Cura de Taos, La Honra de Su País/ The Honor of His Homeland The unveiling of the more than life-sized bronze memorial of Padre Antonio José Martínez, Cura de Taos took place in the Taos Plaza on July 16, 2006. The title of the memorial, LA HONRA DE SU PAIS/THE HONOR OF HIS HOMELAND was taken from the epitaph on his tombstone coined by the Padre’s peers in the Territorial Legislature of the occasion of his death in 1867.
Senator Carlos Cisneros helped obtain public funding from the State of New Mexico Public Arts Program for the sculpture by Huberto Maestas of San Luis, Colorado. Father Larry Brito, pastor of Our Lady of Guadalupe Parish, blessed the image, and Mr. Edmundo Vasquez—a Presbyterian relative of the Padre—led a prayer of dedication. A delegation of La Cofradía de Nuestro Padre Jesus Nazareno (Penitentes) was present. Attorney Antonio José Martínez, a family member of the famous Padre, spoke eloquently on the occasion.
Blog about Padre Antonio José Martínez, Cura de Taos. When he died, his peers in the USA Territorial Assembly for NM wrote on his epitaph, "La Honra de Su País" – The Honor of His Homeland. The last decade of his life–in the years following the American occupation– was clouded by controversy with his new bishop. Fray Angelioc Chavez in My Penitente Land called him "New Mexico's greatest son." This blog is dedicated to the life and legacy of this priest, educator, printer-publisher, lawyer-politician, rancher, patriot.
