Belen, New Mexico in the "Land of Enchantment"
Belen, New Mexico in the "Land of Enchantment"
  When
I think of Belen, I think of the smell of roasting chilies floating
through the dust in fall. I think of the expanse of sand and sage
that runs endlessly to the western horizon to the bluffs. I think of
the lonely wind that blows as you stand on the Sandia Peak, watching
a sinking sun, and look out over eternity, as God must have. I think
that, in Belen, we are isolated from many things. And that isolation
is breathtaking. Or perhaps it’s the elevation. But breathe deep
here, suck in as much air as our altitude will let you, and you’ll
see what it’s like to breathe the pure air that lives under a
turquoise sky.
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Our
natural environment is one of the biggest reasons to love it here.
The clean dry air is so healthy that in the last century, thousands
of people flocked here to cure their tuberculosis. The air today is
nearly as clean as it was then, which gives us our exploding, fiery
sunsets every night. And from almost anywhere, you’ll be able to see
the sun rise from the belly of the mountains and set behind a vast
mesa. Nature is always near here, whether it’s in the Manzano
Mountains to the east—which turn a vibrant pink at sunset—or the
endless desert to the south. Dormant volcanoes dot the western mesas
as Mount Taylor haunts the horizon. The Rio Grande River, which
rolls its muddy water through the center of town, gives the city its
green string of cottonwood trees that the Spaniards named the
Bosque.
New
Mexicans also have a broad sense of “forever.” Everywhere you look,
you can see for miles. Vast is a good way to describe the
scenery, and it’s made New Mexicans stretch their boundaries. When
we build, we tend to build “out,” rather than up. Our area is
molasses-thick with culture and history. You can’t get around
without wading in it. The Spanish roots grew in here before the
English had even hired a boat for Plymouth. As a result, the
Hispanic way of life is very ingrained in the Rio Grande Valley.
You’ll see this every Christmas Eve, as we light the luminaries
to lead the Christ-child home. You’ll also see it in the New Mexican
restaurants, in the hanging ristras, and the rich smell of
roasting chili in the early fall.
