










































New Mexican Chiles 
Sentinels of Hispano Identity and Cultural Heritage 
By: Erika Derkas 

 
Strolling down the walkway of the Albuquerque International Airport, one is overwhelmed by the 
variety of quaint crafts that represent New Mexican culture. The commodification of both Native and 
Hispano cultures is displayed throughout the airport and in the city’s tourist shops that pepper the 
landscape of historical sites. Native heritage is sold as Kachina dolls, Navajo blankets, turquoise 
jewelry, and Indian fry bread. Dispersed among these Native crafts are souvenirs of a separate sort- 
those that symbolize the native Hispano culture. Most celebrated among Hispano products is chile, in 
more recent times this is most often green chile. Hispanics make up 47% of New Mexico’s population 
(Pew Research 2011) and particularly when tourists travel north of Albuquerque, where some of the 
larger Hispanic concentrations are located in the high-country’s northern regions above Interstate 40 
(U.S. Census Data 2010), they find themselves confronted by a host of chile items in the form of ristras 
(strings of drying red chile peppers), Christmas lights, earrings, salsas, burgers, beer, soaps, and wax 
candles, and other commodities. 

All of these products have become more readily visible in response to a rise in tourism, however, their 
cultural influence goes far beyond tourism. Chile has been cultivated in New Mexico for at least four 
centuries (Bosland and Walker 2004) and some chile lines have been bred and handed down through 
generations. Symbolically linked to both the land and a distinctive New Mexican identity, green chile 
(Capsicum) appears as a cultural heirloom that defines northern New Mexican cuisine and as one 
respondent stated, “is seen in part to be what makes northern Hispano New Mexico culture unique.” As 
both food and decoration, chile is a preeminent ethnic emblem for what Gonzales (2007) terms 
Nuevomexicanos, or northern New Mexican Hispanos. 

Over the last several decades, there has been an explosion in research on food, identity, gendered 
relationships, and cultural heritage. Scholarship documents the centrality of food, consumption, and 
preparation in expressing and maintaining various aspects of identity (see Narayan 1997, Schenone 
2004, Avakian and Haber 2005, Abarca 2006, Counihan 2009, 2005). As Narayan notes, “questions of 
how people connect what they eat to their personal, social, and political identities, of how they use 
what they eat to distinguish themselves from others within and outside specific social groups, and of 
the role ‘cuisine’ plays in the scripts of ‘Nation’ and ‘national identity’ are quite revealing” (Narayan 
1997:161). By considering chile, this paper contributes to this ongoing research on food and identity 
through its exploration of Hispano in the specific region of northern New Mexico. 

To explore the ways in which Hispanos symbolically use and relate to green chile and how green chile is 
incorporated into a sense of ethnic identity, I conducted semi-structured telephone and face-to-face 
interviews with people living in rural northern New Mexico, Albuquerque, and southern Colorado. A 
snowball sampling procedure was used to contact participants, whereby one contact provided names of 
others of Hispano heritage willing to discuss the topic. A total of 24 interviews were conducted in 2011 
and 2012 with participants between the ages of 24 and 72 who identify as being part of a Hispano 



culture. The semi-structured interview guide contained 20 open-ended questions related to green chile 
and Hispano culture. Qualitative content analysis was utilized to systematically examine the interviews 
and newspaper articles from local papers (The Las Vegas Optic, Green Fire Times, Santa Fe New 
Mexican and the documentary film Genetic Green Chile) that added secondary supportive data. Data 
from informal interviews and over ten years of participant observation of funciones, fiestas, Lent 
rituals, and ‘topic related’ conferences/workshops were verified by speaking with key informants, 
including artists, teachers, retirees, local residents, business owners, and scholars specializing in New 
Mexican history. Examples of topic related conferences include one held at the University of New 
Mexico in 2012 titled, “Impacts of Genetically Engineered Crops on the Freedom to Farm in the U.S. 
and Abroad,” as well as a 2012 workshop at the Onate Cultural Center on seed saving and presentations 
made by Cuatros Puertas, a non-profit culturally based seed bank, on green chile and genetic 
engineering. 

 

Northern New Mexican Ethnic Identity 

Ethnic terminology has been often political, and always fluid, over New Mexico’s history. Although 
Spanish and Native populations have mixed since the time of Spanish conquest and colonization, the 
various Native pueblos/nations and the local Hispano settlements remain distinct cultures. Today many 
Hispanos in northern New Mexico remain staunchly committed to the notion that they comprise a 
distinct group, different from Mexicans, Mexican-Americans, Latinos, or Chicanos, the term of self-
identification Bejarano found used most often used in southern New Mexico along the U.S.-Mexico 
border by people of Mexican ancestry who were born in the United States (Bejarano 2005). That 
northern New Mexicans self-identify as a regional ethnic group unlike any other “Hispanics,” is based 
on two reasons according to Nostrand (1984) and Gritzner (1974). First, the Spanish colonists began 
moving northward from Mexico into the regions of present day northern New Mexico as early as the 
17th century (Gritzner 1974). This arrival occurred earlier and more directly from Spain than did 
Tejanos or Califorñios, bringing with it early cultural forms connected to Iberian customs (Nostrand 
1984), some of which have remained consistent and have been preserved. However, as Phillip B. 
Gonzales argues, this is a rather simplified characterization of Hispano identity. A more complex 
understanding would attend to the “political aspects of culture, the individual encounters of Hispanos 
with outside Mexicans, the reshaping of ethnic culture by urbanization, and the cultural significance of 
ethnic resistance to Anglo domination which Hispanos have shared with Mexican-Americans throughout 
the Southwest” (Gonzales 1993b:562). 

After colonization, northern New Mexican Hispanos remained relatively isolated from outside contact 
while their numbers increased. Simultaneously, so too did attributes which became indigenous to the 
people and some of these remain visible, although ever-changing, to this day. These include vestiges of 
a Castilian dialect of Spanish known only to New Mexico (Espinosa and Espinosa 1909:53). For instance, 
archaic words such as facer (rather than hacer) for ‘to do’ or ‘to make’ or cajete rather than the more 
standard baño for a metal washtub were documented by F.M. Kercheville in the 1930s (1934:43). 



In its early history, the region remained relatively culturally and geographically isolated due in part to 
the fact it boasted few natural resources to attract Anglo-Americans. As well, land grants tied up huge 
parcels of land while the threat of violence from Native American tribes kept European immigration 
down (deBuys 1985). Along with these factors, the perception by outsiders of the supposed poverty and 
ignorance of the area left it relatively untouched and thus allowed for the preservation of Hispano 
culture. One example of isolation is the early development of the Moradas, which are small chapels for 
the Hermanidad de Nuestro Padre Jesus Nazareno worship, more popularly known as the Penitentes in 
New Mexico. The Penitentes are most commonly associated in the popular imagination with the 
reenactment of the Crucifixion. The often repeated assumption about the Brotherhood is that it formed 
in the 19th century as a men’s religious society in order to maintain and perform the Catholic rituals at 
a time when the Catholic Diocese was unable to send priests to the region (Weigle 1976). The 
Brotherhood continues to exist and change, enduring as a unique contribution to New Mexico’s culture 
and politics. 

In many ways New Mexico still remains insular and sits on the margins of mainstream American life. 
Popular culture penetration at times only heightens feelings of regional ethnic identity as it tends to 
occur with the invasion of Hollywood’s movie industry and the gentrification and displacement that 
follows with Hollywood stars buying large tracts of land (like Patrick Swayze, Val Kilmner, Carol 
Burnett, and Julia Roberts to name a few). A more contemporary sense of marginalization may lie with 
the lack of recognition by outsiders, especially those from the east coast, that New Mexico is an 
American state. New Mexicans find the ignorance of outsiders who believe that New Mexico is still part 
of Mexico disdainful as one of my respondents remarks, “I get so angry that some people still don’t 
even know that New Mexico is a state.” Another respondent recalled reading a story around the time of 
the Atlanta, Georgia Olympics whereby a resident of northern New Mexico was attempting to purchase 
a ticket over the phone. He states, “The sales representative insisted that she couldn’t sell the guy a 
ticket since that would be for the International Sales Office.” 

Hispano lifeways and culinary traditions embody a commingling of Spanish, Native peoples, Anglo-
Americans, and African Americans among others as a result of the legacy of three centuries of first 
Spanish and then Mexican rule. Hispanos adapted to the harsh physical environments of the area and 
acculturated much of the non-Hispanic population to the Hispano lifestyle. Thus, there are many 
people in northern New Mexico today who, though not originally descended from the Spanish or Native 
Americans, are identified as Hispano and/or who participate widely in Hispano culture because their 
families have been integrated throughout numerous generations (e.g. Cassidy, Regensberg, Ilfeld, 
Johnson, Gandert, Branch, Laumbach, Bonney). This is the case for both Anglos and Native Americans 
alike. For example, Wright and Campbell’s (2008) study of the geographical landscapes of Hispano 
villages, found that Las Trampas originated as a border fort between the Spanish in Santa Fe and the 
Apache and Comanche lands. The town was partially made up of genizaros (captured Native people 
who were forced to adopt Spanish culture) who withdrew to the frontier. 

Although it is impossible to absolutely define the term Hispano, it has been suggested that a Hispano 
identity includes a Roman Catholic religious orientation, a rural heritage, emphasizes family relations 
over those of non-familial based associations, and encompasses individuals who speak or understand 



both English and northern New Mexican Spanish or have close relatives who do so. These orientations 
are reinforced by the rural nature of northern New Mexico that offers a supportive, extended-family 
atmosphere where residents personalize their relationships and forge strong ties to place (Jakle 1999). 
The interface of ethnicity and region, of blood and soil, has been tacitly recognized in state politics 
since the late 1800s throughout New Mexico. Hispanos received land grants from the Spanish and 
Mexican governments beginning in the 17th century. A connection to the land, actually a passion for 
the land that takes on a living and breathing reality through the people who speak about it, is central. 
Hispano lifeways in northern New Mexico developed in response to this deep connection to the land. 
That this passion may seem an anachronism in the industrialized United States of today is clear enough. 

Northern New Mexico and parts of southern Colorado remain the homeland for many Hispanos living in 
the diaspora. Even though in the 1940s Hispanos in large numbers migrated to cities, often relocating in 
the regional urban centers of the upper Rio Grande such as Albuquerque where wages were higher and 
jobs more plentiful, they remained intensely loyal to their rural villages (Smith 2002). For instance, for 
some Hispanos it is of utmost importance to be buried in their home community (Smith 2002). Smith 
(2002) documented that among mortuaries providing services to local Hispanos in Espanola, New Mexico 
and Pueblo, Colorado, between 15-20 percent of the business revolves around those who wish to be 
interred in their hometown cemetery. 

Northern New Mexico Hispanos share the concept of homeland, familiarized by Tuan (1976) and later 
expanded upon by other social geographers and sociologists as an exploration of the attachment to 
place (see Nostrand 1992, Nostrand and Estaville Jr. 1993, 2001, Gonzales 2007). They demonstrate the 
“geopiety,” that Tuan (1976) argued to be an intersection of devotion to place and one’s native land or 
country exemplified in a reverence for home. Tuan further argued that homeland is “an archive of fond 
memories and splendid achievements that inspire the present; place is permanent and hence reassuring 
to man… the more ties there are [to a place], the stronger is the emotional bond” (1977:154,158). One 
illustration of this deep devotion to place is seen in post death migration that is closely associated to 
the attachment individuals feel for “place” (Rowles and Comeaux 1987). Although some culture groups 
bond with a place more readily than do others, the most important ingredient in the development of a 
homeland is this deep emotional attachment to a place (Arreola 2001, Conzen 2001, Jett 2001, Jordan-
Bychkov 2001, Nostrand and Estaville 2001, Schnell 2001). As Richard Muir concludes, “Often the 
significance of place and the meanings associated with [that place] lie at the core of a person’s 
identity” (1999:274). 

Hispano culture both has been shaped by and shapes the geographic region. Regional foodways 
developed in response to a physical environment that is relatively unsympathetic, especially in terms 
of agricultural development. The growing season is short in the northern region of New Mexico due to 
high elevations, extreme water limitations, and arid soils. Locals developed innovative techniques to 
adapt, including water systems called acequias. The origins of the acequias can be traced back to 
Spanish and Native American sources while its development was closely associated with the Spanish 
settlement of the Southwest and was continued under the Mexican and American regimes (Hutchins 
1928:261). Many acequia associations remain active to this day, with the continuation of annual ditch 
cleaning events, echoing nineteenth-century cultural rhythms (Rivera 1998). Acequias irrigate ‘long 



lots,’ which are narrow agricultural fields, most characteristic of New Mexican cultivation (Wright and 
Campbell 2008). According to J. B. Jackson (1952) the ribbon-shaped pattern of agricultural New 
Mexican fields that kept farmers close to their land and the acequias is inherently Hispano. 

Seed saving, cultivating foods that thrive in local environments, and developing food preserving 
techniques that create foodstuffs unique to the area are still present, despite contemporary 
conveniences. These practices include steaming green corn in an horno, a wood fired outdoor oven, if 
available and drying it to create chicos (dry roasted corn); jerking the meat of elk and deer to make 
carne seca; cooking blue atole (blue corn meal porridge) with red chile to make chaqegue, especially 
popular with the older generations; drying beans; canning jellies made from wild fruit like capulin 
(choke cherries), ciruelas (plums), and freezing and drying fresh chile and storing it in the form of 
ristras and powder. Unlike Mexico where corn tortillas predominate, especially farther to the south 
than the borderlands, in northern New Mexico flour tortillas are much more common. Partially this is 
due to the difficulty in producing large quantities of corn, whereas the grassy plains and arid climate of 
the north makes it well suited for cattle ranching and irrigated wheat farming (Pilcher 2001). Jeffery 
Pilcher writes, “Whenever irrigation permitted, the settlers cultivated the European grain wheat, 
although the expense of mills and ovens often forced women to grind the grain on metates (stone and 
mortar grinders) and cook it in the form of tortillas rather than bread” (2001:262). These conditions 
also made it less conducive for growing a variety of vegetables, herbs, and in particular chiles. 

Beginning in the 20th century, Hispano culture in northern New Mexico was affected by attempts to 
impose English language education (U.S. Commission on Civil Rights 1974), mass media, the railroad, 
and both WWI and WWII. Hispanos found themselves not unlike new arrivals of the Old World to the 
United States. Although the new world of the outsider offered many opportunities for a more 
convenient lifestyle, it simultaneously threatened their traditional and very meaningful cultural 
heritage. Local customs were often superseded by the more “sophisticated” practices of outsiders 
(Nostrand 1980). Even the erection of fences undermined the traditional communal land usage of small 
ranchers on the Las Vegas Land Grant of San Miguel County and were contested by the Las Gorras 
Blancas of the late 1800s (Romero 2006). There were 362 land-grant claims filed by Hispanos and 
Chicanos in New Mexico and yet the U.S. government only confirmed portions of 128 grants (Wright and 
Campbell 2005). In the end, Hispanics and Native peoples retained a slight portion, 4 million acres, of 
the 33 million acres of land grants. Animosity still boils over this deception, especially in the Hispano 
homeland of northern New Mexico (Briggs, Briggs and Van Ness 1987, Ebright 1989, Nostrand 1992). 

Ethnic revivals and resistance movements occurring throughout the United States in the 1960s and 70s 
reached deep into northern New Mexico. Men like Reies Tijerina and Rudolfo “Gorky” Gonzales 
fortified the La Raza Unida movement and programs, heritage festivals, and publications that sought to 
strengthen the Spanish component of Hispano identity. Tijerina’s Hispano grassroots movement in 
northern New Mexico, the Alianza Federal de las Mercedes, contested the failure of the U.S. 
government to honor the Treaty of Guadalupe-Hidalgo. The treaty was written to protect the rights of 
Hispanos and their land and was signed by Mexico and the United States (Zentella 2004). Many of the 
publications and festivals continue to this day although some observances are waning. These include 
funciones (village saints’ day), posadas (locally hosted dinners for Christmas travelers), fiestas and 



mantanzas (community parties, pig/sheep or goat roasts), Lent rituals, including praying the Stations of 
the Cross every Friday during Lent at local Moradas (places of worship established by Hermanos), Holy 
week processions to a Calvario hill (holy destination site of procession) (Lamadrid 2007) and the 
pilgrimage to the Chimayo Santuario among others. The Chimayo Santuario chapel is a cultural and 
spiritual touchstone for the region’s Hispanos -- this is the destination site for the largest pilgrimage in 
North America that takes place for Good Friday (Wright 2002). 

Given its history and cultural practices, northern New Mexico fits Zelinsky’s definition of a time-
honored region: 

regions are relatively self-contained, endogamous, stable, and of long duration… an 
intimate symbiotic relationship between man and land develops over many centuries, 
one that creates indigenous modes of thought and action, a distinctive visible 
landscape, and a form of human ecology specific to the locality. Although the usual 
process of random cultural mutation, the vagaries of history, and some slight 
intermixture of peoples, and the diffusion of innovations of all sorts presents the 
achievement of total stasis or equilibrium, or complete internal uniformity, it would 
not be unfair to characterize such a traditional region as one based on blood and soil. 
In the extreme, it becomes synonymous with a particular tribe or ethnic group 
(Zelinsky 1973:110-111). 

The symbolic use of green chile emerges as central to claims made for northern New Mexican identity 
as a distinct Hispano identity and northern New Mexico as a cultural region. 

 

Chile Peppers in New Mexico 

The history of Mexican food is long and varied with multiple cultural influences. The chili pepper plants 
that were introduced in the 14th century by the Portuguese have become a popular spice in Mexican 
cuisine. However, the culinary artists of Old Mexico experimented with blending different chiles to 
make renowned mole sauces. As one of my respondents, Agnes Montoya states, “Mexican cuisine 
incorporates cilantro and other spices and herbs while here in New Mexico it mostly plain, ‘good ole’ 
garlic.” In contrast, New Mexican Hispanos perfected the cultivation and cooking of a single chile, the 
green chile. One respondent stated that, “as long as I can remember I’ve heard about chile, who makes 
the best chile in the family, whose chile to stay away from at gatherings…its always been about chile.” 
Applied liberally to anything from pizza, bagels, fudge, and even beer, green chile is found 
everywhere. One young woman from Mexico commented, “You guys put green chile on everything, all 
the time.” Green chile is much more than just a spice, condiment sauce or decoration; in many cases it 
really is more of a staple as reflected in one woman’s statement, “Chile is a staple for northern New 
Mexico food. We usually have chile as a side dish for most meals.” 

Several varieties of chile are grown in New Mexico, including the New Mexican type, cayenne, paprika 
and jalapenos. However, central to this study is the New Mexican type cultivars that extend from New 



Mexico 6-4’, NuMex Big Jim, Sandia, NuMex R Naky, NuMex Conquistador, NuMex Joe E. Parker, and 
Arizona-20 (Bosland and Walker 2004). Green chile is a seasonal crop so for most of the last 400 years it 
was only available a few weeks out of the year. Therefore, red chile, preserved as ristras, was the 
standard form of chile for most of the year. This is changing, however, and despite the fact that 
canning was not widely practiced among the women I interviewed, as many expressed concern about 
the possibilities of botulism, the advent of technology such as freezers, has meant that green chile is 
more readily available year round. 

The difference between green and red chile is that the green chile is simply harvested earlier in the 
ripening process than the red chile pod. Red chile tends to have a milder flavor. New Mexicans have 
their own preferences when it comes to purchasing chile for home consumption, choosing among chile 
varieties with names like “Big Jim,” “Mira Sol,” “Socorro,” “Rio Grande,” “Sandia,” “Chimayo,” 
“Hatch,” and “Mesilla Valley.” Oral tradition suggests that in 1598 the celebrated and lambasted 
conquistador, Don Juan de Onate, traveled into what is now known as New Mexico bringing along the 
green chile pepper from Mexico (New Mexico Green Chile Company 2010). Jose Pacheco contends, in 
one interview that “since a great deal of exchange occurred prior to Onate between the northern 
region and what is now known as Mexico, the green chile pepper arrived much earlier.” For certain, it 
has grown in New Mexico for at least 400 years (Votava, Baral, and Bosland 2005). The New Mexican 
green chile peppers originated in the Rio Grande valley and are now grown throughout the state. Much 
of the credit for improving chile cultivation is given to the century old chile program at New Mexico 
State University. Less acknowledgement is given to local indigenous seed saving that many Hispanos 
have been practicing for generations. The major commercial production takes place in the southern 
part of the state, concentrated roughly along what has been coined, “The Chile Trail.” In the west the 
trail begins in Hidalgo, Luna, and Dona Ana counties, the state’s three largest chile producers. As the 
trail continues past Hatch, Texas is the next site, where it is strictly “chili” spelled with an “i”, which 
represents a dish made and created by Anglo-Texans, and does not refer to the plant. Chiles for local 
sales are a relatively small part of the total commercial chile acreage, but chile is a good cash crop for 
some small growers (Bosland and Walker 2004). Starting in 1970, chile became an important cash crop 
for farmers whereby most are grown under contract to be sold to processors (Dudley 2010). 

 

Symbolic Representation: Natural Item and Item as Food 

Northern New Mexico Hispanos are one of the primary heirs to the cultural and technological 
knowledge pertinent to the production of green chile foodways in the United States. In Hispano 
northern New Mexico green chile exists both as part of nature and part of culture as it understood not 
just as food but also as a seed that is pure, handed down through the generations, and thus a conveyor 
of local knowledge. Seed saving has been a constant throughout the region as the “seeds are 
considered sacred,” as Isaura Andaluz of Cuatro Puertas stated during her interview. According to 
Agnes Montoya, “the seeds are important because if you get them from way back when, then you know 
you have the real thing. Nowadays, a lot of chileros have mixed the seeds." In spite of some polluting 



of the genetics of green chile seeds, many Hispanos continue to protect the heirloom seeds of green 
chiles which creates a food with great symbolic meaning. 

Given the reverence of the land and nature, Hispanos understand green chile as both a living object 
and as a prepared food. The dual role of the green chile as natural object embedded with local cultural 
knowledge and a pervasive food item in Hispano life is partly responsible for this food’s success as an 
ethnic emblem. The way of life, the resilience of the people in an arid harsh environment, and their 
connection to the land, creates symbolic meanings communicated by green chile as a symbol of 
resistance to modern forces that threaten to undermine cultural heritage. The green chile can be 
manipulated symbolically both as a natural item and as a food and thus the meaning expressed by the 
image of the chile as natural item is different from the meaning expressed by chile as a food item. For 
this reason, the chile possesses a broad range and flexibility as an ethnic and regional emblem. 

The natural aspects of the chile’s quality that make it an especially appropriate ethnic emblem are its 
tenacity and hotness. As mentioned earlier, northern New Mexico offers a rather challenging growing 
environment and yet the chile has prospered. The resilience of the chile in response to the 
environment parallels the resilience of those who settled here and thus serves as a symbolic image of a 
forceful people. As also noted above, northern New Mexican Hispanos possess a rich cultural heritage 
that persists in spite of its marginalization in the state, national, and global economy, racial oppression 
and appropriation, and displacement from the land (Wright and Campbell 2005). Green chile is an 
appropriate Hispano symbol given that land and water are traditionally fundamental to Hispanos, not 
only because they sustain life but as concepts around which this distinct culture emerged (deBuys 
1985, Ebright 1994). “Here in New Mexico we interface with nature, interface with traditional culture; 
we have a different experience, and a lot of it is reverence,” according to Miguel Santistevan (Dudley 
2010). For this reason, land loss whether by annexation, confiscation, poverty, or environmental 
conflict, constitutes an injurious and disempowering detriment to the very essence of Hispano culture 
(Zentella 2004). 

Many challenges impact the culturally significant foodways of ethnic groups. These challenges often 
prompt groups to re-establish their connections to heritage and cultural continuity. The love of green 
chile and its iconic symbolic representation of Hispano ethnic identity and cultural maintenance is 
demonstrated in the resistance struggle that threatens green chile production on a number of fronts. 
As a result of the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA), and heightened border security, New 
Mexico’s green chile commercial harvest has been cut by two thirds and half of the commercial jobs in 
the industry have disappeared. It is important to note that the labor shortage and other production 
problems are suffered almost exclusively by large industrial farming operations in the southern region 
of New Mexico (Dudley 2010). In contrast, organic farmers and traditional family and subsistence 
farmers have enjoyed chile price increases and note that the seeds that have continued to adapt and 
have pushed production per acre up by 75% from 1992 to 2009 (Save New Mexico Seeds 2010). 
Moreover, green chile production has offered modest incomes to growers or middlemen selling door to 
door. During one interview, Lila Candelario pleasantly remembers traveling with her father Thomas 
Maes, throughout the southern regions buying sacks to sell to neighbors in the north. Jose Pacheco 
recalls the time when his dad, “farming the Chamita area sold ristras to the general store for one 



dollar a ristra.” The struggle to maintain small localized family green chile production has encountered 
opposition from what is identified as corporate imperialism in New Mexico and which threatens local 
control over New Mexican green chile. Specifically the push to create genetically modified green chile 
at New Mexico State University (NMSU) is at the center of this struggle. In 2007 state legislatures signed 
a memorandum protecting green chile from genetic contamination of native seeds, thus supporting the 
farmers’ rights to maintain their seeds uncontaminated in light of genetic engineering to take place in 
New Mexico. However, shortly thereafter, NMSU was awarded one million state dollars to research 
genetically engineered (GE) green chile. The introduction of GE green chile is to take effect in 2012-13. 

The physical nature of green chile enhances the power of the chile-as-food in regards to being an 
ethnic marker. For many Hispanos chile encompasses the culture of northern New Mexico and this was 
stated by a woman from the Las Vegas area in the following response to the question, “Is there any 
particular food that you think represents the culture of northern New Mexico: 'Definitely chile, 
anything with chile.'" Chile, as a complex food symbol, is manipulated in different ways to determine 
and impregnate it with ethnic boundaries. This includes the roasting process, culinary preparation and 
ability to withstand its hotness. 

 

Roasting Green Chile 

Each year from August to September, owners of grocery stores, roadside stands, and small fruterias in 
northern New Mexico faithfully roast green chile. On display are the home-made open black wire cages 
that are turned while a propane flame heats the chiles to the point of blistering the thick outer skin. 
The gushing sound of propane gas is followed by the snap, crackle, and pop of roasting chiles as the 
skins begin to swell up, allowing the pod to be peeled to expose the chile flesh. Chiles are purchased in 
various quantities, from just a few pounds to 50 pound sacks; many people will purchase numerous 
sacks to take them through to the next season. One woman fondly states, “It was just awesome to see 
my mom get together with all of her sisters and enjoy themselves while roasting, like, five sacks of 
chile.” 

Although in more contemporary times individuals sometimes request a roasted sack of red chile as well 
as green, most often the roasted chiles bought at the black wire cages will be green chiles of many 
varieties and degrees of hotness. They have a thick flesh that is propagated for good flavor. Roque 
Maes commented that while he was growing up in the 1940s and 50s, however, “green chile was not 
the most popular chile that existed in northern New Mexico because there were no modern 
conveniences like refrigerators. Green chile is seasonal and red chile is more likely to be saved as 
ristras used in cooking, red chile was used more often especially during the winter.” 

Due to its thick flesh and outer skin the chile must be roasted just long enough and then steamed in a 
heavy plastic bag so that the steam can further roast the chiles and make peeling an easier task. The 
peeling process is not terribly complicated if the chile has been roasted for the right amount of time. 
When the skin blisters it simply sheds from the flesh, otherwise it remains adhered to the surface and 



much of the chile is wasted. Today, chile is generally placed in freezer bags immediately after roasting 
and steaming. Otherwise it will sour and many people also dry green chile as a form of preservation. 
Some prefer the convenience of roasting chile on-site in a propane roaster while others roast their own 
on homemade apparatuses, estufas (wood burning kitchen stoves) or gas grills. For one woman the 
smells brought back fond memories as she stated, “Roasting chile reminds me of being young and my 
mom and aunts would get together since early in the morning and roast and peel green chile on our 
grill all day.” Participation in chile roasting requires a degree of specialized cultural knowledge in 
order to achieve the final product. 

Chiles roasted at the stands are bagged and lugged home for the final part of the process which often 
serves as a time of family bonding. As Corilia Ortega reminisces: 

Ford had nothing on my Mom. She would set up an assembly line starting with three 
vandejas (large stock pots) filled with cold water, where the first person began 
squishing the chile down into the cool water to rinse, quickly turning the water black 
and thus requiring a constant replenishment of fresh water. At the second vandeja the 
older sisters would remove the stems and continue rinsing. My mom was anal about it, 
at the last stage of rinsing, chiles picked from the third vandeja would be peeled by my 
sisters and landed up in in yet another individual bowl. The less interesting task was 
given to the youngest girl, ME, where I would bag the chile amongst a mound of 
ziplocks and many towels that sopped up the dripping hotness. My mom made sure that 
the chiles were lined up side by side in the bags like little soldiers laid in waiting, and 
then stacked in the cleared corner of the storage freezer. 

 

Red or Green? 

For Hispano New Mexicans this is a philosophic question, for the heart and soul of New Mexican cuisine 
is the chile, and this question is the official state question. When ordering New Mexican dishes at 
restaurants, patrons are asked if they prefer red, green, or Christmas, a unique New Mexican term for 
the combination of the two chiles. This is reflected in one elderly man’s statement, “Red or Green? 
Chile represents all of New Mexico. Especially the way that it is prepared in this state.” Chile is 
prepared as a dish to be eaten with everything from eggs and potatoes to burritos smothered in red, 
green or “Christmas.” It is also served in a variety of forms such as freshly chopped or simply prepared 
as a mixture of chopped or powder with water and thickened by a roux to form a sauce or stew. Chile, 
as it is known in New Mexico, constitutes a variety of dishes where the main ingredient is fresh green 
chile, or a sauce made from rehydrated dry red chile pods, known as chile caribe. 

The Spanish spelling of chili with an ‘i’ is understood as something more like a soup or stew, made with 
meat and various other ingredients, and seasoned with a mixture of powdered chile, and other spices. 
The New Mexican spelling of ‘chile’ with an ‘e’ represents something much more than ground beef, 
beans, and cheese. As a response to the question, “What food do you think represents northern New 



Mexico?” one women states, “Well this would probably be categorized under the entire state, but it 
would be chile.” The state’s iconic pepper constitutes the essential ingredient for both chile verde and 
chile colorado, which can be served thick as a sauce or with broth and vegetables as a stew although in 
the latter case the green is more common. At times the labels, carne con chile verde or chile Verde 
caldo (used more by old timers) distinguishes the fresh from the sauce as Cruz Flores states. 

 

Cultural Syncretism and Cultural Borrowing 

Even foods that are not traditionally recognized as Hispanic may become so through the introduction of 
chile. Cruz Flores tells of his mother’s rodillos now infamous within his family circle: 

My mother spent many working hours with an upscale Lebanese family who introduced 
her to stuffed cabbage rolls made with lamb and rice. My mother substituted 
hamburger for the lamb and introduced the mixture to a profusion of powdered red 
chile to make what the family now refers to as rodillos. Rodillos now have come to 
represent a celebrated traditional dish served over the decades on New Year’s Eve. 

The dish is enjoyed by family members and all who have been introduced to it. “The kids now request 
the dish for Christmas and Thanksgiving, next you know we will be eating it for fourth of July,” Cruz 
laughs. Agnes Montoya smiles when telling of her children’s latest culinary adventure; “For Christmas 
they tried a new recipe of homemade tamales with green chile, chicken, and Mozzarella cheese. 
Different but very good for a change.” 

 

Cultural Boundaries 

The hotness of the chile is often used as an ethnic boundary between Hispanos and others as well as 
within Hispano groups. Depending on seasonal variables, such as rainfall and temperature, the chile 
will be milder or hotter than previous years. However, the commercial pods bought at the local market 
will likely be mild to medium in heat as they tend to cater more to tourists or newcomers and 
therefore the spiciness is toned down. 

Outsiders or newcomers who acquire a love of chile and purchase sacks for home consumption may 
become the subject of humorous stories. Witnessing or hearing of an outsider or tourist accidentally 
rubbing their eyes while peeling chile is the butt of many jokes and stories. And on the other hand, 
Hispanos in the diaspora are at times tested by family members on their Hispano authenticity; those 
returning home will be put to the test to see if they can still withstand the level of hotness of the New 
Mexican green chile. 

 



Cultural Acceptance and Appropriation 

New Mexico has gained international fame as a tourist site and many outsiders are eager to become 
acquainted with the “exotic” local foodways. Although few tourists have the opportunity or desire to 
purchase vast quantities of green chile to roast, numerous tourist-oriented restaurants introduce 
newcomers to the culinary novelty of New Mexican cooking in a thoroughly American commercial 
setting. In such establishments, the hotness or spiciness of the chile is toned down to suit the less 
seasoned palates of many tourists and is often served in small quantities by staff who graciously explain 
the red, green, and Christmas distinction. In more expensive restaurants, dishes are available that 
rarely if ever grace the table of the average local: Piñon crusted trout with green chile chutney; pan 
seared Hatch green chile Colorado Rosen lamb rack; or sweet avocado green chile ice-cream. In all of 
these dishes chile is disguised more as a spice, sauce or condiment, rather than a principal food. Thus, 
in the heavily advertised New Mexican restaurants, where tourists and their dollars are welcome, the 
loosening of ethnic boundaries is reflected in the setting and the food. To the outsider, these 
restaurants are different enough to be interesting, but not so different as to be threatening or not 
enjoyable. Smaller, out-of-the-way, “authentic” restaurants also exist where the clientele is more 
local, Spanish is more commonly spoken, the food is hotter, the menu more limited, and the setting 
less formal. Although such restaurants welcome outsiders who happen by, only the more adventurous 
are apt to feel comfortable in what is obviously “insider” territory. Some locals joke that Hispano New 
Mexico lies over the chile curtain (as opposed to the Tortilla Curtain popularized by T.C. Boyle’s novel 
with the same name). Hispano New Mexico is separated gastronomically from Anglo-Americans, where 
green chile is occasionally peppered in gentrified dishes, representing an exotic adventure into the 
“land of enchantment.” 

Throughout the region of northern New Mexico people express a great deal of pride in their cultural 
heritage and subsequently their local foodways especially through the numerous major festivals and 
minor fiestas. These celebrations feature New Mexican cuisine for the benefit of locals and tourists 
both. Most small towns celebrate their local saints at village funciones or fiestas during which a great 
deal of food is shared and sold, most of which feature green chile, including green chile enchiladas, 
green chile stew, “smothered” burritos, green chile powdered popcorn, and jerky. The state fair at the 
New Mexico fair grounds, the largest of all the state’s fiestas, offers the annual burger cook off, 
dubbed the Governor’s Green Chile Cheeseburger Challenge. The New Mexico State Tourism 
Department went so far as to create the New Mexico Green Chile Cheeseburger Trail as a tourist 
attraction. 

 

Conclusion 

Micro-level studies of cultural festivities and everyday occasions revolving around eating offer a 
window into symbolic representations and ethnicity for as Roger Abrahams writes, “Ethnic or regional 
identity can be acted out within the home by eating certain foods prepared in special ways” (1984:20). 
This is often an unconscious process in the absence of alternatives but when newly introduced foods 



come into the picture the process of choice becomes symbolic. Thus, in looking at the poetics of food 
we can appreciate more fully how foodways are utilized in forms of exchange other than just meeting 
dietary needs. In this article I have argued that the green chile, both in it natural form and as a food 
item, is symbolically representative of the unique Hispano identity of northern New Mexico. There it is 
held as a rich ethnic emblem of reverence for the land, ethnic pride, and resilience. Even though there 
is a realization that the sales of green chile to non-Hispanics will probably remain low, attempts are 
being made to expand the market. The New Mexico Department of Agriculture (NMDA) began its “Get 
Your Fix” green chile promotion to introduce New Mexico green chile to residents throughout the 
United States. The Marketing and Development staff at NMDA works with grocery stores in different 
cities to help set up the chile displays and educate consumers about the many uses of green chile. In 
2010, the “Get Your Fix” green chile promotion was featured in retail stores in several Texas cities, 
Washington, D.C., Las Vegas, Nevada, Virginia, and Long Beach, California, just to mention a few. For 
decades chile has been the heart and soul of Hispano culture and the pride of the regional foods. With 
technological changes, green chile became especially prominent and with promotional efforts, its 
importance as a cultural symbol only promises to grow. 

This article is dedicated to Lila Candelario whose stories will live in our hearts always. 

 
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