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BY ALISON SWING When you walk through the streets of Lincoln, New Mexico, you see the culmination of everything that has happened since the town was first established: the Torreón, a round, rock tower built for defense in the 1850s by the first Hispanic settlers; the Old Lincoln County Courthouse; and all the public and private buildings and residences that line the street.
Categories: Featured
BY CARMEN VENDELIN Theatricality draws out emotions in the observer. In the performing arts, “stage, setting, and mood”— the use of backdrops, props, lighting, and sound, and the application of the performers’ craft in the physical space of the theater — work together to evoke sensations and sentiments in the audience. In the visual arts, artists employ theatrical, pictorial means to appeal to the senses.
Categories: Featured, Visual art
BY LAURA ADDISON The golden age of the American circus (1870s–1930s) coincided with an era of modernization and mobility, most notably the expansion of the railroad. Although the circus in this country long predated the railroad—first making its appearance in 1792, when the Scottish equestrian acrobat John Bill Ricketts opened a riding school in Philadelphia—it was the railroad that allowed the American circus to grow in geographic reach, scale, and elaborateness.
Categories: Featured
BY FELICIA KATZ-HARRIS Almost universally, yet through varied means and belief systems, people have found ways to connect with divine beings to harness protection and attain blessings and good fortune for themselves, their loved ones, and their communities. [wonderplugin_slider id="71"] (more…)
Categories: Featured
In New Mexico the flamenco tradition is now several generations strong. Even though there have been many contributors to the development and growth of flamenco in our state, dancer Vicente Romero (1937–95) is widely credited with creating the vibrant flamenco scene in northern New Mexico that still thrives today.
Categories: Featured
![Black-and-white photo of a two-story adobe building with exterior stairs, a porch, and a fence in front; barren tree and hills in the background. [gen-ai]](https://elpalacio.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/12/Back-to-the-Future_4-400x225.jpg)
![A black-and-white illustration of a house with a tower, framed by large, dark trees in the foreground. Mountains are visible in the background. [gen-ai]](https://elpalacio.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/12/SSM_2-400x225.jpg)
![A close-up of a painted figurine in a red jacket, black boots, and hat holding a stick, with other colorful figurines and a white horse in the blurred background. [gen-ai]](https://elpalacio.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/12/Circus_2-scaled-1-400x225.jpg)
![A small outdoor shrine decorated with yellow flowers, garlands, colorful cloth, figurines, candles, and two pumpkins, set against a bamboo background. [gen-ai]](https://elpalacio.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/12/Blessings_3-400x225.jpg)
![A man in a white shirt with red polka dots stands in the foreground, while two women in colorful outfits dance in the background. [gen-ai]](https://elpalacio.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/12/miguel-400x225.jpg)