Amador family exhibit opens at BCC

Branigan Cultural Center (BCC) opens “The Amadors: Family, Culture, and Identity in Early Las Cruces” exhibit Friday, Oct. 20, at BCC, 501 N. Main St. An opening reception is 5-7 p.m. that evening at BCC.

“The Amadors and their extended relations were among the first families to settle in Las Cruces around 1850,” the City of Las Cruces said in a news release. “Like most Mesilla Valley Mexican families, their roots were in the state of Chihuahua (Mexico), particularly the Paso del Norte area. Following the Treaty of Guadlupe Hidalgo in 1848, Mexican citizens residing in newly acquired United States territory were given the option to become U.S. citizens or move south to Mexico. Those Mexican families that stayed in Doña Ana or helped found Las Cruces opted for U.S. citizenship.

In “The Amadors: Family, Culture, and Identity in Early Las Cruces” exhibit, BCC “will follow the Amadors’ experience of Mexican families living along the U.S. side of the international boundary following the Mexican American War, as they adjusted to new social, economic, educational and political systems of the U.S. while holding on to their Mexican identities and cultural values,” the news release said.

Using original documents and artifacts from the New Mexico State University Library Archives and Special Collections, the exhibit “demonstrates the influence of the Martín (1836-1903) and Refugio Amador (1848-1907) family in the early development of Las Cruces and highlights the experiences of Mexican American families living in the Mesilla Valley during the late-19th and early-20th centuries,” the city said.

The exhibit was collected and curated by NMSU’s Dennis Daily, Dylan McDonald and Jennifer Olguin.

BCC is open 10 a.m.-4:30 p.m. Tuesday-Friday and 9 a.m.-4:30 p.m. Saturday.

For more information, call 575-541-2154. Visit www.lascruces.gov/Museums.