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Chile culture: 'America the Bountiful' explores chiles' roots in New Mexico
Chile is the heart and soul of New Mexico.
鈥淎merica the Bountiful,鈥 airing on New Mexico PBS CREATE, channel 5.5, takes a look at regional food traditions and rich food heritage throughout the country. The episode will air 4:30 p.m., 6:30 p.m. and 10 p.m. on Monday, July 8; 3 p.m. Sunday, July 14; 4:30 p.m., 6:30 p.m. and 10 p.m. Thursday, July 25.
Chile culture: 'America the Bountiful' explores chiles' roots in New Mexico
The program鈥檚 team made a stop in the Land of Enchantment to explore the deep roots chile has in New Mexico鈥檚 food culture. In the 鈥淐hiles in New Mexico鈥 episode of 鈥淎merica the Bountiful,鈥 host and producer Capri Cafaro traces the history and current state of chiles from Santa Fe to Hatch and beyond, according to a PBS news release. Cafaro takes viewers to visit Viramontes Farms, a multigenerational family farm in Deming and stops at Sparkys in Hatch, a popular roadside attraction that serves chile in everything including its milkshakes.
鈥淏ack in 2008, I went to Santa Fe and I鈥檇 always wanted to go to New Mexico,鈥 Cafaro said. 鈥(I was) fascinated by the landscape and the culture there (and) the blends of the different cultures that have come together in a place like New Mexico. I did a couple days of a photography workshop for fun and just absolutely fell in love with New Mexico and its chiles.鈥
She said when putting together the shortlist of states for 鈥淎merica the Bountiful,鈥 it was a no-brainer that New Mexico and its chile needed to be part of the first set of episodes for the series.
鈥淧art of the objective of 鈥楢merica the Bountiful鈥 is to use food as a guide,鈥 Cafaro said. 鈥淧eople ask, 鈥業s it a cooking show? Is it a travel show?鈥 Well, it鈥檚 a little bit of all of those things. It鈥檚 a travel show, it鈥檚 a history show, it鈥檚 a cooking show, but it really uses food as a storyteller, as a guide, to help capture the culture of a place.鈥
Filming the show took Cafaro on an expansive drive from northern to southern New Mexico, with stops along the way.
鈥淲e were down in Deming at Viramontes Farms where we got a front row opportunity and experience,鈥 she said. 鈥淎nd really appreciate what goes into cultivating and growing and harvesting chiles of many varieties. Viramontes is a multigenerational family farm and they also have a store there. They are melding together some aspects of agritourism. They ship their chiles and they have the shop, but we also had a chance to cook in their home kitchen and they shared a family recipe. It was great to hear some of their family stories about the farm while using chiles in a family recipe.鈥
Cafaro and the filming crew stopped in Hatch where they were able to capture rich visual imagery.
鈥淪o you have the cultural, historic aspects of the agricultural, 鈥榃here does this come from? Who grows it? How does it grow? Why does it grow here? Who brought it here?鈥 All those different types of things,鈥 she said. 鈥淲hat are the migrant stories that are present there? You know, Spanish missionaries, people from Mexico, Indigenous communities, all that stuff. We鈥檙e touching upon all of those things, but then we also bring something fun in and I think that something fun, in this case, was Sparkys.鈥
The eclectic restaurant includes nostalgic decor and a unique interior that resembles a diner from the 1950s. It also offers menu items all made with Hatch chile.
鈥淭he process of the show, I think, are two main things, to allow food to be something that is very relatable and that people understand and can connect on,鈥 Cafaro said. 鈥淚t allows people to have a better understanding of their neighbor, so to speak. Someone may never be able to go to New Mexico, but maybe they have a better understanding of people there because of being able to connect through food. And then the other thing is to get inspired to jump in the car and go to so many places that are overlooked or not known about because they鈥檙e in small communities across this giant country.鈥
Cafaro said filming 鈥淎merica the Bountiful,鈥 a 13-week road trip through the nation鈥檚 backcountry, was a rewarding experience.
鈥淚t鈥檚 a real honor to have an opportunity to tell the stories of the people that we meet and the hard work that they do and the knowledge that they have and making the places that they鈥檙e from special,鈥 she said. 鈥淭hat鈥檚 really what it鈥檚 about. I鈥檓 a conduit for that process and I鈥檓 really proud that we have the opportunity to share the story of everyday Americans that are making an impact in their community and coloring that cultural landscape for their families, their community and future generations.鈥