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  • From: "Tradingpost" <tradingpost@lobo.net>
  • To: livingontheland@lists.ibiblio.org
  • Subject: [Livingontheland] Farming Chimayó Chile: Cultivating Faith
  • Date: Tue, 10 Nov 2009 11:51:10 -0700


This article holds special meaning for us, not because we grow the kind of
chile they do - we wouldn't dare - but because we lived in Chimayo a short
time ten years ago. There's a unique culture that resists being lost in the
mainstream, and it's preserved a landrace chile for four hundred years.

paul tradingpost@lobo.net
------------------------------------------

Farming Chimayó Chile: Cultivating Faith
Edible Santa Fe Fall 2009
http://www.ediblecommunities.com/santafe/fall-2009/edible-southwest-nation.htm
story and photos by Gigi Ragland

Two types of pilgrims travel along the winding and scenic “High Road” into
the picturesque Chimayó. Both are in search of the divine. They seek what one
might call a “religious experience,” however the motivation driving each
traveler’s pilgrimage is quite different, a sacred versus secular calling
leading to the charming Chimayo.

For over a century, pious believers trekked to El Santuario de Chimayo
seeking holy healing and mercy from health problems. Their journey ended when
they reached the original “morada,” (family house of worship) where, since
its founding in the early 1800s, pilgrims have lightly tread with fervor
across the Santuario’s “El Posito” (sacred sand pit) dirt floor believing it
was a conduit of God’s divine powers. Touching the dirt, grazing their
fingertips across the fine soil, was a sacred, and, hopefully, curative act
for these pilgrims in search of healing. It has been called the “Lourdes of
America.” Today, one can still see visitors at El Santuario making their way
to the “El Posito,” and, with perhaps a few pious pilgrims in their midst.

The other type of pilgrim is motivated by an entirely different calling.
Getting to the historic shrine is not their mission, but it’s close enough to
their goal, close by way of proximity and connection with the soil. Small
fields of the legendary Chimayo chile dot the rugged mountain landscape
throughout the historic village like a leprechaun’s pot-of-gold where one
only needs to reach the ends of the rainbow to find the riches. Connoisseurs
in search of the legendary green, red and “Christmas” Chimayo Chile are
delighted when their pilgrimage concludes with a bag of Chimayo chiles, worth
a pot-of-gold to those that make the trek to find it.

Faith and farming are intertwined in Chimayo. First settled in the 17th
century and colonized like many of the villages in Northern New Mexico,
Chimayo reflects the roots of its Spanish ancestry in its food, religion, art
and architecture. Most clearly, it can be seen through the community’s strong
Catholic history with its connection to El Santuario.

Faith and the majesty of God’s miracles go hand-in-hand when planting chile.
Juan Ramón Trujillo, born in 1927, grew up farming the native chile. He
explains that typically a farmer plants three seeds in each hole. “One for
the birds, one for God and one for them.” And further explains the more
comprehensive Chimayo Chile farmer way of planting fiveseeds. “One is for
God, one for the sick, one for old people, one for the lazy and the last seed
is for the farmer.” While it might be a stretch to say the chiles are
divinely inspired, the chile has historically been tended by pious farmers of
great faith, which are grown in the same soil said to have healing
properties. However it is noteworthy to remember, as Father Casimiro Rocha,
who has attended his flock at El Santuario since 1954, has said many times,
“God heals, not the dirt!”

That being said, why are chile aficionados so enthralled with Chimayo chile?
It basically comes down to flavor. As one local resident vouches, “you can’t
beat the flavor; if I bite into another chile, it is like biting into a
weed.” The pure native strain has a medium heat with a robust, smooth, full
flavor with chocolate-tinged base notes. Chile lovers taste more intense
flavor than they sense heat on the palate. Many home cooks prefer the
spirited zest that Chimayo Red adds to their made-from-scratch sauces and
stews. Chimayo chile powder can be identified by its pottery, red-orange
color. Once tasted, there is no mistaking the flavor of the true native
strain of Chimayo Red Chile. “It is like a good wine versus a flat wine,”
declares Victoria Martinez, who, with her husband, Alfonso, farms Chimayo
Chile. In the fall, tourists can see drapes of vibrant red Chimayo chile
strings dangling from the eaves of many houses and garages, air-drying in the
mountain sunshine, including the Martinez house.

The piquant chile is considered a pure native strain. The species is very
unique; there is none like it genetically. As a native plant the chile has
adapted to its environment over hundreds of years, which makes it more
durable in a sense than commodity chiles. As a natural, native strain,
Chimayo Chiles have a higher tolerance to blight, drought, and diseases than
hybrid crops. As a specialty crop it does not produce a high yield and has
been farmed locally in Chimayo since the 17th century. It’s reputation as a
fine premium chile has circulated throughout New Mexico for at least 100
years.

Some local families have been farming chile for generations. They remember
their great-great-grandparents who passed on the coveted seed to the next in
line, securing the chile plant as a local crop. Older farmers, now in their
70s and 80s, have their own recollections of trading and selling chile at
market and beyond the village. Ross Martinez, who is a descendant of the man
who built El Santuario, remembers at age nine or ten, his mother sending him
out to sit in front of El Santuario to sell Chimayo chile to tourists at
twenty-five cents a bucket. As a young boy, Chimayo chile farmer Jose Abelino
Martinez remembers traveling the dirt roads by horsedrawn wagon for months at
a time selling chile with his family.

In recent years, with many aging farmers having difficulty tending their
fields, the beloved Chimayo chile crop diminished rapidly, becoming in danger
of extinction. And to the dismay of the community, the name “Chimayo” was
attributed in marketing chiles that were not grown in the local area or from
the native seed – diluting the legendary status of the uniquely flavored
pure-strain chile. These two factors jeopardized not only the true
authenticity of the crop but also whether or not the chile would survive into
the next generation of farmers.

Fortunately for the community of Chimayo, in 2005, Native Hispanic Institute
president, Marie Campos became involved in the need to preserve the native
strain chile. At that time period only five farmers were identified still
growing the chile. Campos says, “I was drawn to the beauty of this native
chile’s ‘pure-nature’ and its cultural history, which inspired me to pursue
its preservation.” Based in Santa Fe, the Institute’s mission is to represent
and advocate legitimate interests of Native Hispanic peoples in ways that are
integral to the preservation, development, advancement and continuance of
indigenous living traditions in the Americas.

In 2005, Campos, along with other preservationists, farmers and government
officials started the “Chimayo Chile Project.” The group’s first priority was
to trademark the chile and to harvest as much chile seed as possible. Campos’
dedication paid off; she is happy to report that certification of “Chimayo”
was registered with the USPTO. “This helps protect both consumers and Chimayo
chile farmers against those who try to falsely market other types of chile
products under that name,” informs Campos. She believes that the resulting
certification will have a positive effect on the farmers by increasing the
value of their product as authentic Capsicum annuum cv. ‘Chimayo,’ grown in
the geographical area Chimayo, New Mexico. Now, as stated in a memorial
confirmed by the New Mexico State Legislature, “the name ‘Chimayo’ for chile
shall continue to be the name that identifies the native strains of chile
that were inherited from the traditional families who founded and named the
village of Chimayo in New Mexico.”

The next step in the Project is now underway. Enough seed has been harvested
for older farmers to mentor and show the process to the next generation of
Chimayo Chile farmers. The NHI partnered with Santa Fe County to grow chile
on seven acres of public land behind El Santuario de Chimayo where educating
young farmers continues. 56 farmers are now enrolled in the Project to
preserve and harvest the native strain of chile in Chimayo. The Project
provides seed to farmers who meet the criteria of continuing the tradition of
growing the specialty crop who live in the village.

Born and raised by his grandparents in Chimayo, Barney Trujillo is a 29- year
old younger generation farmer. He inherited his grandfather’s land, which has
been in the family for 100 years. He remembers his grandfather growing chile
and other crops on the one and a half acre field surrounded by Cottonwoods
and Aspens. “My grandfather died when I was 16 and the field remained vacant
for 10 years afterwards,” says Trujillo. Seed was difficult to get because it
was normally passed on within families. “In some cases, grandparents have
died and younger farmers do not have access to the seed, which was in my
case,” adds Trujillo. Through the efforts of Marie Campos and NIH, Trujillo
was able to acquire free seed within the Project. He also credits his
neighbors, who used to farm the chile, as instrumental in the whole farming
process.

Everybody chips in at the Trujillo household. “Grandma watches the baby and
my mother, wife and oldest daughter help out in the field.” It’s a lot of
work confides Trujillo. He emphasizes that the hardest part of the farming
process is controlling the weeds. “Seems the weeds grow faster than the
chiles,” he laughs. No chemicals are used at all in the farming of the chile.
“Just the seeds, soil, acequia water (irrigation canal) and a hoe are used to
farm our chile,” states Trujillo, who yields about 300 bushels of chile per
acre.

Trujillo feels blessed to be able to farm his land. He credits his religion
and faith as instrumental components for his success and fortitude. Trujillo
says, “I learned it takes patience to do this type of work. Learning patience
and having faith are the most important things, to believe everything is
going to work out for a good purpose.” Being raised near El Santuario de
Chimayo, within the arms of the religious Catholic community, inspired
Trujillo to believe that all will work out in the end. Trujillo explains
having a family at a young age made him more responsible and brought him out
to the field. He believes, “As we get older it is our job to teach kids how
to be responsible and that just means taking care of what you have. I think
that will lead to the chile.”

Now, whenever Trujillo travels outside of the village and people find out he
is from Chimayo, the first question they ask is, “Where is the chile?”
Proudly, now he can reply, “how many bags do you want, I am a Chimayo chile
farmer.” That is, if he has any left.





  • [Livingontheland] Farming Chimayó Chile: Cultivating Faith, Tradingpost, 11/10/2009

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