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Copyright © 2014 Albuquerque Journal

Call them “Sir” or “Dame.”

Three people from New Mexico have been knighted into the Spanish royal order, La Orden de Isabel la Católica, the Order of Isabela the Catholic, for their efforts at preserving Spanish culture, history, language and traditions.

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The recipients were Maria Conchita Marquez de Lucero and her husband, John Padilla y Lucero, both of Albuquerque, and Orlando Romero of Nambé Pueblo.

The proclamations and medals were presented last week by Houston-based Ambassador Enric Panes, consul general of Spain, during a ceremony at the Instituto Cervantes de Albuquerque at the National Hispanic Cultural Center.

The award, signed by the king of Spain, is one of that country’s highest honors.

The Luceros are founding members of the New Mexican Hispanic Culture Preservation League and were instrumental in obtaining the 33-piece sculpture “La Jornada,” or “The Journey,” which depicts the history of the first European settlers and now sits in front of the Albuquerque Museum.

They are also founding members of El Camino Real de Tierra Adentro, which educates people about the original 400 settlers who came up the Camino Real in 1598.

They were active in efforts to bring the world’s largest bronze horse sculpture, “The Equestrian,” honoring don Juan de Oñate to El Paso. They also worked on the state’s 400-year celebration and the city of Albuquerque’s tricentennial celebration.

“I was totally elated and touched in the deepest part of my heart,” said Maria Conchita of the honor bestowed on her by Spain. “We’ve gone to Spain to trace our ancestral roots, and visited the towns we came from, and realized the deep and noble history we come from.”

“I’m just thrilled,” said her husband. “We’ve been working on Spanish colonial historical issues for it seems like decades, so it’s nice to be recognized and we’re very grateful.”

John, 70, is retired from Bernalillo County, where he was director of Building and Zoning and served on the New Mexico Public Employees Retirement Association Board.

Maria Conchita, 68, is retired from Bernalillo County, where she was a senior tax researcher in the Treasurer’s Office and later agriculture supervisor in the Assessor’s Office.

Romero was honored for his many years as an author, historian, lecturer and newspaper columnist, in which he focused on Spanish culture. He is the recipient of numerous awards, as well as a fellowship from the National Endowment for the Arts.

He is author of “Nambé Year One,” a nonfiction book that explores the history of Northern New Mexico.

Romero, 69, is a consultant on New Mexico history and Spanish culture in New Mexico to the Smithsonian National Museum of American History in Washington, D.C. He is retired as the director of the Fray Angélico Chávez History Library at the Palace of the Governors in Santa Fe.

Although he has been the recipient of many awards, Romero says being named to La Orden de Isabel la Católica “is really special and very exciting.”

It took three years to receive the award after being informed he was nominated, “so it’s a very slow and deliberate process,” he said. “I was flabbergasted. I love Spain as much as I love my own country, and I’ve been there 10 or 12 times to lecture and attend conferences.”