ALAMOSA — Adams State University will host the lecture/panelist discussion entitled “Real History of the Hispanic Settlements in the SLV” from 6-7:30 p.m., Thursday, May 4th, in McDaniel Hall, room 101.

Lifeways of the San Luis Valley will facilitate a conversation among a panel of local experts from around the Valley to discuss the region’s Land Grant history. An audience question and answer session will take place in the last fifteen minutes of the lecture to allow audience members to get answers to any questions that may arise during the lecture/panel discussion. 

Panelists scheduled to appear include:

Dennis Lopez – Lopez is a sixth generation native from Capulin, who currently lives in Alamosa. Lopez received a bachelor’s degree in Spanish and French and a master’s in secondary education from Adams State. He taught academic Spanish in the Alamosa School District. He has been dedicated to a study of the different influences and nuances of the Spanish language spoken in Southern Colorado and Northern New Mexico, due in part to our isolation, has remained true to its ancient roots. A life-long passion for Hispanic history has prepared Lopez to share what he has learned about the land grants of our region. He and his wife, Sally, have three sons.

Charles Nicholas Saenz – Saenz is Assistant Professor of History at Adams State University where he teaches courses on world civilizations, European and Latin American history, and Latino studies. He also serves as Vice President of the San Luis Valley Historical Society and President of the Sangre de Cristo National Heritage Area. Dr. Saenz received a BA from the University of Chicago in 2005, and a MA and PhD from the University of California at San Diego in 2009 and 2013. By virtue of his graduate training, he is a specialist in late eighteenth and early nineteenth century Spain and the Spanish Empire, though his scholarly interests have broadened to include the region of southern Colorado since his start at ASU.  He is currently editing a volume on the geology, ecology, and human history of the SLV with Jared M. Beeton and Benjamin Waddell for the University Press of Colorado. More recently, he worked as a consulting scholar for the “Borderlands of Southern Colorado” exhibit that will debut next year at History Colorado museums in Fort Garland, Pueblo, and Trinidad.

Charlie Joseph Jaquez, Jr. – Jaquez was born in 1946 in Alamosa and is a lifelong resident of San Luis, “The Oldest Town in Colorado.” He is a descendent of one of the original founding families of San Luis. Jaquez received a BA degree from Adams State University in 1969 with a major in physics and minors in mathematics and chemistry. Jaquez served as an ordinance officer in the US Army and served in Vietnam. He holds a master’s degree in physics from the University of Northern Colorado. Jaquez taught mathematics and science at Centennial High School in San Luis for 32 years before retiring in 2005. Jaquez was a teacher negotiator and active union member of the Centennial/Colorado/National Education Association. He also serves on a land rights board, a rural health association board, a cemetery committee, and is an acequia commissioner. He served on the Centennial School District Board of Education for six years and was its board president as well as president of the San Luis Valley Board of Cooperative Educational Services. Jaquez is happily married to Kathy, a retired special education teacher and now an occupational therapy paraprofessional. They have two sons. Jaquez now pursues volunteer work and hobbies including gardening, genealogy, astronomy, hiking, and local history.

Armando Valdez – Valdez is an Assistant Professor of Management and Health Care Administration at Adams State University. He has enjoyed a great passion for and a lifetime of experience in agriculture, largely because of the strong cultural connection to the land and animals. Valdez owns and operates the family farm and ranch near Capulin. He proudly serves the community in a leadership capacity with: USDA – Farm Service Agency as Executive Chair; USDA Strategic Advisory Committee; Conejos County Board of Adjustments as Chair; Planning Commission as Land Use Commissioner; and Guadalupe Parish Credit Union as chairman. Valdez also enjoys his work with Conejos County Rotary, Center for Restorative Programs, Rocky Mountain Farmers’ Union, Santa Mara del Mexicano Orphanage, and St. Joseph Parish in Capulin. He and his wife Angelica are raising his two stepdaughters and his son.

Please plan to attend what surely will be a riveting and compelling discussion of a topic that continues to be of such importance to the residents of the San Luis Valley. The lecture series profiles and celebrates the rich history and diversity of the San Luis Valley and is brought to you through the generous support of Sangre de Cristo National Heritage Area and ASU’s CIELO.  It is free and open to the public, as well as, all ASU students, faculty, and staff. 

Parking is located east of McDaniel Hall. Adams State parking lots do not require permits after 5 p.m.