[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 146 (2000), Part 17]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page 25393]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]



       RETIREMENT OF NEW MEXICO STATE HISTORIAN ROBERT J. TORREZ

                                 ______
                                 

                             HON. TOM UDALL

                             of new mexico

                    in the house of representatives

                       Saturday, October 28, 2000

  Mr. UDALL of New Mexico. Mr. Speaker, Mr. Robert J. Torrez, the New 
Mexico State Historian and one of New Mexico's most recognized, 
respected and honored historians, recently announced his retirement to 
be effective December 22, 2000. Mr. Torrez has served in his official 
position with New Mexico's state government since 1987.
  During his years as State Historian, Mr. Torrez has made many 
noteworthy contributions to support greater awareness of the richness 
and depth of the more than four and a half centuries of New Mexico 
history--a written record of history in the United States that has few, 
if any, direct parallels. And a record that continues to grow as New 
Mexico continues to make its unique contributions to our country.
  One of the areas in which Mr. Torrez has focused his scholarship is 
the history of New Mexico's judicial institutions and how those 
institutions responded to crime, punishment and other legal dilemmas 
under the Spanish, Mexican and American governments. He has written 
many articles on the subject and has pointed out the effectiveness of 
the Spanish and Mexican systems in dealing with crimes in the context 
of not only providing justice, but also community-wide resolution and 
acceptance of the application of justice through those systems in ways 
that also preserved the integrity of the individuals and families 
involved in progressive ways. He has long-running regular column that 
is published in the monthly public employee-oriented newspaper, Round 
the Roundhouse, that has pointed out many little-known aspect of New 
Mexico's history.
  Mr. Torrez is a recognized expert on one of New Mexico's--and the 
Southwest's--most challenging issues. And it is an issue that is not 
only close to my heart but touches on the soul of every traditional 
Hispanic community in New Mexico: the question of New Mexico's land 
grants. Those grants made by Spanish and Mexican governments were 
ostensibly protected by the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo that ended the 
United States' war with Mexico in 1848. Mr. Torrez has presented 
countless lectures and discussions concerning this matter and he served 
as a member of the Guadalupe Hidalgo Task Force created under the 
auspices of the New Mexico Attorney General's Office in order to assist 
the United States General Accounting Office conduct their ongoing study 
of New Mexico's grants.
  Mr. Torrez has also contributed significantly tothe preservation of 
New Mexico's historical documents and cultural propoerties. As only one 
notable example, in 1988, he worked with the New Mexico Historical 
Records Advisory Board to obtain a grant from the National Historical 
Publications and Records Commission. He then ensured that the grant 
funds were applied to a much-needed project for locating and 
identifying historical records throughout New Mexico and then assessing 
their condition and making recommendations for maintaining and 
preserving them for posterity. The result was a report, New Mexico's 
Historical Records--An Assessment, that was published and circulated 
throughout the State in 1990.
  Despite his widespread recognition and his scholarly position, Mr. 
Torrez has also deliberately chosen to remain accessible to the many 
citizens struggling to understand their family, cultural and state 
history. It is part of his commitment to promoting the understanding 
and dissemination of the history that he clearly so deeply loves. And 
as a consequence, he is not only widely recognized and warmly received 
wherever he travels in the state, but is also deeply appreciated as a 
living, breathing cultural treasure in our State. I, my wife, Jill, adn 
countless other New Mexicans join in extending our sincere thanks and 
congratulations to Mr. Robert Torrez for his years and dedication and 
commitment to the history of our Land of Enchantment. We know and are 
glad that he will be able to continue his work from the comfort of his 
well-deserved and more leisurely state of retired public servant. One 
who has exemplified the highest standards of public service. We wish 
him continued rewards in the years to come.

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