e.g., fair use). Mexic-Arte Museum is committed to protecting the intellectual property rights of visual and performing artists and others who hold copyright. Most items in the collection are protected by copyright and/or related rights. Private study, educational, and non-commercial use of digital images from our websites is permitted, with attribution to the Mexic-Arte Museum. Commercial use of any materials on the Mexic-Arte Museum website is expressly forbidden. Users who wish to obtain permission for publication, display, distribution, or other uses of these materials should contact the rights holder(s).