Albuquerque
is the largest city in any direction
for hundreds of miles. It is home
to the University of New Mexico (UNM)
and Kirtland Air Force Base as well
as Sandia National Laboratories and
Petroglyph National Monument. The
Sandia Mountains run along the eastern
side of Albuquerque and the Rio Grande
flows through the city north to south.
Albuquerque's climate is usually sunny
and dry, averaging no more than 10-12
inches (250 to 300 mm) of precipitation
per year. With more than 300 days
of sunshine annually, Albuquerque
is considered as having one of the
best climates in North America. The
city has hosted the Albuquerque International
Balloon Fiesta every October since
1972.
The
city was founded in 1706 as the Spanish
colonial outpost of Alburquerque;
present-day Albuquerque retains much
Spanish cultural and historical heritage.
Alburquerque
was a farming community and strategically
located military outpost along the
Camino Real. The town of Alburquerque
was built in the traditional Spanish
village pattern: a central plaza surrounded
by government buildings, homes, and
a church. This central plaza area
has been preserved and is open to
the public as a museum, cultural area,
and center of commerce. It is referred
to as "Old Town Albuquerque"
or simply "Old Town."
(Wikipedia)
Old
Town may have been preserved, but
the central plaza reflects the later
role of such public spaces as civic
parks rather than their original Spanish
colonial role as community gardens.
To learn more about community gardens
click
here.
As mentioned before, its most prominent
geographical feature is food-related.
The Sandia Mountains were named for
the "watermelon" red the
mountains turn at dusk. Early Spanish
travelers were inspired not only by
the "pink glow" at sunset,
but the mountain range's melon slice
shape.
This
exhibit
recognizes Albuquerque as home to
a unique collection of preserved food
heritage sites used to interpret the
middle Rio Grande Valley's food history
to the public. We also want to call
attention to groups and individuals
who are dedicated to food-related
preservation projects and causes.
Petroglyph
National Monument
Archaeologic
evidence shows human habitation in
the Rio Grande Valley for at least
10,000 years. Remains of prehistoric
farming plots are being studied. Some
of the earliest remains of domesticated
corn have been found here. To learn
more about Albuquerque's unique food
heritage site that contains upwards
of 20,000 petroglyphs, click
here.
Tiguex
Park
Across the river in Old Town, Albuquerque
is Tiguex Park, site
of the city's tricentennial festivities.
The park was formerly a farm garden.
The sign recalls and honors the Native
American communities who have
farmed the middle Rio Grande valley
for thousands of years.
Rio
Grande Community Farms
Possibly
the oldest continuously farmed land
in the USA is in Albuquerque's North
Valley, adjacent to the Rio Grande.
Citizen groups preserved Los Poblanos
field in the 1990's and turned them
into a component of the city's parks
and open space network known as Rio
Grande Community Farms. To learn more
about this food heritage site, click
here.
Indian
Pueblo Cultural Center
Untitled
Mural by Francis
Tafoya
From The Indian Pueblo Cultural
Center IPCC website:
The
IPCC in Albuquerque provides valuable
insight into Pueblo culture, art and
history. The center houses two museums
and several gift shops. The Pueblo
House Children's Museum offers a hands-on
experience for youngsters to learn
more about the Pueblo people, while
the main museum, through its extensive
collection, traces the development
of Pueblo culture, including farming
and sheep herding, pottery making
and the like. Traditional dance performances
are held every weekend as well as
art demonstrations that are free to
the public. Special activities are
held throughout the year. Both New
Mexican and traditional Pueblo cuisine
is served at a restaurant, in addition
to banquet and conference facilities.
To learn more about this food heritage
site,
please click here.
Old
Town, Albuquerque
La
Hacienda Restaurant's murals depicting
the founding of Albuquerque
Old
Town is the heart of Albuquerque's
heritage. The first Spanish families
settled near the banks of the Rio
Grande in 1706. Albuquerque was a
colonial farming village and a military
outpost along the Camino Real between
Chihuahua and Santa Fe. The village
formed in the traditional Spanish
pattern with a central plaza surrounded
by a church, homes and government
buildings. Some of the old homes are
still standing and many have been
renovated into businesses.
Click
on the following links to learn more
about this food heritage site.
http://www.albuquerqueoldtown.com/
http://www.cabq.gov/museum/history/foundingabq.html
Origin
of Sopaipillas
Recipes
for sopaipilla/fry-bread foods were
known to ancient old world cooks.
Deep fried doughs flavored with honey,
nuts and spices were enjoyed by people
of Greece, Rome and Egypt. In many
places they were called fritters.
The Spanish word "sopaipa"
(from which sopaipilla is derived)
means honey cake. "Sopaipilla.
A deep fried fritter usually served
with honey. Sopaipillas, whose name
is from the Spanish, are a staple
of Mexican-American menus...history
reveals they originated in Olde Town,
Albuquerque, [New Mexico] about 300
years ago...Diana Kennedy,
in her Recipes from the Regional
Cooks of Mexico (1978), writes
"For years I have been denying
to the aficionados of the sopaipillas
of New Mexico that they have a Mexican
counterpart. I have now discovered
that they can be found, though rarely,
in the state of Chihuahua...I have
yet to see them on restaurant menus
in the north." A good sopaipilla
is supposed to resemble a puffed-up
pillow; if cut into a round shape,
it is called a "buneulo."
"Sopaipilla" was first found
in American print circa 1940."
---Encyclopedia of American Food and
Drink, John F. Mariani [Lebhar-Friedman:New
York] 1999 (p. 303)
Read
more about differences between New
Mexico, Tex-Mex and Mexican cuisines
here.
Continue
to Part Two of this exhibit.
Click on images
below to visit other food heritage
of New Mexico exhibits.
