El Sabor de Nuevo México
by Rob David Martinez
The sabor of New Mexico is
Chimayo red chile with garlic
Frijoles and chicos salted perfectly
Mom’s homemade flour tortillas, warm and soft
The sabor of New Mexico is
Tamales made with pork and red chile
Or sometimes with chile verde and calabacitas
In the old days, if a young man courted a young lady
And she rejected him, her family sent
A pan of calabacitas to his home
Squash with corn, green chile, salt and pepper
Rejection never tasted so good!
The sabor of New Mexico is
My mom grinding carne seca
To put in the fried potatoes
And sometimes in the red chile
¡Muy rico! Sometimes dad brought
Carne seca de venado from Chacón
It tasted like la montaña, La Jicarita, near Mora
The sabor of New Mexico is
Fideos toasted with smoky tomato broth
Chunks of pork marinated and cooked
In red chile heavy with ajo
Espinacas stewed and laced
With green chile seeds and salt
The sabor of New Mexico is
Hot natillas, vanilla heavy with cream
And meringue sprinkled with canela
Billowy sopaipillas, hot, greasy, with honey or chile?
Why not both?
The sabor of New Mexico is
Arroz con leche, sweet rice in milk, cinnamon,
And juicy cooked pasas
El sabor de Nuevo México is
Biscochitos, biscotti to the Italians,
Anise laced cookies made with lard
Sprinkled heavy with canela and azucara,
Latent memories of Maruecos
The sabor of New Mexico is
Mountain air, fresh cut alfalfa,
Chicharrones frying, burruñates
Sizzling in the broiler
El sabor de Nuevo México is…
***
Rob David Martinez is New Mexico’s State Historian. Curated by Levi Romero.
Miriam's Well: Poetry, Land Art, and Beyond 