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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).
Patrick Moore is the director of the Bradbury Science Museum in Los Alamos, New Mexico. He previously served as the executive director of New Mexico Historic Sites, a division of New Mexico Department of Cultural Affairs. Moore has spent more than thirty years in history and culture sectors. He received his undergraduate and master’s degrees from New Mexico State University, where he studied political science and history, and holds a doctorate in history from Arizona State University. His career includes work in research, historic interpretation and preservation at organizations including NASA, the National Park Service, the US Navy, and the Smithsonian Institution.
![Men in historical military uniforms fire a cannon, producing a large cloud of smoke, while onlookers watch in the background. [gen-ai]](https://elpalacio.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/12/Lincoln-and-Stanton-1-e1550800156392-400x225.jpg)
BY PATRICK MOORE New Mexico enjoys one of the most complex and culturally rich histories of any state in the union. From its geographical wonders, dinosaurs, and volcanos to its Native pueblos, Spanish missions, Western forts, and even rocket- and atomic bomb-testing sites, its past ranges from ancient to relatively recent. Within this treasured array, New Mexico’s Historic Sites shine.
