Enchanting New Mexico [antikvár]

1 j ive short years ago I sat in my small dining room overH looking the Strait of Jüan de Fuca, which separates Washington State's lush Olympic Peninsula from Vancouver Island British Columbia, and tried to decide where to spend an upcoming year's leave of absence from my job and everyday life. Europe, my first choice, was out of the question. So at the little table looking out on the cold waters of the northern Pacific, I studied state maps and travel guides, without having any clear sense of a good second choice. Then suddenly one day I knew: I would spend my year in New Mexico. It didn't matter that until then I'd just seen the place in passing through on the way to other destinations. It would be an adventure, I was sure. Five years later my one-year leave of absence has transmuted itself into a more-or-less permanent move and a new way of life. New Mexico has provided all the adventure I expected-and more. Sometimes as I sit in my simple backyard patio in Santa Fe overlooking a sea of white desert primroses, pink and burgundy hollyhocks, and wild sunflowers, I still fantasize about gypsying off to Europe for a year, but not very seriously. Santa Fe in particular and New Mexico in generál hold much the same attraction that Europe does, to me: a complicated blend of languages, history, cultures, and people that provides an endless fountain of experiences, insights, ideas, dramas, and dreams. Each village and town seems to glow with its own charm (sometimes through a layer of dust), whether the population is primarily Hispanics, Indians, Johnny-come-lately Anglos, or-as often occurs-somé növel mixture of all three. The editors and publishers of New Mexico Magaziné have long been aware of this magicai combination of ingredients, and for over sixty years they have provided readers a kaleidoscope of glimpses into the land and its people. This book is partly an outgrowth of that editorial ambition: to reveal to readers what it is about New Mexico that makes it a special place. The photographs presented here come from the pages of New Mexico Magaziné, byproducts of the sensitive perceptions of photographers seeking to capture the moods of the state. The text is all new. It is dedicated to my family and to my partner, Eduardo Fuss. As I was researching and writing, he cooked, cleaned, ran errands, held my hand, encouraged me, helped me laugh, and pointed me in the direction of the dinner table. Special thanks, too, to the staff at the New Mexico State Library and to Richárd Sandoval, editor of the book publishing division of New Mexico Magaziné, who conceived the idea for this book. X,