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This article examines how memory has transformed Anglo-American perceptions of Latinos in the United States, as well as Latinos' perceptions of themselves. It tells the story of the "Spanish-Americans" of New Mexico and their desire, a century ago, to enter the white body politic of the United States. As early as 1850, they petitioned Congress to form their own state government, seeking equality with other American states. But their petitions were repeatedly denied. Opponents alleged that residents of New Mexico were "morally depraved" and of "mixed blood", and were therefore not deserving of statehood. New-Mexicans responded by proclaiming their "white" racial character. From their collective memory of the Spanish conquest, they fashioned a civic identity that wasat onceracially white, "Spanish" in culture and language, and "American" in citizenship and national loyalty.