Events

Cruz Camargo, an El Pasoan, businessman and descendant of the indigenous Manso Tribe of the El Paso region, shares his heritage and details of the life his people lived before the arrival of the Spanish in this area. His presentation “My Ancestors the Manso,” arranged by the El Paso Archaeological Society.

Knowledge of how his people, the Manso, used to live as hunters and gatherers, the crops they raised, the native plants they used, the tools, homes, medicine, and villages that made up their lives will be shared with the audience. Mr. Camargo welcomes questions from the audience. This is a rare opportunity to learn what Mr. Camargo learned from his father about his people and their lives before El Paso was El Paso.

The Manso people were encountered by the Spanish in the area of the Rio Grande near what is now El Paso during the Rodríguez-Chamuscado (1581) and Espejo (1582) expeditions and by the group of settlers led by Don Juan de Oñate (1598). Oñate is believed to be the one who either used the words that became “Manso” or Oñate repeated words that the Manso people spoke to him. The name Manso may not have been the name the people used for themselves. Spanish reports indicate the Manso helped the Oñate settlers cross the Rio Grande near what is now Socorro, Texas. The Guadalupe Mission (established in 1659), in what is now Ciudad Juárez, was originally a mission for the Manso people and was built largely with their labor.

EPAS, founded in 1922, is a non-profit group. Membership is open to individuals and organizations interested in anthropology, archaeology and in the preservation of prehistoric and historic cultural resources.