At three o'clock on an October afternoon in 1915, the suffragists of Santa Fe, New Mexico, took to the streets of the capital city to make "a public act of faith in the cause of woman suffrage." One hundred and fifty women joined the parade, Anglos (the term New Mexicans used to refer to whites) and Hispanics (which referred to the Spanish-speaking citizens of the state). Some marched; others rode in gaily decorated automobiles. Mrs. Trinidad Cabeza de Baca, whose family owned one of the first autos in the city, lent hers to the cause. She was joined by a number of other Hispanic women, including Dolores "Lola" Armijo, Mrs. James Chavez, Aurora Lucero, Anita (Mrs. Secundino) Romero, Arabella (Mrs. Cleofas) Romero and her daughter, Marie.
These women were all members of powerful Hispanic families in the state; many of their fathers and husbands were well-connected politicians. Most spoke Spanish as well as English. Some of them described themselves as housewives, others were professionals. Lola Armijo was the first female member of the state government, having been appointed as state librarian in 1912. Though the governor tried to replace her with a man, arguing that under the state constitution women could not be elected to office, a court upheld her appointment. Although she was not reported as present at the parade that day, Adelina "Nina" Otero-Warren, the first female superintendent of schools in Santa Fe was also a well-known Hispanic suffragist in the state.
The story of these New Mexicans reminds us of the diversity of suffrage activism in the United States. Their advocacy for the vote grew out of their insistence that Spanish-Americans, as they called themselves, were equal citizens. At a moment when the land rights, religion, and language of Hispanics were under attack, they asserted that the suffrage movement needed to include them and their concerns. Spanish-speakers constituted more than half of the population of the state and held political power as voters. Their position as economically secure and politically connected Hispanic women made them a force to be reckoned with. White suffragists therefore listened to them and incorporated their ideas, offering a model of cooperation for today's multicultural society (though it is vital to note that Native American women in New Mexico were not included in this cooperation; more on this will be explored below, as well as in my forthcoming article in this series, “Indigenous Women in the Suffrage Movement”).