About La revista de Taos. [volume] (Taos, Nuevo México) 1905-1922
Taos, Nuevo México (1905-1922)

The Taos Cresset, La Revista de Taos and La Revista de Taos

La Revista de Taos ("The Taos Review"), the Taos Cresset, and La Revista de Taos and the Taos Valley News have a long and complicated history of mergers and title variations. Located a few miles east of the Rio Grande River, Taos, New Mexico, borders the ancient indigenous pueblo of Taos, the oldest continuously inhabited community in the United States. The modern town of Taos was established in 1615 after the Spanish conquest. During the Mexican-American War (1846--48), residents and native populations rose up during the Taos Revolt in early 1847. By 1910, the town had grown to a population of over 1,800 people, including the pueblo.

La Revista de Taos commenced publication on March 15, 1902, as a Spanish-language weekly. The English-language weekly titled the Taos Cresset, or the Cresset, began publication on October 20, 1889. Previously titled the Labelle Cresset, this paper had moved to Taos in 1889 from the short-lived mining town from which it took its name. On July 3, 1902, La Revista de Taos and the Taos Cresset merged, forming La Revista de Taos and the Taos Cresset. From January 7 until January 14, 1905, the paper bore the title La Revista de Taos and the Taos Valley News. It returned to the title La Revista de Taos and the Taos Cresset on January 21, 1905. By this time, the newspaper had grown to four pages. Toward the end of the year, the paper had again changed its title to La Revista de Taos and provided material almost exclusively in Spanish. In the years that followed, the La Revista de Taos sporadically included the Taos Cresset in its title, but besides a designated "English Column" that appeared infrequently, it remained a Spanish-language weekly. By late 1912, the paper had expanded to six pages and included sections dedicated to local news, editorials, news from the capital, agriculture, women, and correspondence. By 1918, it varied between eight and ten pages and included sections on New Mexico, national, and international news. La Revista Popular de Nuevo Mexico succeeded the paper in 1924.

Jose Montaner served as editor of the La Revista de Taos until October 11, 1918. Originally from Barcelona, Spain, Montaner came to the United States in 1900, settling in Taos in 1902. Before 1905, La Revista de Taos supported the Republican Party, but the paper later changed to an independent weekly with the motto: "A Liberal and Independent Journal, of the People, for the People, and by the People." Besides functioning as the official paper of Taos County, many issues reported on events in neighboring Costilla County, Colorado.

La Revista de Taos was originally published on Saturdays, but changed to Fridays in late 1906. On February 20, 1904, a subscription cost $3.00 for one year and $1.00 for six months. N.W. Ayer & Son's American Newspaper Annual states that La Revista de Taos had a circulation of 3,000 copies in 1909.

Provided by: University of New Mexico