Eduardo Díaz '76 Publishes Op-Ed in Santa Fe New Mexican

Eduardo Díaz '76, Director of the Smithsonian Latino Center, published an op-ed in the Santa Fe New Mexican regarding “The Route of Hernán Cortes: The Collision of Two Empires & the Forging of the New World,” a fundraising tour sponsored by the New Mexico Museum Foundation.

“The sojourn struck me as essentially a victory tour of Hernán Cortes’ deadly exploits in Mexico, an insensitive and hurtful reopening of deep wounds,” writes Díaz. The op-ed includes an overview of Cortés’s life and mentions some of his activities in the New World, including the massacre and enslavement of thousands of indigenous people.

“I understand the necessity of successful private fundraising, but a tour that touts, even if unintentionally, the exploits of a conniving and brutal conquistador, is problematic for me,” Díaz writes.