Tina Cordova is no stranger to the candlelight vigil that honors those lost to cancers linked to the Trinity Test.
She has been a leader in organizing the annual event for the last 17 years, and she was a prominent speaker when the latest edition of the service was held on July 25.
With a monsoon storm’s double rainbow as a backdrop, citizens from Tularosa, Carrizozo, and Alamogordo gathered to decorate brown paper bags with the names of their lost loved ones, place sand in the bottom, and nestle a votive candle inside.
As the sun set, the glow of the flames lit the Tularosa Veteran’s Park.
It was 81 years ago this month that the first atomic bomb was detonated and it happened in New Mexico, spreading radioactive fallout across the state and beyond, with residents in the closest communities suffering the most. With their cattle, water supply, and garden soil contaminated, they unknowingly consumed radioactive particles, leading some to develop cancers and other health problems.
The Radiation Exposure Compensation Act (RECA), which was passed into federal law in 1990, allows one-time lump sum payments of up to $100,000 for qualified applicants. This includes uranium mine workers and those downwind from nuclear tests who subsequently developed one (or more) of 19 cancers deemed to be radiation exposure-related.
New Mexico was not part of the Act until July of 2025, when Congress voted to extend RECA to include those affected by the Trinity Test.
Cordova, along with the late Fred Tyler, started the Tularosa Basin Downwinders Consortium (TBDC) in 2005 to fight to get New Mexico included in RECA.
The TBDC has the paperwork and information necessary for residents who want to apply for compensation, along with a slew of volunteers who can help with the process. The deadline to submit the completed application for compensation is December 31, 2027, and can be done online or on paper via the mail.
At the vigil, an expanse of flickering memorials lit up the night as the national anthem was played and various members of the community spoke of the importance of RECA and how they appreciated the support from members of Congress.
Representatives for both Congressman Gabe Vasquez and Senator Ben Ray Luján were on hand, along with Tularosa mayor Deborah Cooksey and Alamogordo mayor Sharon McDonald.
“Tonight we honor victims and survivors of the radiation fallout from the 1945 Trinity atom bomb test,” McDonald said as part of her remarks. “I’m glad that we remember the ones who are suffering now and have suffered and are no longer with us today.
“It’s good to be remembered. And even though this is a sad occasion for the people who have passed on without any type of relief, I’m glad that we recognize that we do need to remember each and every one.”
Cordova, during her speech, said that she was recently contacted by the United Nations and that she will be afforded the privilege of addressing the entire general assembly on August 31.
“I just want all of you to know that for the first time ever Tularosa, Carrizozo, Alamogordo, Socorro, those words will be spoken in the general assembly of the United Nations,” she said. “And I will be so honored to do this on behalf of my community and the state of New Mexico.”
After the speeches, residents took turns reading the nearly 900 names of loved ones affected by the Trinity Test.
On August 12 at 6:00 at the Flickinger Center there will be a free screening of the documentary First We Bombed New Mexico, which covers the TBDC’s efforts to be included in RECA. The event will be hosted by candidate Deb Haaland along with Representative Vasquez.
For more information on who is eligible for compensation and how to apply visit the TBDC website at trinitydownwinders.com.
