Photo-Essay by Paul Ross

In a region renowned for chile, at the end of the season of green and in a town synonymous with both, New Mexico has gone red.
The annual Hatch Chile Festival is over and the quiet fields which swaddle the returned-to-sleepy town are newly-plowed and waiting or--dotted with--rich, red, maturing pods of friendly fire.

A few souls gently harvest while their wives and brothers braid ristras in a manner that simultaneously bespeaks tradition and belies time.
With the tourists departed, most of the shops are shuttering-up for the winter. Senor Villegas is a notable exception. He remains and roasts and packs while relating tales of his abuelo's enslavement by no less than Pancho Villa.

Down the street and around the corner, the B&E restaurant serves up fresh and hearty pots of both red and green now to locals--both Anglos and Hispanics--the townsfolk of Hatch, self-professed "Chile Capital of the World."

Harvesting Red Chile

A Truckload of Red

Roasting the Last of the Green

Folk Art on the Porch

A Multi-Colored Ristra

To read an article on the Hatch Chile Festival, go here.

Comments (0)

Write comment

Name

Email

Comment

smaller | bigger

Subscribe via email (Registered users only)

I have read and agree to the Terms of Usage.

Write the displayed characters

Add Comment Preview