HOUSEA MEMORIAL 31COMMEMORATING 54THFEBRUARY LEGISLATURE15, -2019 STATEAS OF"VALENCIA NEWCOUNTY MEXICODAY" -IN FIRSTTHE SESSION,HOUSE 2019OF INTRODUCEDREPRESENTATIVES. BY Kelly K.

Fajardo5 andWHEREAS, GailValencia Armstrongcounty andis Alonzopart Baldonadoof andthe GregoryRio A.Abajo;

Baca and ClementeWHEREAS, SanchezValencia 7county 9is Athe MEMORIALhome COMMEMORATINGof FEBRUARYthe 15,largest 2019matanza ASin "VALENCIAthe COUNTYUnited DAY"States, INand THEthe HOUSEmatanza OFis REPRESENTATIVES.a symbol of the rich Spanish heritage of the Rio Grande valley;

14and WHEREAS, Valencia county is partthe home of the Riofamous Abajo;Tome land grant, which the king of Spain granted to thirty families in 1739;

and WHEREAS, Valencia county is the homevillage of theLos largestLunas matanzawas infounded theby UnitedSpaniards States,in and the matanzaseventeenth iscentury; a symbol of e t 17 the rich Spanish heritage of the Rio Grande valley;

and w l n d 18 WHEREAS, ValenciaBelen county is theofficially homeknown ofas the"Nuestra famousSeñora Tomede =Belen", =or 19"Our aLady l land grant, which the king of SpainBelen"; granted to thirty families i a e r 20 in 1739;

and a t m m 21 WHEREAS, theBelen villagemeans of"Bethlehem" Los Lunas was founded by Spaniards d r e 22 in theSpanish; seventeenth century;

and cWHEREAS, eBelen swas ka 23strategic WHEREAS,point Belenalong isthe officiallyCamino Real, also known as "Nuestrathe Señora"Royal deRoad", ewhich carved a ntrade broute 24south Belen",into orMexico; "Our Lady of Belen";

and u [ WHEREAS, Belen means "Bethlehem" in Spanish;

and .213169.1 WHEREAS, Belen was a strategic point along the Camino Real, also known as the "Royal Road", which carved a trade route south into Mexico;

and HM 31 WHEREAS, Bosque Farms strives to be a sparsely Page 1 populated, agricultural community;

and WHEREAS, Valencia county is home to the decalogue stone, which contains an inscription that is interpreted to be an e e 17 abridged version of the ten commandments in a form of the e e n d 18 Paleo-Hebrew alphabet;

and = = l ] 19 WHEREAS, Valencia county houses two museums, the Belen a l r i 20 Harvey house museum and the Los Lunas museum of heritage and t e a t arts;

and m m 21 e d r e 22 WHEREAS, Valencia county is home to parts of the Cibola c e r c 23 national forest and the Manzano wilderness;

and e a n b 24 WHEREAS, Valencia county is renowned for its agriculture;

u [ and .213169.1 - 2 - WHEREAS, Valencia county hosts the United States' largest matanza, a family fun event that raises funds to provide scholarships to students while preserving Valencia county traditions by promoting and enhancing local business development through civic, social, cultural and employment training programs;

NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE STATE OF NEW MEXICO that February 15, 2019 be commemorated as "Valencia County Day" in the house of HM 31 Page 2 representatives;

-HM 331 -Page 163 e6 e8 1725 e e n d 18 = = l ] 19 a l r i 20 t e a t m m 21 e d r e 22 c e r c 23 e a n b 24 u [ .213169.1