DEL NORTE - It’s time to mark the calendar and get ready to hop on a trail through time as the Rio Grande County Museum steps back into the past of the San Luis Valley and welcomes author Michael A. Espinosa for a presentation on the “Espinosa Outlaws” and book signing event. 

At 11 a.m. on Aug. 9, come join the museum in learning the legacy behind these outlaws - what drove them to their dastardly deeds? The controversy surrounding the tales of the Espinosa Outlaws has spread across not only the historical community but also among Valley natives and throughout the world. Historians have long studied the timeline of events, and many who know the tales either believe them to be of vigilante justice or acts of murder and violence. 

Espinosa’s book looks at the plight of the Espinosa brothers through the lens of a distant relative and one who takes the reader on a journey through time to explore the details of what occurred while the entire US was in the midst of unrest and the Civil War. 

After 150 years, the book “Trail of the Espinosa Outlaws: Reign of Terror 1857 to 1863” by retired attorney Michael A. Espinosa’s father, L. Andrés, is a fictional account based on family narratives of the vengeful brothers. 

In 1863, the Denver Rocky Mountain News Weekly printed the beginnings of the Espinosa story in the April 16 issue. At that point, several murders were discovered in South Park. Less than 30 days later, claims of around 300 murders circulated in the press and hit national news. Every murder was attributed to the Espinosa’s. 

It has taken three generations of Espinosa’s to bring this book to light. Humberto Espinosa, Michael’s grandfather, told the family stories of revenge. Michael’s father, L. Andrés, wrote the historical fiction over his lifetime while attending college and working. 

In Colorado, New Mexico and Texas, murders and assaults were committed by the invading Americanos after the signing of the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo in 1848. Protection of the Mexican landowners was promised in the Treaty but never secured by the American Congress. 

This western novel involves two families of Espinosa’s, their exploits, and Spanish land grant issues. The final conflicts take place in Colorado.  

Michael will give a short presentation on his book and then be available for a book signing. Light refreshments will be provided. For more information, visit www.riograndecountymuseum.org or call 719-657-2847.