Carmella Padilla is an award-winning journalist and author of many titles including Conexiones: Connections in Spanish Colonial Art (Museum of Spanish Colonial Art). A native of Santa Fe, Padilla has lived in La Cíenega since 1995.

Jack Parsons an experienced cinematographer, is most famous for his elegant photography that captures the visual heritage of the American Southwest.

Marc Simmons is considered New Mexico's Historian Laureate and has published over forty books on New Mexico history. Simmons is a former Woodrow Wilson Fellow, a recipient of a Guggenheim Fellowship, and in 1993 the King of Spain granted him membership in the knightly Order of Isabela la Católica for his contributions to Spanish colonial history. He resides in Cerrillos, New Mexico.