Two Lives for Oñate

With a flourish of trumpets, Don Juan de O ate claimed possession of New Mexico on the banks of el R o del Norte in 1598. The land of pueblos surely would yield riches for the Spanish crown and prove O ate worthy of the title adelantado for two lives to come. But some colonists with dreams of their own soon grew restless in the desolate region. O ate, feeling isolated and mistrusted by the authorities in Mexico City, resigned his position and left New Mexico in 1610 both slandered and shamed. Raw facts of history are molded into a moving tale in this novel about the founding of Spanish New Mexico. Also the story of a tender relationship between father and son. O ate finds lonely redemption through the gentle nature of his boy, Crist bal. Miguel Encinias presents O ate as a complex man torn by his own desires, visions of glory, and strict social codes.