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Survivors, presenters urge completion of New Mexico COVID memorial on donated public trust land
Summary
Survivors and presenters described a survivor-driven COVID-19 memorial sited on an acre of public trust land the State Land Commissioner allotted, highlighting a pilgrimage path, artist-designed panels inspired by papel picado, and spaces for private reflection and communal gatherings.
A presenter said, "So this project [music] touches so many lives and I just am grateful to people that just said, 'We've got to do [music] something to give New Mexicans a place of solace, to give the families that were impacted their moment in time and their place for peace and comfort.'" The presenter described the memorial as meant to help families heal together.
A public commenter who identified herself as the sister of Dessie Bravo, who died Oct. 6, 2020, held a photograph of a parent lost during the pandemic and spoke about personal grief, saying the memorial would provide a place to honor and remember loved ones.
Another public commenter detailed multiple family losses to COVID-19 — naming Hugo Nuñez Salgado, a daughter, Lynette, and Charles Alfred Giddings — and said, "we were so fortunate [music] that the State Land Commissioner bestowed upon us an acre of public trust land." That commenter framed the site as an appropriate location for a memorial rooted in New Mexico cultures.
A second presenter outlined the memorial’s planned design, saying it would be "a pilgrimage path very consistent with New Mexico [music] cultures," with panels inspired by papel picado, many designed by artists to reflect distinct pandemic experiences. The presenter said the site would include places for private reflection as well as communal gatherings and that the program is survivor-driven.
The speakers made no formal motion or request recorded in this transcript excerpt. Organizers and family members emphasized cultural elements and survivor leadership as central to the memorial’s purpose and design, and they described the land allotment by the State Land Commissioner as enabling the project to proceed.
