The Cross of the Martyrs commemorates the twenty-one Franciscan friars and approximately 380 Spanish colonists killed during the Pueblo Revolt of 1680. Dedicated during the Santa Fe Fiesta of 1920, this Cross was highlighted at annual Fiestas and pilgrimages honoring fallen ancestors until it was replaced by a new monument at Fort Marcy Park in 1960. Standing 25 feet high, 8 feet wide, and weighing 76 tons, the Cross was constructed of reinforced concrete by the Midland Bridge Company of Kansas City, Missouri. Besides serving as memorials, both monuments represent a complicated and contested history of Spanish settlement and the resulting exploitation and oppression of the local Native populations. The local neighborhood donated the Cross to the HSFF in 1993 to ensure its preservation and maintenance.
From Old Santa Fe Today, 5th edition by Audra Bellmore with photographs by Simone Frances.
PHOTOGRAPHS COURTESY OF MELANIE MCWHORTER AND MARA SAXER
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Find more information about the Cross in the articles below survey.
ARTICLES AND ESSAYS ON THE CROSS
HSFF will continue to proved information on the Cross of the Martyrs as we find additional pieces. Please find below some works on this monument.
Cross of the Martyrs article by HSFF Executive Director Pete Warzel, HSFF’s Fall 2020 Printed Newsletter (Click to download)
Reviving the Santa Fe Fiesta: Edgar Lee Hewett and the Battle for Control by Nancy Owen Lewis examines the controversies surrounding the development of the Santa Fe Fiesta during the 1920s. The dedication of the city’s first Cross of the Martyrs is discussed as well as the Fiesta Theater, built beneath the cross to showcase Indian vocalists and other performers.
This account is presented courtesy of Rio Grande Books, which included the article in its 2012 publication, Sunshine and Shadows in New Mexico’s Past: The Statehood Period, 1912-Present, edited by Richard Melzer. For more information or to obtain a copy of the book, please contact: http://nmsantos.com/Bookstore/HistoryBooks/Sunshine-ShadowsI/Sunshine-ShadowsI.html .
Cross of the Martyrs article by HSFF Executive Director Pete Warzel, HSFF’s Fall 2020 Printed Newsletter (Click to download)