08/21/2026
The historic Castañeda Hotel in Las Vegas, NM, was named after Pedro de Castañeda de Nájera, a Spanish foot soldier who served in the 1540s expedition led by explorer Francisco Vázquez de Coronado. He is best known for writing the primary historical account of that journey. Castañeda was born in Nájera, Spain, and traveled through the Southwest documenting the landscapes, the indigenous people, and the events of the Coronado expedition. When the Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railway built the Mission Revival-style hotel in 1898, railway president Edward Ripley chose the name to honor this early chronicler of New Mexico history.