About El independiente. [volume] (Las Vegas, Nuevo México) 1894-19??
Las Vegas, Nuevo México (1894-19??)

El Independiente

El Independiente ("The Independent") was published weekly in Spanish from March 24, 1894, until about August 17, 1928, in Las Vegas, New Mexico. Established in 1835 along the Santa Fe Trail, Las Vegas grew quickly due to its position along the route. The town continued to grow after the arrival of the Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railroad in 1879, and became New Mexico's largest and most commercially active city by 1900. However, by the 1920s Las Vegas began to decline, largely because much of the railroad activity had moved south to Albuquerque.

Enrique H. Salazar served as the editor of El Independiente from its inception until late 1905. Salazar, a native of Santa Fe, had previously founded La Voz del Pueblo ("The Voice of the People") with Nestor Montoya until 1890 when they sold the paper, which then moved to Las Vegas. In October of 1899, El Independiente became the official paper of San Miguel County. Salazar relinquished his editorial duties in December of 1905 to Secundino Romero, but continued as the paper's treasurer and administrator. This relationship lasted until 1910 when Salazar moved to Fort Sumner. The paper continued in publication until August of 1928, when it moved to Albuquerque under the same name. The New Mexico Independent bought the paper in 1939, after which it was known as El Independiente and the New Mexico Independent.

El Independiente was originally published on Saturdays, but changed to Thursdays in August of 1897. Until it became the official paper of San Miguel County, Salazar devoted much space to editorials on education, history, language, and political issues of importance to native New Mexicans. For example, he denounced the overwhelming dominance of federal appointments for Anglos in the territory:

We do not pretend to state that those [Anglos] appointed to fill the positions were bad or dangerous. On the contrary, many of them were of good character....We are not trying to rate the quality of those nominated; rather only to [state] the degree in which Spanish-Americans of this Territory were recognized. On this point, nothing can be said except that they were almost completely ignored.

The news in El Independiente in this early period included the deaths of important figures, murders, and robberies. After it became the official paper of San Miguel County, the coverage of local news and politics increased significantly. Official proceedings of county business were also included, as well as a section dedicated to news from Santa Fe. Bilingual legal notices appeared at this time as well.

On December 22, 1904, a one-year subscription cost $2.00 and a six-month cost $1.00. Advertisements in this period include butcher shops, hardware stores, restaurants, general stores, and hotels. According to N.W. Ayer & Son's American Newspaper Annual of 1904, El Independiente had a circulation of 904 issues, substantially less than La Voz del Pueblo, which boasted a circulation of 2,735.

Provided by: University of New Mexico