The documentary "The Last Conquistador" by directors John Valadez and Cristina
Ibarra will be shown Thursday, Nov. 20, at 7 p.m. in Gallery 805 at the Community
Folk Art Center, as part of Th3: A City Wide Art Open. Presented in recognition of
Native American Heritage Month, this compelling film documents the creation of
sculptor John Houser's monumental bronze of Juan de O?ate and exposes the raw
feelings and sharp divisions in the Southwest-and the perils of public art in a
multicultural society.
Houser is a man with monumental sculpture in his blood. He can remember his
father working as an assistant carver on Mount Rushmore. Enthralled with the power
of art, he has dedicated himself to making history come alive in large-scale public
sculptures. So, when the city council of El Paso, Texas, commissioned a larger-than-
life statue of the Spanish conquistador Juan de O?ate, Houser conceived his grandest
project yet: the largest bronze equestrian statue in the world. He envisioned a
magnificent and long-overdue tribute to the contributions of Hispanic culture and
history to the United States.
But as recounted in "The Last Conquistador," all was not well as the statue's
dedication approached. The area's Native Americans had their own very personal
passed-down memories concerning O?ate, including massacres, slavery and terror.
They remembered that O?ate's foray into New Mexico in 1598 led to the deaths of
two out of every three Indians there and nearly caused the extermination of native
culture across the region.
As the film shows, the prospect that a murderer's image would be looming over El
Paso drew increasing anger and protest. One artist proposed a companion sculpture
of a giant severed foot, commemorating O?ate's method of cutting off feet to
terrorize the native inhabitants. Houser saw his grand conception transformed in a
way he had not intended, caught up in a whirlwind of unresolved conflicts between
races, classes and historical memories.
Neither Houser nor El Paso's city councilors had intended any offense or controversy.
The statue of O?ate was intended as part of a sculpture walk through history that
would memorialize the region's dramatic but often unrecognized history. When the
storm of protest arose, they were taken by surprise. But should they have been? Had
they too easily accepted a conqueror's version of history in which the daring exploits
of pioneers and colonists are celebrated and the sins of violence are avoided or
excused?
Native Americans are deeply offended by the sculpture, but many wealthy whites
and Hispanics throughout the region-who trace their ancestry back to the O?ate
expedition-welcome the monument and defend the bloodshed, saying that the
Indians were the aggressors and that O?ate brought peace and stability to the region.
Caught in between are the Mestizos, Mexican Americans like El Paso City
Councilman Anthony Cobos, who make up about 75 percent of El Paso's population.
The sons and daughters of both the Spaniards and the Indians they subjugated,
Mestizos must struggle with a conflicted heritage that is both prideful and
humiliating. Councilman Cobos eventually withdraws his support for the statue and
pays a heavy political price.
Th3 takes place on the third Thursday of each month from 5-8 p.m. This ambitious
project, initiated by the Everson Museum of Art and the Delavan Art Gallery, is
joined by 24 of the most distinctive venues in the city in a grand event to bring the
artistic experience to the public.
The Community Folk Art Center is sponsored, in part, by the New York State
Council on the Arts, the Cultural Resources Council, the Coalition of Museums and
Art Centers at Syracuse University, SU's College of Visual and Performing Arts and
The Office of the Chancellor at Syracuse University. Media sponsors are CNY Latino,
Urban CNY and WAER 88.3. The Genesee Grande and Park View Hotels are the
official accommodations for guests of The Community Folk Art Center.
The Community Folk Art Center is a unit of the Department of African American
Studies in SU's College of Arts and Sciences. CFAC is a vibrant cultural and artistic
hub committed to the promotion and development of artists of the African Diaspora.
The mission of the center is to exalt cultural and artistic pluralism by collecting,
exhibiting, teaching and interpreting the visual and expressive arts.
