Brief by Central Staff
History – February 2003 – Colorado Central Magazine
The first person to write about our part of the world was Juan Bautista de Anza, governor of the Spanish province of New Mexico in 1779. He led a campaign against the Jupe Comanche that summer, which took him north from Santa Fé and over Poncha Pass, then to South Park and the Pueblo area.
To the rest of the world, Anza may be better known for founding San Francisco in 1776.
Scholars and buffs gather every year for the Anza World Conference; this year’s is scheduled for May 1-5 in Arizpe, Sonora, Mexico, where Anza is buried. The dates are all that had been set at press time, but as more information becomes available, we’ll pass it along.
On the local Anza front, we hope to organize another Anza Day in Poncha Springs in late August; it’s always fun, and local enterprises have been more than generous in helping support it.
We also note that Anza’s name is getting more local recognition; there’s a De Anza subdivision near Poncha, and a chamber-music group called De Anza.
And the name should be more prominent here in 2004. Current plans are to hold the Anza World Conference in Poncha Springs and Salida Aug. 26-29 of next year. That’s 225 years, to the day, after Anza came through and put us on the map — a map drawn by Don Bernardo Miera y Pacheco, great-great-great-great- great-great-grandfather of Wilfred O. Martinez, who spoke at our 2002 Anza Day.
