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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.
Arthur Sze is the current U.S. Poet Laureate. Sze is a poet, translator, and editor. He is the author of twelve books, including Into the Hush, Sight Lines, and others. Sze’s poems have been translated into fifteen languages, and he is the recipient of the National Book Award among many other honors. He lives in Santa Fe.
Deborah Jackson Taffa is a citizen of the Quechan Nation and Laguna Pueblo. Her memoir Whiskey Tender was a 2024 National Book Award Finalist and was longlisted for the 2025 Carnegie Medal for Excellence in Nonfiction. Taffa serves as the director of the MFA in creative writing program at the Institute of American Indian Arts.
Cara Romero is an award-winning contemporary fine art photographer. An enrolled citizen of the Chemehuevi Indian Tribe, Romero’s expansive oeuvre has been informed by formal training in film, digital, fine art, and commercial photography. She maintains a studio in Santa Fe, regularly participates in Native American art fairs, and was featured in PBS’ Craft in America (2019).
Frances Levine (opens in a new tab) is the president of the Missouri Historical Society, St. Louis, and the former director of the New Mexico History Museum. Levine holds degrees in anthropology: a PhD and MA from Southern Methodist University and a BA from the University of Colorado. Among a list of distinguished professional honors and awards, she received the Fray Atanasio Dominguez Award for Historical Survey from the New Mexico Historical Society in 2000 for her book on Pecos Pueblo. She also has published extensively on New Mexico history and archeology and is an active contributor to numerous professional associations and committees.
![Two figures stand on a rocky outcrop overlooking a vast canyon landscape with cliffs, mesas, and distant mountains under a hazy sky. [gen-ai]](https://elpalacio.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/12/OldSpanishTrail_Image_color-400x225.jpg)
By Frances Levine, Ph.D. Travel on the Santa Fe Trail was not restricted to the hale and hearty. Some travelers made the strenuous journey to try to reclaim their health. Many travelers—men and women—wrote diary entries remarking about their increasingly robust constitution that seemed to come from the pure air and sunshine of the best days on the trail and their connection with nature that came from sleeping under the stars.
![Sepia-toned historical illustration of a small rural settlement with scattered buildings, mountains in the background, and a few figures in the foreground. [gen-ai]](https://elpalacio.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/12/trading-400x225.jpg)
Seeing the Santa Fe Trail from the flip side.
![Adobe-style building with wooden accents, two flags (USA and New Mexico) on the roof, blue sky, and landscaping in front. [gen-ai]](https://elpalacio.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/12/moa_entrance-400x225.jpg)
BY FRANCES LEVINE Summer, especially those without the cooling monsoon rains, can be long and hot in New Mexico. The sun sears your skin, and the dirt beneath your feet can scorch right through the soles of your shoes. For centuries it has been the time of year when native peoples dance and pray devoutly for rain, and when farmers and ranchers of other cultures do the same, following their own traditions.
