Los Lunas Historian Patty Guggino Named Outstanding Woman of Valencia County

Patty Guggino of Los Lunas earned recognition in the News-Bulletin's "Outstanding Women of Valencia County" series, published March 12, 2026, for her decades-long commitment to regional history and education. The profile highlights her academic foundation in the field, noting she holds a Bachelor of Arts in Southwest History.

Guggino's work sits at the intersection of scholarship and community preservation, a role reflected in local publications that bear her editorial hand. She is credited as editor of "The Tale of Two Eloisas: Los Lunas to Santa Fe and Beyond," written by Eloisa Bergere Brown and published in March 2021. The book traces the memories and ancestry of Eloisa Bergere Thornburg Brown, whose family history spans Spanish, Catholic, Jewish, British, Protestant, Dutch, Italian, and Native American lineages, threading together what its description calls "saints and scoundrels" who shaped New Mexico across generations.

That work reflects a broader literary moment for Valencia County history. In 2019, Techknowledge Press Books published two volumes centering the county's past. "Heroes of the Rio Abajo: A History Book for Young People," edited by Richard Melzer and John Taylor, gathered 24 accounts of bravery and kindness from men and women of the lower Rio Grande Valley. The Historical Society of New Mexico recognized it with the 2020 Pablita Velarde Award for outstanding children's publication related to New Mexico or Southwest borderlands history. That same year, Melzer and Taylor joined Baldwin G. Burr to produce "Notable and Notorious Neighbors in Valencia County History," profiling more than one hundred individuals and groups whose influence extended from the local stage to the national one.

Both titles are available at the Los Lunas Museum of Heritage and Arts; call 505-839-3850 for purchasing information.

Guggino's recognition places her within a tradition of local figures dedicated to ensuring that the stories of Valencia County endure in written, accessible form, from the Rio Abajo's unsung heroes to the sprawling familia histories that connect Los Lunas to Santa Fe and beyond.