Bent’s Old Fort Presents Padre Martinez: Patriot, Villain, or Scapegoat? on Feb. 27, 2026

Description: Join Bent’s Old Fort on Feb. 27, 2026 at Otero College for a free presentation on Padre Antonio Martinez, featuring filmmaker Paul Espinosa and a documentary preview... Read the Full Press Release from Bent’s Old Fort National Historic Site...

Was Padre Antonio Martinez a patriot, a villain, or a scapegoat?

Bent’s Old Fort National Historic Site announces a special presentation for Friday, February 27th, 2026, as part of its “Stories from the Borderlands” program series – “Padre Martinez: Patriot, Villain, or Scapegoat?” This presentation will be offered at 2:00 p.m. in the Ed Stafford Theater at Otero College, in La Junta, Colorado. 

This free program will discuss Padre Antonio Martinez, who lived in New Mexico under Spanish, Mexican, and American rule. He was an important religious and political leader in New Mexico history who was also a contemporary and rival of Charles Bent.

The program will be presented by park staff in conjunction with guest speaker Paul Espinosa, a documentary filmmaker currently working on a project about the life of Padre Martinez, “Searching for Padre Martinez.” Mr. Espinosa has previously produced several other documentaries, including the Emmy Award winning “The U.S.-Mexican War.” The program will include the screening of a 30-minute Work-in-Progress from the new documentary.

(Image of Padre Martinez Courtesy of Palace of the Governors Photo Archives, New Mexico History Museum, Santa Fe, New Mexico.)

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