National Hispanic Cultural Center

http://www.nmculture.org/PHOTOS/NHCC.IMAGE1.jpg

From the The National Hispanic Cultural Center (NHCC) website:

The National Hispanic Cultural Center is dedicated to the study, advancement, and presentation of Hispanic culture, arts, and humanities. Since its grand opening in 2000, the NHCC has staged over 20 art exhibitions and 400 programs in the visual, performing, and literary arts. Programs have featured local, national and international artists, scholars and entertainers. The NHCC provides venues for visitors to learn about Hispanic culture throughout the world.

In 1998, a sixteen-acre site was chosen for the $34 million project along the east side of the Rio Grande River in the heart of the historic Barelas neighborhood in Albuquerque. Since then the project has grown to encompass over 50 acres with an estimated cost of over $50 million. Barelas, a traditionally Hispanic neighborhood, has historically been a crossroads for New Mexico’s people. The community was settled for its proximity to a natural ford in the Rio Grande river and the Camino Real, the Spanish colonial era Royal Road used primarily for trade between Mexico and northern New Mexico.

The Cultural Center will offer visitors an opportunity to sample cuisine from the Hispanic world in a restaurant located on the premises.

A teaching kitchen will provide the aficionado of Hispanic cuisine the chance to learn time-honored epicurean secrets.

The Culinary Arts program promises to be a popular attraction for visitors. It will play an important role in the sharing and preservation of the varied and delicious history of Hispanic food from around the world.

Learn more about Albuquerque's National Hispanic Cultural Center here.

 

Barelas Coffee Shop

Since 1978, Barelas Coffee House has been a magnet for chile lovers hungry for an authentic meal. While regulars usually order a bowl of tender pinto beans smothered in red chile with one of the restaurant's signature hot, fresh-off-the-griddle tortillas, the enchiladas are also great and so is the carne adovada. For breakfast, don't settle for anything except the huevos rancheros, smothered in chile and sunny with cheddar cheese. This is traditional New Mexican food, so don't expect lots of sour cream and guacamole to cut the heat---that's Tex-Mex and you won't find it here. Weekdays, there is a line to lunch at the Barelas Coffee House, but just put your name on the list and people watch while you wait. Lawyers, judges, politicos and downtown power brokers frequent the place. http://www.gayot.com/restaurantpages/info.php?tag=AQRES040708&code=AQ

Read more about this Albuquerque food heritage site.

 

Heritage Farm

 

New Mexico State Fair

Don’t miss “the Biggest Show in New Mexico,” September 8-24, 2006
We’ve got all the makings for a fantastic family experience – free entertainment, concerts, competitions, rodeos, carnival rides, games, farm animals, horses, agricultural and art. Where else can you find all of this in one place?

We invite you to explore every nook and cranny of the Fair’s 236 acres. What you’ll discover are some old traditions and new favorites that make the New Mexico State Fair a once-a-year celebration and experience you won’t want to miss!

More about the State Fair, a show case for NM agriculture, food and food traditions.

 

Albuquerque Heritage Restaurants & Food-Related Businesses

We are researching Albuquerque food-related businesses that are family owned and have played various roles in the area's food traditions.
Here is a list of Albuquerque area restaurants.

 

Archaeological Conservancy

The Archaeological Conservancy website reports it was:

...established in 1980, is the only national non-profit organization dedicated to acquiring and preserving the best of our nation's remaining archaeological sites. Based in Albuquerque, New Mexico, the Conservancy also operates regional offices in Georgia, Virginia, Ohio, and California.

Every day, prehistoric and historic archaeological sites in the United States are lost forever--along with the precious information they contain. Modern-day looters use backhoes and bulldozers to recover artifacts for the international market. Urban development and agricultural methods such as land leveling and topsoil mining destroy ancient sites. The Conservancy protects these sites by acquiring the land on which they rest, preserving them for posterity.

The ancient people of North America made no written records of their cultures. For us to gain an understanding of what happened here before Columbus, Coronado, and Raleigh, we rely on clues left behind by these early Americans in the remains of their villages, monuments, and artifacts.

Over the past few decades, the knowledge and methods of modern archaeologists have advanced tremendously. Today researchers use technologies such as tree-ring dating, radiocarbon dating, archaeomagnetic dating, obsidian hydration dating, pollen analysis, and trace-element analysis to glean information from the archaeological record. Few of these technologies existed 50 years ago. For this reason, it's important that we keep a significant portion of raw data in the ground, where future archaeologists with even more advanced knowledge and technologies will have access to it.

Read more about this unique Albuquerque based food heritage related organization.

 

Albuquerque Food Security Network

The portion of the land at Los Poblanos Fields, which is planted in field crops and community garden plots is in part subsidized by a Food Security grant from the USDA. The grant is a 50% matching grant to help establish Los Poblanos Fields as a source for fresh food for local citizens who are food insecure. This means that for every dollar the USDA funds, RGCF must earn or find a matching dollar. Produce sales, our yearly membership drive, income from the maze, and contributions from other grantors provide the matching funds. The intention of the grant is to support RGCF in establishing a Community Food Network by partnering with local organizations, church and service groups, and government programs and divisions, as well as individuals to make local fresh food available to City of Albuquerque citizens who need food assistance, i.e. are food insecure.
Read the full report of this important organization.

 

Rio Grande Agricultural Land Trust

As development pressures on our limited and precious irrigated farmlands mount, Rio Grande Agricultural Land Trust (RGALT) works to preserve those lands. Educate public of multifaceted values of ag lands as they relate to open space, wildlife habitate. This organization educates landowners on conservation options, primarly conservation easement and setting up conservation easements.

Recent local news alerted the public to mega developments planned for Sandoval, Bernalillo and Valencia counties. While not being located specifically on irrigated farmland, these developments lead to significant "ripple effect," especially due to the resulting increase in competition for water. Learn more here.

More on ag lands preservation here.

 

Road Runner Food Bank

Roadrunner Food Bank is the leader in New Mexico's fight against hunger.

Did you know that hunger is a very real problem in New Mexico? One out of every six people living in our state will find that they don't have enough to eat at some point during this year - one out of every six! We believe this is unacceptable.
Read more about this remarkable food enterprise.

 

National Fiery-Foods Show

The festivals and events website, 2Camels.com reports:

Hot Bitch at the Beach. Kiss Your Ass Goodbye. Widow Maker. Scorned Woman. Witch's Brew. The names of heavy metal garage bands? Hardly, these are just a pinch of the plethora of "Pain is Good" inspired products on display at the National Fiery Foods Show held every March. Begun in 1988, this is a combination trade and public show. 13,000 people show up every year from growers to manufacturers to retailers to Joe fiery food enthusiasts who want to bomb their bellies with products made mainly from habanero peppers. "Some of the most popular products today are in the snack foods arena," says show organizer Dave DeWitt. "We're talking everything from ice cream to cookies to chocolates to hard candy." Some of the more interesting products include quail eggs, vodka, tequila, popcorn and pancake mix. There are also lots of non-food products such as clothing, books and underwear. "Basically anything with a chili-pepper emblazoned theme," DeWitt says. There are also cooking demonstrations by noted chefs like Paul Prudhomme and the gumbo-cooking blues band Bill Wharton & The Ingredients. But what's the big draw? "The super hot sauces continue to be the most controversial," says DeWitt. "These are some of the same active ingredients that are used in the medical field to treat arthritis. And cops spray this stuff on crooks to help restrain them." If you're one of the 13,000 who will pay $7 to cruise around the complex, inquire about what alarm the morsel is you're about to throw in your mouth. http://www.2camels.com/festival130.php3

Read a report on the 2006 show.

Learn more about this Albuquerque tradition.

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Click on images below to visit other food heritage of New Mexico exhibits.

New Mexican Cuisine	NM Food Heritage Home	NM Food Heritage Sites
First New Mexicans Foods	Spanish & Mexican Colonial	Territorial & Statehood
Santa Fe Food Heritage	Albuquerque Food Heritage	Las Cruces Food Heritage

 

Food Museum Online Home

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