•HRES 389 IH
Whereas Spanish exploration activity in the New World
began in 1512 when Ponce de Leo´n explored the Florida
peninsula, and included the explorations of Francisco
Coronado from California to Kansas and across Arizona,
New Mexico, Texas, and Oklahoma from 1540 to 1542;
Whereas Hispanic Americans are the fastest growing minor-
ity group in the United States and include descendants
of the Spanish, Mexican, Cuban, Puerto Rican, Central
American, and other Hispanic peoples;
Whereas the United States Census Bureau estimated in
March 1993 that the Hispanic population of the United
States was 22,800,000, and the current estimate of the
Hispanic population in the United States is 26,000,000,
with projections of 30,000,000 by the year 2000,
40,000,000 by 2010, and almost 60,000,000 (or 20 per-
cent of the total United States population) by the year
2030;
Whereas the number of Hispanic immigrants to the United
States has increased from 1,500,000 in the 1960’s, to
2,400,000 in the 1970’s, to 4,500,000 in the 1980’s, and
the number of Hispanic immigrants is expected to con-
tinue to rise;
Whereas two-thirds of all Hispanics in the United States
today are of Mexican origin, and 70 percent of United
States Hispanics live in 4 States: California, Texas, New
York, and Florida;
Whereas New Mexico’s Hispanic population is 39 percent (or
over 660,000 of the 1995 total State population of
1,700,000) and represents the highest percentage of His-
panics in any State in the United States;
•HRES 389 IH
Whereas the United States has an enriched legacy of His-
panic influence in politics, government, business, and cul-
ture due to the early settlements and continuous influx
of Hispanics into the United States;
Whereas the New Mexico State government has funded a
Hispanic Cultural Center in Albuquerque, New Mexico,
with assistance from the Federal Government, local gov-
ernments, and private contributors, to celebrate and pre-
serve Hispanic culture, including literature, performing
arts, visual arts, music, culinary arts, and language arts;
Whereas the Archbishop of Santa Fe, Michael Sheehan, is
planning events throughout 1998 in New Mexico, includ-
ing the opening of ‘‘Jubilee year’’, an encuentro at Santo
Domingo Pueblo to mark the meeting of the missionaries
with the Pueblo peoples, an Archdiocesan reconciliation
service at the Santuario de Chimayo, and an Arch-
diocesan celebration of St. Francis of Assisi in Santa Fe;
Whereas in order to commemorate Don Juan de On˜ate’s ar-
rival, the city of Espan˜ola will have a fiesta in July 1998,
the city of Santa Fe is planning several special events,
and the New Mexico statewide committee is planning a
parade, a historical costume ball, and a pageant in Albu-
querque; and
Whereas many other religious, educational, and social events
are being planned around New Mexico to commemorate
the 400th anniversary of the first permanent Spanish
settlement in New Mexico: Now, therefore, be it
Resolved, That the House of Representatives—
(1) commemorates the first permanent Spanish
settlement in New Mexico;
•HRES 389 IH
(2) recognizes the cultural and economic impor-
tance of the Spanish settlements throughout the
Southwest Region of the United States;
(3) expresses its support for the work of the
Espan˜ola Plaza Foundation, the Santa Fe and Albu-
querque Cuartocentenario committees, the Arch-
diocese of Santa Fe, the New Mexico Hispanic Cul-
tural Center Board of Directors, the Hispanic Cul-
tural Foundation Board of Trustees, as well as other
interested groups that are preparing New Mexico
Cuartocentenario activities;
(4) expresses its support for the events to be
held in New Mexico and the Southwest in observance
of the New Mexico Cuartocentenario; and
(5) requests that the President issue a procla-
mation calling upon the people of the United
States—
(A) to commemorate the first permanent
Spanish settlement in New Mexico with appro-
priate ceremonies, activities, and programs to
honor and celebrate the contributions of His-
panic people to the cultural and economic life of
the United States; and
(B) to support, promote, and participate in
the many activities being planned to commemo-
•HRES 389 IH
rate the historic event of the early settling of
the Southwest Region of the United States by
the Spanish.
Æ