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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).
Robert Preucel (opens in a new tab) is James Manning Professor of Anthropology and director of the Haffenreffer Museum of Anthropology at Brown University. He joined the Brown faculty in 2013 after holding positions in the Departments of Anthropology at the University of Pennsylvania and Harvard University.
![A rocky mountain range rises above dry grassland and scattered shrubs under a partly cloudy sky. [gen-ai]](https://elpalacio.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/12/featured_Tunyo_clouds-400x225.jpg)
When Juan de Oñate journeyed north up the Rio Grande valley in the summer of 1598, he found, to his dismay, nobody at home. As the spearhead of a colonial expedition into the heart of the Pueblo province, Oñate had hoped to march into each village, secure its allegiance to the Crown and Christ, and gain valuable allies and material support for his newfound kingdom.
