The Guadalupe Institute

The
Guadalupe
Institute

Western Hemisphere Center

Albuquerque New Mexico is a natural site for the Western Hemisphere Center, a consortium of Universities. Albuquerque is uniquely situated in the rocky mountain high desert country roughly between the Canadian border on the north and Mexico City on the south.

A Western Hemisphere Center would provide Albuquerque with a greater regional and national presence and an international presence. Today the emphasis is STEM, Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics. This is understandable because of the presence of the great research laboratories at Sandia base and Los Alamos. Albuquerque has a strong well-educated population interested in health, drama, music and art. A Western Hemisphere Center could provide a more balanced emphasis, attract university students, provide jobs, and be coupled with the efforts to resolve the crime problems in our community.

Historically the Mexico to Santa Fe Camino Real and the Santa Fe Trail from Missouri to Santa Fe joined the vast open country. Each has its history as beautifully depicted in the Camino Real Museum between Socorro and Truth or Consequences and the Museum of New Mexico in Santa Fe, New Mexico. Albuquerque is a crossroads, with two major interstates the East-West I 40 and the North-South I 25.

The idea of a Western Hemisphere Center is not entirely new. Dr. Richard Peck who served as president of the University of New Mexico between 1990 – 1998 proposed a hemispheric initiative. After his term, the hemispheric proposal petered out. Nevertheless the Latin American and Iberian Institute is one of UNM’s strongest departments.

New Mexico is a microcosm of the Western Hemisphere. The issues of settlement exist from very early times. The Folsom point found near Folsom, NM provides evidence of settlement over 8,000 years ago. The Ancestral Puebloan Peoples of Chaco Canyon and other sites within the state are studied by scholars of various disciplines. The members of the timeless existing pueblos participate regularly in community activities. History is depicted at the Albuquerque Historical Museum and the Indian Cultural Center. Eons of geological past is studied at the NM Natural History Museum. The influence of Spanish settlement is present everywhere and enjoyed at the National Hispano Cultural Center.

Albuquerque with its excellent airport and good weather is the perfect place for the Western Hemisphere Center.

THE GUADALUPE INSTITUTE

“…the Guadalupe Institute is an opportunity for study and dialogue, celebrate the U.S. Constitution and bring a message of peace…”

Catholic Spain sent explorers, others followed, and the Western Hemisphere was conquered. Indigenous peoples suffered greatly, but they were soon comforted. The Virgin, who gave birth to the Messiah, appeared with flowers and music to a poor native and asked for a temple. Nine million became Christians. In time Our Lady of Guadalupe was crowned Empress of the Hemisphere.

Many miles north, 200 years later, on the same continent, a small group declared certain Truths to be self-evident, “all Men are created equal, they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, among these are Life, Liberty and the Pursuit of Happiness”. They broke from their mother country and formed a Constitutional government, with powers divided into three branches, an elected executive, an elected branch of two bodies one to represent people and one to represent states, and an appointed third branch, judiciary. The new government forbade religious test for service yet protected religious freedom.

The experiment of government brought forth creativity and benefits beyond belief. The Guadalupe Institute, the esoteric cultural opportunity to study, to dialogue, to celebrate the U.S. Constitution, and bring a message of peace, is a formula to help resolve conflict, in the unfolding of God’s Plan.