La Iglesia de Santa Cruz de la Cañada

The Church of Santa Cruz de la Cañada, a few kilometres east of Española in the village of Santa Cruz, is one of the oldest and most significant colonial churches in the American Southwest. The current building dates to the 1730s and replaced an earlier structure built after the Spanish reconquest of New Mexico following the Pueblo Revolt of 1680. It is a National Historic Landmark.

The church's interior contains a remarkable collection of colonial-era religious art, including carved wooden retablos and santos — pieces that have remained in active religious use for nearly three centuries. The surrounding plaza, also a Historic Landmark, preserves the layout of the original Spanish settlement of Santa Cruz de la Cañada, founded in 1695. The church is still in active use by the local parish and is generally open to visitors outside of service times. The whole district is a quiet place compared to the tourist circuit around Santa Fe, and that is a significant part of its appeal.

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A story
The church was rebuilt after the Pueblo Revolt of 1680, when the Tewa and Tiwa peoples rose up against Spanish colonial rule and killed or expelled every Spaniard in New Mexico. The revolt was the most successful Indigenous uprising against European colonisers in North American history, and the communities around Española were at the centre of it. When the Spanish returned twelve years later, they rebuilt their churches on the same sites.

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