Joseph P. Sánchez is the director of the Spanish Colonial Research Center at the University of New Mexico. After thirty-five years, he retired from the National Park Service in 2014. He has published studies on historic trails including the Camino Real de Tierra Adentro, the Camino Real de los Tejas, and the Old Spanish Trail. He has taught at the University of New Mexico, the University of Arizona, Santa Ana College in California, and the Universidad Autónoma de Guadalajara.