Ana Pacheco – Outstanding New Mexico Woman For A Decade Of Efforts To Hispanic History & Culture.

Businesswoman Ana Pacheco will receive a Governor’s Award as an Outstanding New Mexico Woman from New Mexico’s Bill Richardson at a gala dinner on May 7th in Albuquerque. Ms. Pacheco is being recognized for her decade-long efforts to preserve Hispanic history and culture through her quarterly publication, La Herencia (“The Heritage”). On May 18th, she will receive an additional award from PEN New Mexico, the state affiliate of the largest international professional association of writers, editors, and translators, at its annual dinner in Santa Fe.

The idea for a magazine began in 1991, when Santa Fe native Pacheco returned to New Mexico after a 15-year hiatus to care for her cancer-stricken mother, and noticed that the traditional Hispanic culture and Spanish language she grew up with were fast disappearing. In the spring of 1994 she used her own personal funds to establish a publishing company, Gran Via, Inc., and La Herencia, to keep Hispanic history and culture alive in New Mexico and the Southwest for future generations.

Ten years later, La Herencia remains the only Hispanic contemporary journal of its kind; the publishing company has a staff of 10; over 400 people have contributed editorial content; the magazine has a readership of 50,000 throughout the U.S. and abroad (including 500 subscribing libraries); and the publication attracts advertising support from such major entities as Intel, Wells Fargo Bank and AARP.