Thread: Tell me about New Mexico

Watch Breaking Bad - it's one of the few shows set there.
You'll find blacks, whites, Mexicans, Native Americans of various tribes, Asians - heck, it's a modern American state - every race lives there.
Who's attitude towards women? And why single out women, what about their attitude towards men? Oh right - nobody cares about that.

I have some family living in Albuquerque and visit every year or so--I can help with giving information about Albuquerque and possibly Santa Fe (the capital).
[Note: these are all just observations I have made from my family and from my brief visits. There are a variety of people from all ethnic and cultural backgrounds.]
Very strong Hispanic culture. It's prevalent in the radio stations, the architecture, the advertisements. Family is important and emphasized--not just blood family, if you're a close friend then you're considered family.
Illegal immigration and drug trafficking are some major problems and there are near constant "busts" taking place.
Along with the Hispanic culture, Native American culture is rather wide spread and embraced.
Catholicism is the prominent religion and is a major part of many Hispanics' lives.
Influences range from Spanish to Navajo to Aztec origin and they all come together to create a culture that is rather unique in the United States (Arizona is perhaps the most similar).
I am a bit unsure about their attitude towards women but it seems to be no worse than anywhere else.
However, they rank last in many things in the United States including education. Their education system is by far one of the worst in the nation. Also, police brutality is a common issue as well political corruption--an example being a ten year old boy shot with a taser while at school. However, there are a wide range of examples if you choose to google some more.
New Mexico is the 17th state to make same sex marriage legal.

Also, there's a cute mythical creature called a jackalope which I loved to think about when I was little.


Hope this helped a little.

Originally Posted by Darkmatters

Watch Breaking Bad - it's one of the few shows set there.
You'll find blacks, whites, Mexicans, Native Americans of various tribes, Asians - heck, it's a modern American state - every race lives there.
Who's attitude towards women? And why single out women, what about their attitude towards men? Oh right - nobody cares about that.

I've already watched "Breaking Bad" and stupidly enough I hadn't realized that it was set in New Mexico. Also, I've singled out women because my main character is a woman.

Thanks for reminding me of the show.

Originally Posted by Toula

Hope this helped a little.

Thanks. It did.

Anything else? No one?

I traveled through New Mexico, it's cool. There's navajo reservations in the north, big stretches of land without running water or electricity owned by a corrupt tribal council that sells off sacred mountains for cell phone towers and doesn't share with the rest of the tribe. They live off wood burning stoves and either buy water or melt snow. Many of them do little more than drink.

In the actual towns and cities in Navajo country, it's a bit different. I passed through Farmington during a parade and the crowd appeared about 50/50 white/navajo, maybe a little heavier on the navajo side. There's a lot of drunk navajos who end up passing out and freezing to death in the winter. It can get cold. I don't mean to only fixate on the navajo stereotype for drinking, but it is an epidemic. They were also extremely generous and accommodating, and we shared many laughs. I just found it strange the group I stayed with needed to get up so they could hitch to the beer store first thing in the morning and then make 2 more runs that day, and that's their day off.

I didn't like Albuquerque and got the fuck out. Fuck that place, it's dangerous for travelers. A homeless guy got shot on camera not too long ago. The police are savage, and all the bums walk around with crappy dufflebags and stuff because if you have good gear someone's going to want to turn it into drugs.

To the very south, I spent a night in Las Cruces as well, which is right across the Texas border from El Paso. It's considered a drug gateway but it's a really peaceful town, I enjoyed it. It has an active progressive minority, and nice folks in general. Parts of it are very run down, like anywhere, and it comes with its own ghettos, but I found myself without issue.

Also, I've been to Santa Fe and Las Vegas, NM, though I don't know exactly what to tell you about those places because I was on a bus.

Green chile burgers, also. In fact, they put green chiles on everything there. They like spicy food.

I have a friend who lived in New Mexico for half a year, and another friend who was born there and knows it well (who's much harder to get ahold of) so I can get more info for you, too. Between Arizona and Florida it's my favorite state.