Second Saturday: The “Bad Girls” of New Mexico History

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Historian Robert Torrez’s research has led him to discover fascinating narratives within the judicial records at the New Mexico State Records Center and Archives in Santa Fe. This presentation reveals the significant, yet frequently marginalized, roles women played in criminal activity from the Colonial, Mexican and Territorial periods of New Mexico. The judicial records of the past 300 years to show how crimes by women were adjudicated in New Mexico. Torrez showcases the complex lives of these woman, how they navigated the challenges of their era, and how their actions reflected broader societal changes. His talk highlights a few of the more notorious criminal cases and other stories of the little known "bad girls" from New Mexico’s “wild west” period.