In Her own Voice: Dona Teresa and Intrigue in the Palace A Santa Fe Found lecture

Dr. Frances Levine will speak on “In Her Own Voice: Doña Teresa Aguilera y Roche and Intrigue in the Palace of the Governors, 1659-1662,” at 2 pm Saturday, Feb. 20, in the New Mexico History Museum Auditorium. The event is free with museum admission.

The latest lecture in support of the exhibit Santa Fe Found: Fragments of Time, it focuses on the gripping tale of Doña Teresa, wife of colonial Governor Bernardo López de Mendizábel, whose brief tenure was colored by turmoil and ended with the arrests of him, his wife and key aides. In Mexico City, the couple faced the Inquisition against a battery of 200 accusations – unbridled greed, blasphemy and hostility toward the Catholic Church, and the suspicion that Mendizábel and his wife were secret Jews.

At trial – a lengthy process made notable by the secret identities of the accusers – Doña Teresa, the only woman from New Mexico ever tried before the Inquisition, shot back with accusations of her own. With her defense, she not only damaged the credibility of her accusers but managed to paint a picture of a 17th-century Santa Fe marked by clannish behaviors, conspiracies, adultery and thievery (including thefts of the household chocolate).

Her husband died in prison and was buried in unconsecrated ground, but Doña Teresa was freed after her case was suspended in 1664. She pressed for exoneration of her husband and, in 1671,the Holy Office decided to drop its case. His body was exhumed and reburied at Santo Domingo Church, not far from the Zocalo in Mexico City.

Dr. Levine, director of the New Mexico History Museum, has worked with historian Gerald González in researching Doña Teresa. Besides his explorations into Southwest history and culture, González, an attorney, has worked on issues of Hispanic land grants and tribal sovereignty. His poetry has been published in New Mexico Magazine and La Luz.

Levine’s lecture is part of a series supporting the exhibit Santa Fe Found: Fragments of Time. The exhibit uses historical documents and archaeological evidence to tell the story of Santa Fe’s founding, 400 years old this year. The artifacts include items that were dug up during the excavation that preceded the History Museum’s construction just north of the Palace of the Governors.

Upcoming lectures:

Saturday, March 13, 2 pm: Thomas E. Chávez, retired executive director, National Hispanic Culture Center, and former director, Palace of the Governors, “Juan Martínez de Montoya and the Establishment of Santa Fe.” Free with museum admission.

Saturday, April 17, 2 pm: Robin Farwell Gavin, senior curator, Museum of Spanish Colonial Art, The Journey of Mayólica.” Free with museum admission.

Thursday, May 13, 6 pm: Joseph Sánchez, director, University of New Mexico Spanish Colonial Research Center, and director, Petroglyph National Monument, “Peralta and the Founding of Santa Fe.” Free.

Funding for the Santa Fe Found exhibition and lecture series was made possible by the Palace Guard, a support group of the Museum of New Mexico Foundation; the Gala Opening Committee; Friends of Archaeology, a support group of the Museum of New Mexico Foundation; the Santa Fe 400th; and the Museum of New Mexico Foundation.