querencia is a metaphysical concept taken from the
verb
querer, which means to want” or “to love. But the reality of
querencia is more complicated, more poetic and sentimental, seated in deep emotions and culture and a sense of longing for and belonging to a place where the heart resides.
Spencer Herrera
Querencia: Reflections on the New Mexico Homeland, edited by UNM alumni Vanessa Fonseca-Chávez, Spencer R. Herrera, and UNM professor Levi Romero, was published in 2020 and was reviewed by
The Western Historical Quarterly in June by Joseph Ukockis, a doctoral student in History at the UNM Center for the Southwest.