Lecture on “Eva Scott Fenyes, Leonora Scott Muse Curtin, Leonora Curtin Paloheimo and the Cultural Crafting of Santa Fe”

El Rancho de las Golondrinas is pleased to announce our third and last Winter Lecture will be held on March 28 in the St. Francis Auditorium at the New Mexico Museum of Art and will feature Carmella Padilla speaking on “Eva Scott Fenyes, Leonora Scott Muse Curtin, Leonora Curtin Paloheimo and the Cultural Crafting of Santa Fe.” This free lecture begins at 6:00 P.M. and is a partnership between El Rancho de las Golondrinas and the New Mexico Museum of Art. Donations to both institutions are always appreciated and are tax deductible to the extent allowed by the IRS.

Santa Fe native Carmella Padilla is an award-winning author and editor who has written extensively about the Hispano art, culture and history of New Mexico.

Padilla, who contributes her Santa Fe Stories to SFAOL.com is a prominent freelance writer and her work has been published in newspapers and magazines nationwide, including the “Wall Street Journal,” the “Dallas Morning News” and “Latina,” “Hispanic,” “Vista,” “Travel Holiday,” “El Palacio” and “New Mexico” magazines.

She was editor of the “Spanish Market Magazine” from 1992 to 1999, and was a columnist for the weekly “Santa Fe Reporter” from 1993 to 1998. In 1996, her writing was honored with the Mayor’s Award for Excellence in the Literary Arts by the City of Santa Fe Arts Commission.

Padilla’s popular books include “The Chile Chronicles: Tales of a New Mexico Harvest,” which received the 1999 Historical Society of New Mexico’s Ralph Emerson Twitchell Award for a significant contribution to the field of history, “Low ‘n Slow: Lowriding in New Mexico,” and “El Rancho de las Golondrinas” on which she collaborated with photographer Jack Parsons, who received a Governor’s Arts Award in 2006.

“El Rancho de las Golondrinas” features over 200 photographs of the lush rancho in La Cienega, near Santa Fe. Drawing from archival materials, contemporary research and family records, Padilla reconstructs the early history of Las Golondrinas from its beginnings to its purchase by the Curtin family and its establishment by the Curtin-Paloheimo family as a museum dedicated to preserving the history and culture of Spanish Colonial New Mexico. The book is an important visual and written record of an important, if lesser-known region of New Mexico and it pays homage to the individuals, past and present, who bring them to life.

In addition to authoring books, Padilla has curated museum exhibits, worked in public relations and volunteered for numerous non-profit organizations such as the Spanish Colonial Art Society and the Santa Fe Railyard Park and Plaza project. She also worked closely with the group that established the successful annual Santa Fe International Folk Art Market.

Padilla has been actively involved with the Spanish Market and the promotion of traditional and contemporary Hispanic art and artists in New Mexico. She served as a member of the Spanish Colonial Arts Society’s board of directors from 1991 to 1997.

Padilla’s lecture, “Eva Scott Fenyes, Leonora Scott Muse Curtin, Leonora Curtin Paloheimo and the Cultural Crafting of Santa Fe” will focus on these strong and determined women who had so much to do with formalizing the arts and culture in Santa Fe.

Through her lecture, you will have the opportunity to learn about these women through rich, behind-the-scenes stories that few people have ever heard. You will go away from her presentation with a more complete understanding of the development of the arts and culture in Santa Fe.

Seating at the St. Francis Auditorium is limited, so please plan on arriving early to secure your spot. You won’t want to miss this dynamic lecture!
El Rancho de las Golondrinas
El Rancho de las Golondrinas is a living history museum located just south of Santa Fe in the picturesque La Cienega valley. Historically it dates from the early 1700s and was a paraje — stopping place – on El Camino Real, the Royal Road to Mexico City.

The 200-acre ranch features restored original buildings, authentic structures built on old foundations and buildings brought in from other New Mexican sites. Volunteer re-enactors depict life in Spanish colonial, Mexican and territorial New Mexico. Today, the museum is a one-of-a-kind destination where the past comes to life, and exciting weekend programs are fun for the whole family!

For more information please visit our web site, golondrinas.org

For more information about the New Mexico Museum of Art, visit their website, nmartmuseum.org

Media Contact
Name Kathryn Ann Carey
Title Director of Development
Phone: 505-471-2261, Ext. 215
Email address: kathryn@golondrinas.org