Today in History: Plan de San Luis Potosí

Image credit: Everardo Ramírez, “El Plan de San Luis aterroriza a la dictadura,” from the Taller de Gráfica Popular portfolio, “450 años de lucha: Homenaje al pueblo mexicano,” 1960. Center for Southwest Research, UNM University Libraries. ZIM CSWR Pict Colls PICT 999-021-0061

Today marks the 110th anniversary of the Plan de San Luis Potosí, which initiated the Mexican Revolution (1910-1920). Written by Francisco I. Madero while in exile in Texas, the Plan called for an end to Porfirio Díaz’s long presidential reign known as the Porfiriato, the provisional presidency for legitimate winner Madero, and for Mexicans to unite against despotism on November 20, 1910. This Plan helped set into action a series of events and people who shaped Mexican life, politics, and art for the next ten years, and to this very day.

Some years ago, we had the privilege of showing Sen. Jeff and Anne Bingaman’s collection of prints from Mexico’s Taller de Gráfica Popular, an artist’s print collective, founded in 1937, that focused on sociopolitical art to further the goals of the Revolution. For those that didn’t get a chance to see the exhibition in person, we have our virtual tour of “A Mexican Mirror: Prints from the Taller de Gráfica Popular” here for your enjoyment. ¡Qué viva la Revolución!

You can visit the virtual tour here: https://my.matterport.com/show/?m=pEybDvTQAYX

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Dec 2, 2020, the next Friends of History 1st Weds Lecture: Cathleen Cahill presents Recasting the Vote.

Graphic with details of Dr. Cathleen Cahill’s lecture.

Join us December 2nd at 12pm (MST) on our Youtube channel for December’s 1st Wednesday Lecture.

Will be joined by Dr. Cathleen Cahill, Associate Professor of History at Penn State University. Professor Cahill will tell the powerful stories of a multiracial group of activists who propelled the national suffrage movement toward a more inclusive vision of equal rights. Most suffrage stories are centered in the East and the Southwest as an afterthought at best. But Cahill asks what happens when we refocus the lens to center the stories in NM and the wider region? This talk reveals that suddenly our suffrage history is more diverse and more complicated than we anticipated. She will especially focus on New Mexico by exploring the important role of Spanish-speaking suffragists, the activism of African American women, and the debate over the Native American right to vote.  With suffragists of color in the foreground, Cahill will recast the suffrage movement as an unfinished struggle that extended beyond the ratification of the Nineteenth Amendment.

Cathleen D. Cahill, PHD is associate professor of history at Penn State University and the author of Federal Fathers and Mothers: A Social History of the United States Indian Service, 1869–1933, winner of the 2011 Labriola Center American Indian National Book Award and finalist for the 2012 David J. Weber-Clements Prize, Western History Association.

The bookcover for Recasting the Vote by Cathleen D. Cahill

Friends of History is a volunteer support group for the New Mexico History Museum in Santa Fe, New Mexico. Its mission is to raise funds and public awareness for the Museum’s exhibitions and programs. Friends of History fulfills its mission by offering high quality public history programs, including the First Wednesday Lecture Series. For more information, or to join the Friends of History, go to friends-of-history.org

You can find a playlist of previous 1st Wednesday Lectures on our youtube channel: https://www.youtube.com/user/nmmuseum and also on our Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/NewMexicoHistoryMuseum

Fred Harvey History Weekend: Nov 12-15, 2020

The Fred Harvey History Weekend logo.

For 10 years the New Mexico History Museum has played host to the series of lectures that are a part of the Fred Harvey History Weekend. This annual event is a chance for “Fred Heads” from all over to converge on Santa Fe an regale themselves in all things Fred Harvey.

This year, the weekend event produced by MightMakesWriteLLC is moving entirely online due the COVID-19 situation we are facing.

The full roster of Harvey related talks, along with the Saturday night Foodie Dinner Demonstration* & Auction to benefit the History Museum programming with accessible with registration. has delved into the history and impact of this popular historic travel brand. This year, the event’s 11th, will be completely online, with streamed lectures, a virtual version of the highlight of the weekend, the Foodie Dinner & Auction to benefit programming at New Mexico History Museum.

For more information on the schedule of events visit:

https://one.bidpal.net/fredharvey2020/welcome

And to register to for tickets for any of the events, you can visit the event listing on eventbrite.

*The Dinner Demonstration offers an opportunity for you to learn how to prepare a contemporary take on classic Fred Harvey cuisine with top chefs from La Fonda and La Castaneda! You will receive an ingredient list ahead of time.

If you have any questions about the weekend events, please email mightmakeswritellc@gmail.com