Luis Peña made a presentation at the May 13 Española City Council meeting. Below is what he said.
My name is Luis Peña. I am a lifelong resident of Northern New Mexico, a father, a vecino and someone who was present on Sept. 28, 2023, when Jacob Johns was shot point-blank in front of the Rio Arriba County building.
I was standing behind him when the gun fired. I watched as community members — one of whom had attended a street medic training months prior — acted quickly to save Jacob’s life. We held pressure to his chest, we prayed and we waited 10 long minutes for medics to arrive, all the while being berated by county staff and counter-protesters. What happened that day wasn’t just a tragedy. It was a preventable act of violence fueled by neglect, miseducation and reckless political pandering.
To continue including Juan de Oñate in the 2025 Española Fiestas in any celebratory form, after all this, is not only a moral failure — it’s a public safety concern. According to civil rights and tort claims cases filed today (May 13, 2025), Rio Arriba County officials, including the county manager and multiple commissioners, were explicitly warned that violence was likely at the protest. Despite this, law enforcement was pulled from the scene and a man was shot within walking distance of the Rio Arriba Sheriff’s Office.
The shooter, Ryan Martinez, known for his extremist views and aggressive behavior, exploited that vacuum and shot Jacob Johns — a Native climate organizer — in the chest with a hollow-point round. Jacob nearly died. Countless people, including children and grandmothers, were left traumatized after Martinez pointed his gun again before it jammed unexpectedly. Make no mistake, had the gun not jammed Española Valley would have been added to the list of communities that have experienced an active shooter incident.
Further, a pending New Mexico Supreme Court case accuses Commissioner Alex Naranjo of violating the Open Meetings Act in pushing forward the Oñate statue’s re-installation. These are not isolated administrative issues. They are deeply connected failures that call into question the legitimacy and integrity of decisions being made in our name by inept leaders.
After the shooting, the All Pueblo Council of Governors stated:
“The presence of Juan de Oñate statues in public spaces glorifies a history of violence, colonization, and systemic oppression against Native peoples… It demonstrates a willful disregard for truth, reconciliation, and justice.”
It is this very disregard we must now confront.
I want to be clear: I am not against community gatherings. In fact, I deeply believe in their power. I support our regional fiestas. I actively participate in conserving our shared culture, our faith traditions, our music, and our ability to come together in joy. But I also believe in historical accuracy and mutual respect.
Let the Fiestas go forward — but let them do so without glorifying Oñate. Follow the example of other New Mexico communities like Taos and Las Vegas, where the symbolic figure is referred to simply as “El Rey.” A nod to tradition without endorsing historical violence. This small shift would allow our community to gather in peace and celebration, without invoking a figure known for the 1599 massacre at Acoma Pueblo, whose legacy continues to divide and wound.
Some in our community argue that we cannot change our violent past — that it is simply part of who we are. I hear that often, and I understand where it comes from. But acknowledging a facet of our past does not mean we must celebrate it.
Recognizing historical violence does not mean repeating or honoring it in public displays. The truth is, we can’t change what happened centuries ago — but we can change how we carry that history forward. We can choose whether we glorify conquest and cruelty or whether we honor survival, resistance, and healing. Our identity as a people is not fixed in the acts of colonizers — it lives in our capacity to grow, to listen, and to come together in dignity. Saying “that’s just who we are” shuts the door on our evolution as a community and creates a static identity trap. I believe we are more than the worst parts of our history and that we honor a narrative beyond a logical fallacy.
The contemporary image of Oñate was not handed down to us by our ancestors — it was crafted during the American territorial period to market our region to tourists. It is not a sacred tradition. It is a colonial invention meant to sell our history in digestible pieces, erasing large swaths of historical memory.
I appeal to your sense of reason, and to your compassion. Let us not risk more violence, more lawsuits, and more division. Let us choose unity — not by ignoring our past, but by acknowledging it, learning from it, and building something better. We owe it to our children. We owe it to this shared place that we call home.
Let the fiestas continue. Let them be safe. But let them also be respectful.
Therefore I am going on public record to request that the Española City Council and the mayor deny the gathering permit for the 2025 Española Valley Fiestas if Oñate is not removed from the pageantry.
Luis Pena
Española