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Gaspar Pérez de Villagrá's (1555-1620) Historia de la Nueva Mexico (1610) is an epic poem and firsthand account of the first European settlement established in New Mexico. Don Juan de Oñate led the first party of soldiers and settlers on their journey north from New Spain. The author was a captain in the Onate expedition and while his poem is a rich source of historical information, few experts have expressed interest in the work's literary merit (Leal 1993, 96-97).
Critics have regarded Villagrá's Historia as inferior to other American epics such as Alonso de Ercilla's La araucaria (Menéndez y Pelayo 45). And while the last century of critical opinion has seen Villagrá as "a poet-chronicler, but more of a chronicler than a poet" (González Obregón vu), I would argue that Luis González Obregón's phrase overlooks the poetic purpose that is at the heart of the Historia de la Nueva México.
In fact, centuries of neglect and hostile reviews may be ending for Villagrá's poem. As new critical approaches to colonial literature coincide with the controversy surrounding the 400th anniversary of the Oñate expedition, readers are responding to the Historia in unexpected ways. As one New Mexican scholar points out, " Villagrás epic of New Mexico speaks to our American heritage and must be judged by new standards . . ." (Jaramillo 1992, 276).
Gaspar Pérez de Villagrá was born in Puebla de Los Ángeles, near Mexico City, but little is known of his early years. His Spanish father provided for his education at the prestigious University of Salamanca, after which Villagrá divided his time between America and extended stays in the Spanish capital. When he enlisted as a captain in the Oñate expedition, Villagrá was no longer a young man. Nevertheless, he endured more than two years of bureaucratic delays before the expedition began its journey in January 1598. Villagrá was accompanied by 130 soldiers, their families, several Franciscan missionaries, as well as the wagons, animals, and belongings that were essential for the journey.
Captain Villagrá served a year in New Mexico. In 1599, after participating in the climactic battle of Acoma that concludes the Historia, he returned to New Spain with orders to recruit fresh troops. But Viceroy Caspar de Zúñiga y Acevedo...