Los Adaes State Historic Site, Robeline, LA

Word Portraits from the Past

Could you pick these men from a jailhouse line-up? Many early Los Adaes soldiers were recruited from debtor’s prisons.

In Colonial New Spain, photography did not exist and portrait painters were expensive, so recruiters wrote vivid, easily recognizable “word pictures” of the ethnically diverse men assigned here. 

Try your hand at creating pictures of these two Los Adaes soldiers:

 “Francisco Xavier Cortinas… native of the Villa of Santiago province of Coahuila, tall, robust, white round face, red beard, blond hair, large blue eyes, 22 years old, a scar over the left eye….”

 “Agustin Sanchez… native of the city of Zacatecas, medium build, stocky, light brown complexion, round face, small black eyes, small forehead, dark reddish brown hair, 29 years old….”