Santa Fe

My mother, the English major and newspaper editor, used to drill into us that the word “unique” cannot be qualified. There are no gradations – something is either unique or it’s not.

Santa Fe is unique. The various strains that went into creating this one-of-a-kind city have created a remarkable pastiche of influences. As well as unique, Santa Fe is eclectic, and that enhances its unique character. From pre-Columbian Native Americans to Spaniards, Mexicans, cowboys, artists, and politicians, many groups have put their stamp on the city.

At an elevation of 7,000 feet in the foothills of the Sangre de Cristo mountains, Santa Fe is the oldest capital city in the U.S., as well as the highest. The Spanish town was established in 1610, behind only Florida’s St. Augustine as the longest continuously inhabited European city in the country.

The altitude, as well as the attitude, of Santa Fe may require a little adjustment for visitors from the Sunshine State, especially if you journey uphill from downtown into the mountains that surround the city. These days, the population is about 50 percent Anglo, 50 percent Hispanic and it sometimes seems, 90 percent “different.” Santa Fe has a higher percentage of its residents in the category of artists and writers than anywhere else in the country, and the city takes great pride in its association with arts and culture. One of Santa Fe’s official nicknames is “the city different,” and it is also referred to as “Fanta Se.” (The actual name Santa Fe translates from Spanish as “holy faith,” and the Sangre de Cristo mountains mean “blood of Christ.”)

One aspect of the city that is not eclectic is the architecture. Per a 1957 ordinance, all new and rebuilt buildings, particularly in designated historic districts, must exhibit a Spanish Territorial or Pueblo style.

Santa Fe has been home to many renowned artists and writers, such as painter Georgia O’Keeffe, actors Shirley MacLaine and the recently deceased Gene Hackman, writers Cormac McCarthy and George R.R. Martin, and violinist Pinchas Zukerman. There is a Georgia O’Keefe museum, and Martin was instrumental in creating Meow Wolf, a trippy multimedia experience, but the artistic heart of Santa Fe lies along Canyon Road. Here, over 80 art galleries show off a wildly eclectic array of works, and every Friday evening during the summer, they stay open late and host a weekly art stroll.

The Lensic Theater is a restored performing arts center that, during its salad days, hosted appearances by everyone from Rita Hayworth to Roy Rogers to Ronald Reagan and is now the venue for the Santa Fe Chamber Music Festival, Santa Fe Symphony Orchestra, Aspen Santa Fe Ballet, and more.

When Santa Fe is not indulging its passion for art, it is likely indulging what is perhaps its other great passion – partaking of fine foods and of course, the margaritas that so often seem to accompany them. The Tourism Santa Fe office even publishes a guide map to “the Santa Fe Margarita Trail.” Once again, the diverse cultural antecedents bring in a wide variety of eating establishments, although if there is a default style of cuisine here, it would have to be Mexican-influenced Southwest chic, or “chica” dishes.

You can find whatever mix of price point and hipness you choose, from street corn on the street to the white tablecloths of Geronimo, at the top of the fine dining pecking order. Café Pascual’s is known for their Nuevo Latino cuisine specialties, serving breakfast, lunch, and dinner. La Choza offers classic New Mex cuisine in a casual atmosphere. La Boca goes full Español, specializing in tapas in endless varieties.

For an out-of-the-way gem loved by the locals, drive a few miles out of town to Arroyo Vino, which combines a wine shop with creative dishes and understated elegance. And you will need a car to get around; public transportation is lacking or non-existent around Santa Fe. North of town, Tesuque Village Market is a funky café operated by resident Native Americans, and just up the road from their casino.

Back in downtown Santa Fe, the Plaza Café is a local institution that takes diner food to the next level. It abuts the central, original Santa Fe Plaza, laid out back in 1610, which is still the heart of the city. Here, Native American vendors and others sell characteristic silver and turquoise jewelry along with all sorts of souvenirs and crafts, and free open-air musical performances entertain the spectators sitting in the shaded park around the gazebo.

Along with the turquoise, pottery, and handwoven blankets, two items count as touchstones for Santa Fe. Bleached skulls of horned cattle and bunches of dried red peppers known as “ristras” are everywhere you look.

At 7,000 feet, Santa Fe is seriously elevated, taller than the highest mountain peaks east of the Mississippi, and about 2,000 feet above “mile-high” Denver. Most of the nature trails are considerably higher. There are many hiking opportunities nearby, from Santa Fe Canyon Preserve to Atalaya Mountain, and Aspen Vista in the Sangre de Cristo. The thin, dry air is a welcome relief from the humidity of Southwest Florida, but takes some getting used to.

The landscape is dry, too – the “high chaparral” of classic Westerns – and officially classified as semi-arid. But if you crave some moister surroundings, you don’t have to travel far. Less than an hour east, the Pecos River runs through thickly wooded mountains, with lush green scenery and freely flowing water.

Head north, though, on the road to Taos, about 70 miles away and even more devoted to its own reality, and you are in the high desert. Tsankawi Pueblo, a hilltop Native American community, was occupied by Indigenous residents who valued the defensive position, and therefore the greater chance of survival, over the creature comforts and water of the valley floor where they farmed their crops. You can scramble up rough ladders and walk the paths that centuries of their footsteps ground into the porous rock on top of the escarpment.

Santa Fe used to be something of a major hub for the region, the pulsing heart of a wide swath of the southwest, but over time, progress moved on, which today’s inhabitants would probably say is just fine. As well as being the first European settlement for hundreds of miles, the town was once the terminus of the renowned Santa Fe Trail, a vital transportation artery during the covered wagon era. Later, train traffic brought settlers and prosperity, but the principal rail line moved away. Even the storied Route 66 was relocated away from the city. But perhaps being something of a commercial backwater has allowed Santa Fe to flourish as a cultural hub, and it is certainly more interesting than one more gray, medium-sized industrial mill town would be.

With the “breathtaking” (literally) scenery all around, the vibrant cultural scene, and the sense of being in an exotic, almost foreign locale, Santa Fe is a feast (again, literally) any season of the year. Visiting this truly unique community deserves to be considered for a place on your bucket list.