Women on the Santa Fe Trail topic of Bernalillo library presentation

Author and theatrical historian Marla Matkin will present "Women on the Santa Fe Trail" at Martha Liebert Public Library in Bernalillo at 10 a.m. July 20.

According to a release, Matkin will shed light on the vital role that women played in documenting and impacting life on the Santa Fe Trail.

"During the event, Matkin will portray three historic women from a first-person point of view, including Doña Tules, Susan Shelby Macgoffin and Marion Sloan Russell," it reads.

Her performance is based on the women’s diaries that chronicled observations of life during the mid 1800s when the trail served as a thoroughfare of trade and western expansion.

“Much of what we know about the 900-mile Santa Fe Trail, connecting Missouri to Santa Fe, comes from the journals and diaries of women, who were active participants rather than silent bystanders,” Matkin said.

“My two great loves are theater and history and these portrayals will allow me to speak to my strengths while bringing to life these colorful and important real-life characters who each gave us insight into life during that era.”

The event is free and open to the public.