Six Volt Jump-start in a Twelve Volt World

This Sun-News photo from 5/24/10 shows beginnings of an expenditure by the City of Las Cruces dba Las Cruces Downtown Partnership of over $350,000 of public funds to construct an entrada, entrance, in this alleyway (callejón) to the St. Genevieve's Catholic Church monument. This church was torn down during the 1960s urban renewal frenzy under circumstances not clear in the minds of parishioners even now. The property was sold to a local banker, some money reportedly went to a new church by the same name, and the Bishop retired to El Paso environs. Pavement soon covered those molding bones left by the so honored dead. (This expenditure is about 1/30 of funds spent so far in the development to recover one block of Main Street to the Anglos' dreamy glory of the 1950s. Most of the public funds have gone to advisors, planners, and local architects.)

Mesilla has its landmark church, Basilica of St. Albino, on the town square and Las Cruces has been using that church's picture to advertise Las Cruces. Now Las Cruces is going to have its own church monument entrada called the quaint name of La Placita ("Colonial NM Spanish, placita, dim. of plaza: small populated area in the New Mexican countryside." From Cobos.). It's best not to ask what the words mean in Las Cruces.

The whole purpose to this construction, while appearing to be an innocent development, is to use public funds to create a Christian-religious, park-like affair with the focus being the St. Genevieve's Catholic Church monument. This is part of the on-going project to create the purposeful illusion that the old downtown Las Cruces is the anchor of a 'truly Christian city.'

Greg Smith, president of the board of directors of the Partnership is quoted as to the other underlying purpose of this entrada: "This will be a gateway for downtown," Smith said. "People from the nearby historic neighborhoods will be able to come here to socialize and enjoy THEIR (my caps) city." Funny. Never mind the rest of us. Just how many of the planners/supporters live in the old area and weren't even here in the 1950s? Right, Heather?

From the City's religious venues on Spruce Avenue north of this new site, those being the Fire Department, the Police Department, the only Public Library, the Culture Center, and the new City Hall, to the three large Latin crosses flower beds on the south end of Downtown, the religious illusion is becoming set in the minds of many citizens and visitors.

In the meanwhile, the New Las Cruces has been rapidly developing several miles away along the I-25 and Highway 70 East corridor as planned.