For lovers of the Southwest, historians and folklorists, as well as fascinated tourists, this is a landmark book. It combines breathtaking photos – both historic and contemporary – with award-winning prose to relate the story behind New Mexico’s fabled El Rancho de las Golondrinas ("The Ranch of the Swallows").

Since 1972, this has been the state’s only living history museum, a window into both New Mexico’s Native and Spanish Colonial worlds. Created using a European model, Las Golondrinas is a completely singular entity. Author Carmela Padilla, winner of the 2009 New Mexico Governor’s Award for Excellence and Achievement in the Arts, examines the lives and contributions of the site’s residents from the 18th century through today as she details how this magical place emerged – and why it stands today as a testament to hope, struggle and survival.

More than 50,000 guests flock to Las Golondrinas every year, in order to discover its special multisensory world of tradition, natural beauty and heritage. This beautiful volume allows anyone not only to partake of that same experience, but also to understand it in a profound and moving way.

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