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  • Journal#1 THE FIGHT FOR A LATINO MUSEUM

70. If They Knew Arizona's History,
    They Wouldn't Be So Xenophobic

By Miguel Pérez

​
November 18, 2014 - 
The first time I met him, I immediately perceived that he had a unique talent for bringing Hispanic American history into present-day context. And that's all I needed. Because my history columns seek the same objective, I became an instant fan and follower of Dr. Bernard "Bunny" Fontana.

It was more than two years ago, and we were in the living room of his Sonoran Desert home, just outside the Tohono O'odham Native American reservation in southern Arizona — the area he has explored, researched and exposed in several books as a noted anthropologist and historian.

It was there where he explained that the country has the wrong image of Arizona, a negative, anti-immigrant image created and projected by loudmouth Arizonans, who tend to be recent arrivals from other parts of the country — carpetbaggers — and don't know the state's history of welcoming immigrants from Mexico or even recognize that the state once was part of Mexico.

Wanting to know more about that history and how it is ignored by today's politicians, my Great Hispanic American History Tour made another stop at Bunny Fontana's living room — now relocated in an assisted living facility in Tucson. He was as gracious, witty, knowledgeable and dynamic as the first time I met him. And just as outspoken, too.

"Not only do they not know the history, they don't know the culture," Fontana said. "And they are terrified. It's the unknown. I mean, they have all these stereotypic images of Mexico. Violence, crime, corruption — you know the list. ... So you have real xenophobia taking place."

No, he doesn't pull punches.

Whereas central and northern Arizona are mostly populated by people who came from other states one or two generations ago, Fontana said most southern Arizonans have been there for many generations, understand the state's history much better and are considerably more tolerant of new immigrants crossing the border from Mexico.

"By and large, Tucson and southern Arizona generally have managed to maintain this consciousness of this history, and it really is a radically different attitude, taken in sum total, between here and north of the Gila River," he said.

Unfortunately, he said, the image projected to the rest of the nation is coming out of central and northern Arizona, especially Phoenix.

Most people who live in southern Arizona, more specifically in Gadsden Purchase territory, are well aware that Mexicans didn't go to the United States but that the United States came to them.

Arizona was once a well-balanced mixture of Native Americans, Mexicans — including "layers of new immigrants who kept coming up all the time" — and Anglo-Saxons, Fontana explained. "And that's somewhat threatened in recent times because ... we've had a much heavier influx of people from elsewhere pouring not only into Maricopa County but moving into this area, as well. And so we've ended up with class division."

He said that though the Hispanic community further north in Maricopa County probably feels more threatened than southern Arizona because of the county's immigrant-bashing sheriff, Joe Arpaio, Tucson Latinos also have been protesting against racial profiling by local cops in search of undocumented immigrants.

Fontana — who spent more than three decades doing research and field work, as well as writing and teaching, at the Arizona State Museum and University of Arizona Libraries — is not fazed by the right-wing propaganda and media hype on every new wave of immigrants, because he puts it all in a historical context.

"You know, the real history of this place, the long history, is not the east-to-west movement that they are still teaching in schools all over the country," he said. "It's more south to north. That's been going on for a long time, and it obviously hasn't stopped as of this moment, because we have a whole bunch of little kids from Latin America now in facilities here all over the place. So this is simply the 2014 version of something that has been going on for a long time."

Fontana is a strong critic of the immigration checkpoints that have been set up by the U.S. Border Patrol on U.S. highways far north of the border with Mexico. "They are violating everyone's constitutional rights," he said. "They seem to be completely above and beyond the law with everyone. I mean, it's scary. It's really frightening. It's like we've lost control of our own government. This used to be the land of the free and the home of the brave, but it's not either one anymore."

He is a supporter of demonstrators who have been asking for the checkpoints to be removed. "They are over there with literature, handing it out to anybody who comes driving along, telling them what all their rights are, that they don't have to answer all these questions if they don't want to — especially if someone asks, 'Where have you been?' Just tell them it's none of their business. I mean, this is insane!"

What I like most about my friend Fontana is that he doesn't mince words, especially when he explains that we Hispanic Americans have to learn to accept who we are as a people — even if it means recognizing that some of our ancestors were cruel and unfair.
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Author and historian Bernard (Bunny) Fontana - in 2012
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Bernard (Bunny) Fontana - in 2014
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"Let's face it; (New Mexico conqueror Juan de) Oñate was crueler than hell," he said. "Just like what's going on now with these people who chop heads off and arms off without a blink. That's what they did to the Indians at Acoma (New Mexico). They cut off the left foot of every adult male. They killed about 800 men, women and children. They took the women and kids and shipped them off to southern Mexico. It was a real atrocity by any measure, and you can't justify it by saying, 'Well, those were the times. We can't judge them by modern (standards).' ... It was an atrocity then as it would be an atrocity now. It was just awful. Needless to say — to the Indians, the Acomas, especially — this is firmly fixed into their knowledge and stories and tradition."

But Fontana also recognizes the great contributions Spanish explorers made to North America — even the cruel ones. "This is one of those horns in the dilemma," he said, "because to all the Hispanos in New Mexico, after all, there is no denying it; they wouldn't be there if it hadn't been for Oñate. I mean, he was the founder. He was the one who really brought Europe and made it stick. In New Mexico, he brought in this whole culture along with him."

So though Hispanic American history has some "terrible, brutal parts," we should also note that "we are who we are today, all of us, because of it — whether we like it or not."

"It's like the dilemma we have in the United States," he said. "You know, we took the land away from the Indians, and there is no way of denying it."

In his book "Entrada: The Legacy of Spain and Mexico in the United States," Fontana masterfully and objectively outlines both the achievements and the shortfalls of the Spanish conquest of North America — from the brutality to the great discoveries.

We have so much in common, so many anecdotes to share, that it was hard to say goodbye to my friend Fontana. As I kept saying adios, we kept sharing stories about historical landmarks we have both visited and historical figures we both admire or abhor. We spoke of our mutual disdain for politicized school administrators and government bureaucrats who ban books about Hispanic heritage.

I told him that East Coast Latinos know very little about Southwest Hispanic history, and he told me Southwest Latinos know practically nada about St. Augustine, Florida.

We had a good laugh about two Republican gubernatorial candidates who were competing on TV commercials to show who could be more ignorant and insensitive, not only to undocumented immigrants but to the Arizonans who support them. And we had to chuckle when we compared notes on the ultimate immigration checkpoint screw-up: A Latino in his 90s was held in the desert heat for more than an hour, apparently suspected of being here illegally — although the man was former Arizona Gov. Raul Castro, who also was a U.S. ambassador to several countries. This was racial profiling at its worst!

Fontana suggested numerous must-see stops for the Great Hispanic American History Tour — all the way up to a glacier discovered and named by Spanish explorers in Alaska. And he told me I couldn't leave Tucson without visiting the downtown Spanish presidio. "They have restored a chunk of the old presidio," he said, still excited about history. "I mean they rebuilt it on the foundations. They have a wonderful program down there. They even fire off a cannon on the weekends."

Do we have a choice? Next week, the Great Hispanic American History Tour visits that presidio.

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                   CHAPTERS/CAPITULOS

1. Our Pre-Mayflower Thanksgivings
Nuestros Días de Acción de Gracias Pre-Mayflower
               
2. A Tale of Two Cities
                 
3. Our Pre-Hispanic Heritage
              

4. The Black Legend Returns

4. La Leyenda Negra Regresa
                
5. Even on HBO, The Black Legend Lives
                   
6. Our Spanish Heritage
                     
7. Exalted or Offended?
                    
8. We are all 'Americanos'
                  
9. Latinos are Failing
                  
10. Columbus Deserves His Day
10. Colón Merece Su Día
                   
11. Two Good Places to Rest
11. Dos buenos lugares para descansar
                  
12. Whitman's Prophetic Letter
12. La Carta Profética de Whitman
                  
13. America’s Cradle
13. La Cuna de America
                 
14. Our Quincentennial is Coming!
14. !Nuestro Quinto Centenario
     Se Avecina!

                   
15. American Discovery Day
15. Día del Descubrimiento de América
                
16. A Time To Welcome the Spirits
                  
17. A Hispanic Christmas
17. Una Navidad Hispana
                  
18. JOSE MARTI:
     His Legacy Lives Here
     Su Legado Vive Aquí 
                
 19. Hyphenated and Proud!
                   
20. Politicizing Education

21. Speak Any Spanish Lately?
              
22. Happy Three Kings Day!
22. Feliz Día de Reyes!
               
23. What a Birthday to Forget!
                 
24. A Long-Overdue Museum
                 
25. America's First Christmas was celebrated in Spanish
25. La Primera Navidad Americana fue celebrada en español

26. The Grand Canyon
and the Bucket List
 Of Hispanic Heritage
26. El Gran Canyon
y la Lista de Lugares de la Herencia Hispana

                  
27. Now That Fiesta Month Is Here,
Can We Talk About Heritage?

27. Ahora que el mes de fiesta hispana esta aquí,

​™Podemos hablar de nuestra herencia?
                  
28. Our Hispanic Heritage:
    On Exhibit and Yet Hidden
28. Nuestra Herencia Hispana:
     En Exhibición y Sin Embargo Oculta

29. Florida's 500th Birthday
     Should Be a National Holiday

29. El 500 Aniversario de la Florida
     Debe Ser una Fiesta Nacional

             
30. The Fountain Of Our Hispanic Heritage               
30. La Fuente de Nuestra Herencia Hispana

31. The Re-Conquest Of American History
31. La Reconquista de la Historia de América

32. The Conveniently 'Forgotten War'
32. La Guerra Convenientemente Olvidada

33. Guantanamo Has a History  June 4, 2013

34. Exposing the Social Media Bigots  June 18, 2013
34. Exponiendo a los Intolerantes
     de los Medios Sociales June 18, 2013

35. Thinking of Cusi On the Fourth of July
35. Pensando en Cusi en el Cuatro de Julio

36. The Discovery of White Hispanics
36.  El Descubrimiento de los Hispanos Blancos

37. Let's Build a Timeline
     Of Hispanic-American History

37. Vamos a Construir una Cronología
     De la Historia Hispanoamericana

38. In the Name of Heritage
38. En el Nombre de la Herencia

39. Hispanics or Latinos?
39. ™Hispanos o Latinos?

40.  Hollywood's Hidden Hispanic Heritage
40. La Herencia Hispana Oculta en Hollywood

41. Obliviously Living
        In ‘The Land of Estevan Gomez’
41. Viviendo Inconscientemente
       En la ‘Tierra de Estevan Gómez’

42. Marking America's Birthplace
42. Marcando el Lugar de Nacimiento
       De Estados Unidos

43. Hispanics in Denial Should Be Infamous
43. Los Hispanos en Rechazo Deben Ser Infames

44. 
Gay Marriage's Hidden American History
      Started in Spanish

        CABEZA DE VACA'S JOURNEY
44. La Historia Oculta del Matrimonio Gay
      En América Comenzó en Español
        EL VIAJE DE CABEZA DE VACA​

45. Super Bowl Coke Commercial
       Draws Out Ugly Americans

45. Comercial de Coke en Super Bowl
     Hace Relucir a los Americanos Feos


46. 
The 'Discovery' of Self-Loathing Hispanics
46. El ‘Descubrimiento' de los
     Hispanos que se Auto Desprecian


THE GREAT HISPANIC AMERICAN HISTORY TOUR 
June 2014 - January 2015


47. My Pilgrimage to San Xavier
47. Mi Peregrinaje a San Xavier

48. The Great Hispanic American History Tour
48. La Gran Gira por la Historia Hispanoamericana

49. On the Trail of Conquistadors
49. En el Camino de los Conquistadores

50. Beyond St. Augustine
50. Más Allá de San Agustín

51. A Hidden Hispanic Role Model
51. Un Modelo Hispano Oculto

52. The Hispanic Flank
     Of the American Revolution

52. El Flanco Hispano
     de la Revolucion Americana
​

53. New Orleans Has a Spanish ‘Ne Sais Quoi’
53. Nueva Orleans Tiene Un ‘Ne Sais Quoi’ Español

54. Galveston: Still the Isle of Misfortune?

55. Extracting Compacted History
     Unveils Hidden Hispanic Heritage

56. 'Remember The Alamo'
     Was a Spanish Mission

57. San Antonio: The Showcase
     Of Our Hispanic Heritage

58. There Was Compassion
     On the Spanish Mission Trail


59. A Hidden Latina Role Model

60. Time Portals on the Road

61. The First Thanksgiving
     In the (Southwest) United States

62. The World's Biggest Statue
     Of a Nameless Horseback Rider


63. A River Runs Through
     Our Hispanic Heritage


64. A Beacon of Hope
     On a Border Mountaintop

65. A Mexican-American Town
65. Un Pueblo Mexico-Americano

66. The Crossroads of Conquistadors

67. Hiking In Search of Coronado's Trail

68. The Real American Pioneers

69. Keeping My Pledge to San Xavier

70. If They Knew Arizona's History,
     They Wouldn't Be So Xenophobic

71. 'Tucson' is a Spanish Adaptation

72. Under a Utah Lake, Hispanic Heritage Lives

73. A Hilltop View Of Hispanic Heritage

74. Searching for Coronado's Quivira

75. The Spanish Savior of St. Louis

76. 
Jefferson's Spanish Library

WASHINGTON, D.C.
February-June 2015

77. When Galvez Came to Congress
77. Cuando Gálvez Vino al Congreso


78. A Tour of Our Extraordinarily
     Hispanic U.S. Capitol

79. Searching for Not-S0-Hidden
Hispanic Heritage in Washington, DC


80. Smithsonian Omits Hispanics
     In U.S. History Exhibit

80. Smithsonian Omite a los Hispanos
     en Exhibición de Historia de EE.UU.
MIAMI
August 2015
​
81. Finding Dad in a Museum
81. Encontre a Mi Padre en un Museo


​CALIFORNIA ROAD TRIP - 2018
82. International Friendship Park ​at U.S.-Mexico Border
​- A Jagged Corner of the World


83. Old Town San Diego State Historic Park
​
84. Cabrillo National Monument

85. ​It took more than 2 centuries

86. Presidio Park: The Birthplace
of the Spanish Colonization of California


87. Junípero Serra Museum Transcends
the Story of a Great Man


88. Mission Basilica San Diego de Alcalá:
California's First Spanish Mission


89. Old Mission (Padre) Dam: California's First Aqueduct

90. Even at the beach in San Diego, you can't avoid Spanish history

91. Chicano Park: Mexican-American ​painted under highway ramps

92. Balboa Park: Candy for your eyes amid a painful controversy!

93. San Diego: An American Town
Named After the Saint from Alcalá

93. San Diego: Un Pueblo Americano
Lleva el Nombre del Santo de Alcalá


94. San Luis Rey de Francia: The King of the California Missions
94. San Luis Rey de Francia: ​El Rey de las Misiones de California

95. San Antonio de Pala:
A Sub-Mission to Reach
 the Natives of the Interior
95. San Antonio de Pala:
Una Asistencia para Alcanzar los Nativos del Interior

96. San Juan Capistrano:
The Home of the Mission Swallows
 from Argentina
96. San Juan Capistrano:
El Hogar de las Golondrinas Desaparecidas ​de Argentina

97. San Gabriel Arcángel:
A Mission that Launched Cities

97. San Gabriel Arcángel:
Una Misión Que Lanzó Ciudades


98. El Pueblo de la Reina de Los Ángeles:
Hispanics had to be imported

98. El Pueblo de la Reina de Los Ángeles:
Hispanos tuvieron que sen importados


99. La Plaza de Cultura y Artes:
A Walk through Mexican-American History

99. La Plaza de Cultura y Artes:
Un Paseo por la historia 
​mexicoamericana


100. Strolling the Hispanic Walk of Fame
​100. Caminando por el Paseo Hispano de la Fama

101. San Fernando Rey de España Teaches
California's Colonial History

101. ​​San Fernando Rey de España Enseña
la historia colonial de California


​102. Mission San Buenaventura Survived Earthquakes and Pirates
102. Misión San Buenaventura Sobrevivió Terremotos y Piratas

​103. Father Serra Cross: On a hill, overlooking
​the land he shepherded

​103. La Cruz del Padre Serra: En una colina,
​con vistas a la tierra que pastoreaba


104. The Birthplace of Santa Barbara
104. El Lugar de Nacimiento de Santa Barbara

105. The Queen of the Spanish Missions
105. La Reina de las Misiones Españolas

106. Mission Santa Ines: Built to relieve other overcrowded missions
106. Misión Santa Inés: Construida para aliviar otras misiones superpobladas

107. Mission La Purísima Concepcion:
​Going back in time ​to Spanish California

107. Mision La Purísima Concepción:
Retrocediendo en ​el tiempo a la California española


XXX. Saluting an exile: ​Father Félix Varela
SPECIAL SECTIONS
• Great (pro-Hispanic) Americans
​
• 16th Century in the Hispanic American History Timeline
• 17th Century in the Hispanic American History Timeline
• 18th Century in the Hispanic American History Timeline
​
• Spanish-American expeditions before Jamestown
• NYC ​Hispanic Landmarks
• NYC Hispanic Art
• Do You Know/Sabes?
• Garita Art
​
• Do You Speak Spanglish?
HISPANIC AMERICAN HISTORY TIMELINE
​1513 Ponce de Leon Discovers North America, Names Her 'Florida'

April 22, 1513 ​Alaminos discovers the Gulf Stream

1517 De Cordoba, wounded in Yucatan, stops in Florida

1518 Grijalva Reaches Galveston Island

1519 De Pineda confirms Florida ​is not an island​

1521 Ponce de Leon Returns to Florida, Falls Mortally Wounded

1524-25 Estevan Gomez Explores North America's East Coast

1526 Ayllón lands in S.C., settles in Georgia


1528 Narváez expedition succumbs to storms and natives

1528-36 Cabeza de Vaca treks across North America

1537-42 Cabeza de Vaca Returns to Spain, Writes 'La Relación'

1539 De Niza Searches for Golden Cities of Cibola
​

1539-42 De Soto celebrates first American Christmas

1540 Hernando de Alarcon Reaches California

1540-42 Coronado Explores the Southwest,
Cardenas Discovers ​the Grand Canyon


1542-43  ​Cabrillo explores California coast​

1559 De Luna Builds Santa Maria de Ochuse​


1565 Pedro Menendez de Avilés Establishes San Agustin

1566 Santa Elena Built in South Carolina

1598 ​Juan de Oñate Explores New Mexico

1602 Sebastian Vizcaino ​explores the West Coast

1610 Pedro de Peralta establishes Santa Fe

1610-26 The Birth of San Miguel, oldest church in the U.S.A.

1613 Juan Rodriguez becomes the first Manhattan immigrant

1633 Misión San Luis de Apalachee is born in Tallahassee

​1682 San Antonio de la Ysleta becomes first mission in Texas

1691 Father Eusebio Kino builds Tumacácori and Guevavi

1692 ​Father Kino builds San Xavier del Bac 

1692 Diego de Vargas leads ​'Bloodless Reconquest" of Santa Fe

1695 Castillo de San Marcos ​Completed in St. Augustine

1718 Mission San Antonio de Valero is born
​- long before it became The Alamo
​

1738 Runaway slaves establish Fort Mose,
​the first free African-American community​


​1738 Francisco Menendez Leads Fort Mose

1742 Spanish Soldiers ​Open Fort Matanzas

1752 Spanish Soldiers Build Presidio de Tubac

1763 Spanish Florida Goes to England

1765 Juan Antonio Maria de Rivera ​explores ​Colorado and Utah
​
1769 
Father Serra opens ​San Diego de Alcalá,
California's first ​Spanish mission


1771 Father Serra establishes San Gabriel Arcángel

1772 Good hunting determines site
​of ​Misión San Luis Obispo de Tolosa


1775 Captain Hugh O’Connor
​builds Presidio San Agustin del Tucson


​1776-83 Hispanics in the American Revolution

1776 The Birth of San Francisco

1781 Spanish troops defeat the British, capture Pensacola

1781 Pobladores of Los Angeles are imported

1791 ​Alessandro Malaspina Alaska Reaches Alaska

1797 Fermín Francisco de Lasuén
Establishes Misión San Fernando Rey de España


1797 The Birth of Villa de Branciforte

Herencia Hispana Oculta de America:
La Lista de Lugares, Ideas, y Evidencia Historica para Reconectár a los Americanos con sus Raíces Hispanas

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America's Hidden Hispanic Heritage:
The Bucket List of Places, Ideas and Historical Evidence to Reconnect Americans with their  Hispanic Roots
  • HOME
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  • THE HISPANIC AMERICAN HISTORY MUSEUM
  • Journal#1 THE FIGHT FOR A LATINO MUSEUM