Grave in Santa Clara cemetery deemed historic

Santa Clara is recognizing a piece of its history often overlooked in the city’s historic preservation efforts — the grave site of Tiburcio Vásquez, a notorious 19th-century outlaw whose legacy is intertwined with the experiences of California’s Mexican-era residents. The City Council unanimously approved the grave site’s historic designation on Oct. 20, giving new recognition to Vásquez’s connection to the region and adding to local efforts to preserve the history of Californios — people of Spanish and Mexican descent who lived in California before it became part of the U.S in 1850. For community advocates and descendants, the designation is an opportunity to bring greater attention to stories of displacement, resistance and cultural identity, which they said have long been overlooked. “It is really important for these cities to recognize their history, that it did not start with the Americans,” Lorie Garcia, a Santa Clara historian, told San José Spotlight.

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