Founded on November 26, 1900, at Antonito, Colorado, La Sociedad Protección Mutua de Trabajadores Unidos (SPMDTU) celebrated its 100th year anniversary at the meeting hall of the Superior Council on September 2, 2000. The SPMDTU has withstood the test of time and remains as the oldest active Hispanic mutual aid society. Shortly after the centennial, the Superior Council entered into an agreement with the Center for Southwest Research at the University of New Mexico to archive its records as a way of preserving the history of the society. The Superior Council continues to function as the executive body of the society and in 2022 approved the digitizing of selected records of the organization as part of the UNM Digital Repository. The major components featured in the UNM Digital Repository include the founding documents such as the Preamble to the Constitution, selected convention minutes and reports, activities of the Concilio Superior and local councils, oral histories, accounts of the women’s auxiliaries, and countless photographs documenting the history of the society and the milestone project that led to the restoration of the SPMDTU meeting hall in the years 2023-2024.


Most entries were digitized from the SPMDTU archives housed at the Center for Southwest Research along with additional materials provided by UNM professor emeritus and former Secretario Superior of La Sociedad, José Rivera, who curated the collection with the assistance of archivists at the CSWR.

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Browse the Sociedad Protección Mutua de Trabajadores Unidos Records Collections:

01. SPMDTU Founding and Historic Documents

02. Founder Don Celedonio Mondragón

03. Selected Minutes and Reports

04. SPMDTU Conventions and Concilio Superior Events

05. Concilios Locales and Events

06. Oral Histories

07. Digitized Concilio Journals

08. La Sociedad Book Origins and Signings

09. La Sociedad Book Reviews

10. Miscellaneous

11. Rogelio Briones and Daniel Salazar Collection

12. Ruben Archuleta Collection

13. Arnold Valdez Collection – Concilio Superior Restoration Project

14. Antonio Esquibel Collection – Concilio Superior Second Restoration Project 2018-2023

15. SPMDTU and Maestas Case

16. SPMDTU Videos & Links

17. Bibliography