Volume 12, Issue 3 (Summer 2003)

From the Managing Editor

The Colonial Latin American Historical Review (CLAHR) is pleased to announce that Dr. Joseph P. Sánchez, founder and editor of CLAHR and director of the Spanish Colonial Research Center, was inducted into the Order of Isabel la Católica on 23 April 2003. The medal for the Orden de Isabel la Católica is one of Spain's most prestigious decorations and was conferred by King Juan Carlos of Spain to Dr. Sánchez. The award was presented by Señor don Julio Montesino, cónsul general of Spain, in a ceremony that took place in the Old Town Plaza of Albuquerque, New Mexico. After the ceremony, as part of Albuquerque's Tricentennial (1706-2006) lecture series, Dr. Sánchez presented "Governor Francisco Cuervo y Valdés and the Founding of Albuquerque in 1706." The medal bearing the Knight's Cross was granted to Dr. Sánchez for his lifelong educational and scholarly accomplishments in promoting Spanish colonial heritage within the United States and internationally in Spain, Mexico, and the rest of Latin America. Dr. Sánchez established the Spanish Colonial Research Center in 1986 as a partnership between the National Park Service and the University of New Mexico. In 1992, he also founded the Colonial Latin American Historical Review, a journal dedicated to the history of the Spanish colonial period. Through the years, Dr. Sánchez and the Spanish Colonial Research Center have provided research and support for National Park Service Spanish Colonial Heritage sites across the United States. As part of his many duties, Dr. Sánchez is also superintendent of Petroglyph National Monument, which, in part, is dedicated to preserving our Hispanic and Native American heritages. Congratulations on a well-deserved honor!