History of Espanola

Heroin use in the area increased rapidly beginning in the 1990s. In the period 2001–2005, Rio Arriba County had the highest per capita rate of drug fatalities in the country, with 42.5 deaths per 100,000 population compared to 7.3 nationally; however, in the city limits of Española the numbers are far below the national average at 0.5.

On September 18, 2008 then Sen. Barack Obama, the Democratic nominee for President of the United States, visited Española for a rally at the city's New Plaza in the Main Street district. Nearly 10,000 people packed the Plaza from around the Española Valley. Española has a large number of Hispanics and a large majority are Democrats