Pérez lost head in 1837 after trying to impose a tax on New Mexicans

Former New Mexico Gov. Albino Pérez, who lost his head in a tax revolt in 1837, was honored Thursday when a monument commemorating him was deeded to the Palace of the Governors.

The Daughters of the American Revolution originally erected the simple stone marker, engraved with the date of Pérez’s assassination, near the corner of Hickox and Agua Fría streets in 1901.

But by 1970, the stone had become so worn that it was moved to the Palace of the Governors for safekeeping. For years, it has sat beneath one of the giant cottonwoods in the palace’s courtyard.

Pat Farr, the regent of Santa Fe’s Stephen Watts Kearny DAR chapter, said she only recently learned the stone had never officially been deeded to the palace.

On Thursday, DAR members, many of them wearing turn-of-the-20th-century dresses, were joined by Civil War and Rough Rider re-enactors, along with a Scottish bagpiper, in a ceremony in the palace courtyard.

But unlike the original ceremony on June 14, 1901, when a sudden hail storm cut the festivities short, Thursday’s re-enactment took place under clear blue skies and mild temperatures.

Robert Torrez, a former state historian, read from a speech given 106 years ago by Supreme Court Clerk José Sena about the events that led up to Pérez’s death. A native Mexican and military officer allied with Mexican President Antonio López de Santa Anna, Pérez was appointed governor of the far-northern territory of New Mexico in 1835.

He soon tried to impose a tax on New Mexicans — something they had never before experienced. On Aug. 3, 1837, a group of Indian/Spanish leaders from Santa Cruz de la Cañada issued a proclamation protesting the tax and telling the Mexican officials “they were not welcome” in New Mexico, Torrez said.

Four days later, Pérez and an armed guard headed north to put down the rebellion. After camping near Pojoaque Pueblo, they continued north until they confronted the rebels near La Mesilla, south of today’s Española. The villagers defeated Pérez’s guard and pursued them back to Santa Fe, killing several guardsmen and apprehending Pérez on the road to Agua Fría on Aug. 8, 1837.

The “infuriated mob” killed Pérez, beheaded him and reportedly played soccer with his severed head near Rosario Cemetery and then stuck it on a pole. 

David Perez Escudero, the great-great-great-grandson of Gov. Pérez, read from the speech given by his great-great-grandfather, Demitrio Pérez, 106 years ago. Escudero, who runs the Plaza Vieja Gallery in Las Vegas, N.M., said Demitrio Pérez, who was an infant when his father was killed, was saved by his Indian nurses who hid him.

“Later, he thrived,” Escudero said of Demitrio, who eventually moved to Las Vegas. “He became state auditor for the territory under Gov. (L. Bradford) Prince.”

Albino Pérez’s wife, Trinidad Trujillo, wasn’t so lucky. She disappeared and possibly spent the rest of her life in an Indian village, said another Pérez descendent at Thursday’s ceremony, John Aurelio Garau. “There were rumors that she was seen here and there, but they’re not substantiated,” he said.

Garau, a retired real-estate businessman from Laguna Beach, Calif., said he has tried to find out more about his ancestor without success. Historical accounts say Pérez’s headless body eventually was buried near Santa Fe, but there is no record of the burial site, Garau said.

Palace of the Governors Director Frances Levine said the stone monument will remain in the palace courtyard.

Contact Tom Sharpe at 995-3813 or tsharpe@sfnewmexican.com.