Celebrate 50th anniversary of Hatch Chile Festival Sept. 2-4 in Chile Capital of World
This year’s Hatch Chile Festival, a great excuse for chile lovers to gather, will be Sep. 2-4 in Hatch, New Mexico. Hatch, the Chile Capital of the World, is located 83 miles north of El Paso off I-25.
When the festival started in 1972, there was no coverage of the actual event. However, several advertisements urging residents to “Be sure to attend the Hatch Valley Chile Festival” ran in the Las Cruces Sun-News.
On Aug. 26, 1973, then-El Paso Times Regional Editor Ira Hauptman wrote about the second annual festival.
Hatch Valley Chile Festival draws more than 1,000 hot participants
Heat came in two forms here Saturday as chile aficionados from far and near gathered for the second annual Hatch Valley Chile Festival.
As temperatures soared into the high 90s and possibly over the 100 degree plateau, mouths were steaming from the simple act of eating the small green pods which make Hatch the “chile capital of the world.”
Major chile-tasting spectacle draws spectators
More than 1,000 indoctrinated chile lovers, as well as novices, came early in the day to witness one major spectacle.
Hatch Mayor Robert Duran and State Planning Officer David King were initiated as members of the International Connoisseurs of Green and Red Chile.
To prove their worthiness of membership in the elite group, the duo prepared to taste three rising pungencies of chile.
For the first step, Mrs. Marion Black, queso grande (or president of the uninitiated) of the organization, placed a spoonful of chile in each man’s mouth.
Not hot enough for tasters
King muttered that it wasn’t hot enough and Duran just smiled.
In step two, they were administered “the red menace” ‒ and once again King said it wasn’t too hot (as he began to sweat beneath the eyes) and Mayor Duran squeaked, “Esta bueno.”
In the final step (as the men’s ears began to puff), King said the chile was tasty and Duran smiled again.
They were declared survivors of the severe test and declared members of the society.
Chile Queen reigned in 1974
For the 1974 festival, a Chile Queen was added. Renee Furr reigned over the event, which featured fresh chile, chile recipes and entertainment.
In 1979, the festival featured a pancake breakfast, a skeet shoot, horseshoe pitching, a watermelon eating contest, a western dance and art show. The Hatch Valley Chamber of Commerce was sponsor and the event was held at the Hatch Municipal Airport.
And 1985 brought a new contest: “Mr. Chile Legs.” The man with the best-looking legs in the Hatch Valley earned the title. Motocross racing also was added that year. It was estimated that between 4,000 and 5,000 people attended the festival.
The 1988 festival opened at 9 a.m. Saturday with a parade on Hall Street. Food, entertainment, games, arts and crafts were featured. Admission was $2 a car.
Chile pickers protest at 1990 festival
A Sept. 2, 1990, El Paso Times report said:
About 100 chile pickers aboard buses waved union signs and shouted for higher wages and better working conditions in an unusual protest during the Hatch Chile Festival parade.
“Basically, we are protesting the general situation of the farmworkers,” said Carlos Marentes, director of the Border Agricultural Workers Union in El Paso.
After the parade, a few protesters stayed in the downtown area and handed out flyers described as “a humble petition for justice ....”
Michael Gallegos, 52, of Juárez was among those who waited in the buses for the parade to start at 10 a.m. He said the fieldworkers typically earn about $28 a day ‒ $1.25 or $1.50 for each sack of chile they pick.
“The reason we are here is we want more money for our work, and they don’t want to pay,” Gallegos said.
The workers complained that some farmers want them to pick only the best chile from a field, which is more tedious and time-consuming. Some farmers will not accept their sacks if they are not filled with the best harvest of the fields, workers said.
“You can’t pick good chile if they don’t have a good field,” said Santiago Cuevas, 23, who said he lives on the streets of El Paso.
Cuevas, like other farmworkers, waits in Downtown El Paso at about 3 a.m. for a bus that takes him on a two-hour ride to the Hatch Valley.
Cuevas said he usually sleeps on the sidewalk where the buses load so he doesn’t miss a day’s work in the fields.
Hatch lacks adequate housing for the workers. Some pay a couple dollars a day for a bed at a bunkhouse in town.
The farmworkers didn’t carry their protest to the festival grounds, where thousands of people purchased chile and souvenirs.
Canceled for the first time
Like many other events, the Hatch Chile Festival was canceled in 2020 due to the coronavirus pandemic.
Tina Cabrales, president of the Hatch Chile Festival, said factors aside from the state’s mass gathering ban led to the cancellation.
“The chile festival depends on sponsorships and a lot of businesses have been closed since the first part of the year. We just don’t feel comfortable going out and asking people for donations to support the chile festival. That’s number one,” Cabrales said.
“With the COVID situation and the social distancing, that’s really going to be impossible because we do host about 20,000 to 30,000 people. It would be impossible to keep every area clean and disinfected. That’s reason number two.”
Cabrales said that, if everything goes well, the festival will be back bigger and better than ever for its 50th year.
And it is.
2022 Hatch Chile Festival
This year’s festival will kick off at 5 p.m. Friday, Sept. 2, in Hatch. Saturday begins with the parade at 9 a.m., events continue through Sunday.
Parking will be around Hatch High School. There will be a $10 contribution to park. The fee helps support the festival.
Visitors can expect a carnival, chile roasting, food and craft vendors, entertainment, chile and watermelon eating contests, and more. Organizers suggest that you be prepared to walk, bring water, sunscreen and a hat.
A full schedule and map of the festival can be found at https://hatchchilefestival.org.
Trish Long may be reached at tlong@elpasotimes.com or 915-546-6179.
This article originally appeared on El Paso Times: Heat lovers can celebrate famous chiles Sept. 2-4 in Hatch, New Mexico
