Scenes from the Hatch Chile Festival

By Rebecca Powell, 9-02-08

Hatch, New Mexico claims the title of Chile Capital of the World. As we drove through the town, every other business boasted chile or included a mention of chile in its name. Chile is more than a crop or a condiment in Hatch. It is the economic mainstay of their economy. A town of little over 1600, Hatch has been celebrating the chile harvest for over thirty-six years.

Inside the festival, chile reigns. Booths boast chile ice cream, chile snow cones, chile corn, chile popcorn, chile plates, chile hamburgers, books on chile, and just plain roasted chile. We got a ziploc bag of roasted Big Jims, but watched people from as far away as the Dakotas and California leave with burlap sacks of roasted chile.

It’s a festival of chile, but like every event in New Mexico what ends up being celebrated is the culture and people of New Mexico.