Contributors

For over a century, El Palacio has been a forum for voices exploring New Mexico’s art, archaeology, history, and landscape. Explore the writers, photographers, historians, and scientists whose perspectives have defined the magazine’s pages—past and present.

Ungelbah Dávila

Ungelbah Dávila (Diné) is an award-winning writer and photographer from New Mexico. She spent her first twelve years in rural New Mexico on her father’s cattle ranch in Mangas, and mother’s property along the Gila Wilderness and San Francisco River in Reserve, New Mexico. Ungelbah received her BFA in Creative Writing from the Institute of American Indian Arts and launched La Loca Magazine during her time there. She began self publishing La Loca with national distribution from 2013-2015 while working as a copyeditor and journalist at the Valencia County News Bulletin (2011-2012) where she was awarded the National Newspaper Association Award: Best Serious Column & Best Breaking News Story (2013).

Dancing Back to the Desert

I follow Jock Soto across the TV screen, measuring his movements in lengths. The length of an arm, reaching out, every finger engaged with emotion. The length of his neck as his head looks skyward, his black hair blending into the stage, his brown throat exposed, veins pulsing. The length of his legs fluttering through the air in a moment of ethereal flight.