2011 rio abajo becker street festival

September 24, 2011

Becker Street Festival

News-BulletinVALENCIA COUNTY

By ABigAil R. ORtizNews-Bulletin Staff [email protected]

BelenEach year the annual Rio Abajo Becker

Street Festival aims to be bigger and bet-ter than the previous year, and this year is no exception.

Rio Abajo 2011 Becker Street Festival is jam packed with more events, vendors and eateries for local residents to enjoy for free, said Rhona Baca Espinoza, the executive director of the Greater Belen Chamber of Commerce.

“Residents will have to refer to their schedule of events to see what else is going on,” Espinoza said. “That hasn’t happened before.”

The day-long festival, sponsored by the chamber, will stretch from Main Street to Fourth Street on Becker Avenue, along the Heart of Belen, on Saturday, Sept. 24.

More than 6,000 residents from around New Mexico are expected to attend, said Espinoza. The event is scheduled from 10 a.m. to 11 p.m. guaranteeing “fun for the whole family.”

Debuting in this year’s Rio Abajo festival is the Valencia County Mayor’s Division Arm Wrestling event, a green chile showdown and The Warrior Challenge: Strong Man’s Competition, along with radio station Coyote 102.5 announcing live from the event.

Mayors from local municipalities will face off in arm wrestling matches, which will include Belen Mayor Rudy Jaramillo, former Belen Mayor Ronnie Torres, Peralta Mayor Bryan Olguin and Los Lunas Mayor Robert Vialpando. Contestants will be trained how to arm wrestle properly before facing their oppo-nent.

In The Warrior Challenge: Strong Man’s Competition, contestants will try to flip over a tractor tire consecutively through a parking lot, along with other strength testing events.

Local vendors will provide additional wares not found in previous years, such

as jewelry, hair accessories, purses, arts and crafts and a puppet show.

Eateries will offer more choices, including Navajo tacos, shaved ice and roasted corn.

Residents can be entertained all day and night at the street festival and not have to spend a penny, Espinoza said. With the lack of activities in Belen, the rodeo-themed festival allows people to get out and enjoy themselves, she said.

“How many events with this economy are jam packed so (attendees) don’t have

to spend a penny to attend?” she said.The street festival serves as a way to

get the city of Belen on other people’s radars, Espinoza said.

“This is a gorgeous little community that people can come and check out,” she said. “It’s vital for Belen to have this sort of exciting festival.”

Rio Abajo is the largest fundraiser sup-porting the chamber, contributing about 20 percent of the chamber’s yearly bud-get, Espinoza said.

“Membership isn’t enough to keep our

doors open. We have to fundraise,” she said.

The New Mexico Rail Runner Express and Rio Metro will be running extended hours to get attendees to and from the event. Attendees can also walk down First Street to arrive at the all ages event.

“People have told me that they’ve expected to come and stay for one hour and they stayed at the event until 9 or 10 o’clock at night,” Espinoza said.

The last Rail Runner will leave Belen at 9:30 p.m.

2 • 2011 Rio Abajo Festival • Valencia County News-Bulletin • September 17, 2011

Rio Abajo Becker Street Festival to be a fun-filled event

Abigail R. Ortiz-News-Bulletin photo

RHONA BACA ESPINOZA, executive director of the Greater Belen Chamber of Commerce, straightens a Rio Abajo banner hang-ing at the Heart of Belen gazebo. Rio Abajo 2011 Becker Street Festival is scheduled from 10 a.m. to 11 p.m. on Saturday, Sept. 24.

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September 17, 2011 • Valencia County News-Bulletin • 2011 Rio Abajo Festival • 3

2011 RIO ABAJO BECKER STREET FESTIVAL

GreaterBelen Chamber of Commerce

Becker and Main Street • Belen

Saturday, September 24th10:00am to 11:00pm!

• Classic, Lowrider & Muscle Car Show • 50+ Mile Poker Bike Run• Strong Man Competitions • Arm Wrestling Pro-Am Championships

• Special Event: Valencia County Mayors Division___________________________________________________________________________________• DJ & Six Live Bands • Dancing & Lots More

• Entertainment Throughout Event___________________________________________________________________________________________• Food and Craft Vendors • Art Shows and Demos

• Local Martial Arts & Dance Performances • Carnival_________________________________________________________________________________________________________For more information Call GBCC Office: 864-8091

[email protected];Full schedule of festival events: www.belenchamber.org

Special Shapes Balloon Glow

Free Entry!

Chile

Showdown

Rail Runner Train Service throughout the day Last Rail Runner Train from Belen back to Albuquerque station leaves at 9:30pm


Rio Abajo Becker Street FestivalSchedule of Events

Saturday, Sept. 24

10 a.m.: • Crowning of the Rio Abajo

Queen• Food vendors and non-food ven-

dors• DJ Wayne Gallegos (throughout

the event)• Classic, lowrider and muscle car

show (judging at noon)• Green Chile Showdown• The Warrior Challenge: Strong

Man’s competition (until 1 p.m.)• Valencia County Community

Band

11:30 a.m.:• Renee Antoinette’s School of

Dance

Noon:• Belen Public Library presents:

Happy Birthday Bilbo Baggins (ends at 7 p.m.)

• Arm Wrestling Tournament (ends at 9 p.m.)

• Poker Bike Run (last bike out at 2 p.m.)

• Belen Art League: Blacksmithing and art demonstrations

• Harvey House Museum pres-ents: Belen Art League fall art dis-play

• Vince Cole

1:30 p.m.:• S&A Dance Academy• Horseshoe tournament

2 p.m.: • Classic, lowrider and muscle car

show awards; parade to follow

• Redeemed contemporary Christian band

• N.M. Arm Wrestling champion-ship

• Mechanical bull

3 p.m.:• Jazzercise and La Merced danc-

ers

3:30 p.m.:• Jaylah Danielle

4 p.m.:• Fat Sats beer garden• Coyote 102.5 live remote• Last bike in poker bike run

5 p.m.:• Special event: Valencia County

Mayor’s Division Arm Wrestling and surprise guests

• Belen Goju Ryu Karate

6 p.m.:• Keith Sanchez Band

7 p.m.:• Balloon glow

8 p.m.: • Electric Light Parade• Jerry Jaramillo and Brown River

Band

9 p.m.:• Drawing for prize hog

9:30 p.m.:• Last Rail Runner train from

Belen to Albuquerque leavesNews-Bulletin file photo

THE HORSESHOE TOURNAMENT will be held at 1:30 p.m. at this year’s at Rio Abajo Becker Street Festival in Belen.

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Wittoff trying until she winsBy ABigAil R. ORtizNews-Bulletin Staff [email protected]

BelenIt’s her third year competing in the

Rio Abajo Becker Street Festival Queen Contest, and Mikayla Wittoff said she’s going to keep trying until she wins.

“I’ve tried so many times and I’m just hoping that the third time’s the charm,” Wittoff said.

Last year, the 17-year old was neck and neck with her opponent, Ashley Gonzales, but took runner-up.

The sole contestant said her strategy for this year is to sell more raffle tickets by having “fun” events. Wittoff held a car wash last year.

The Rio Abajo queen is chosen by the number of raffle tickets sold. The winner will ride on the queen float during the Rio Abajo parade on Saturday, Sept. 24.

Additionally, the winner is expected to increase participation with the Greater Belen Chamber of Commerce and in planning next year’s Rio Abajo festival, Wittoff said.

“No matter who wins, they need to step up and be there more than once a year when they crown the next queen,” she said.

Raffle tickets cost $1 each or six for $5. Raffle ticket winners will receive $150 for first place, $100 for second place and $50 for third place. Proceeds for the raffle will go towards the Greater Belen Chamber of Commerce and 20 percent to the candidate.

The number of raffle tickets Wittoff has sold have increased each year, even though it can be difficult to sell them, she said.

“There’s a chance that people will win, but most people don’t want to take that chance,” she said.

The Belen High School senior was part of the drama class and band class for two years each, but she said she’s taking it easy this year.

“I’m loving it,” she said. She’s started applying to local univer-

sities, but said she has her eye on New Mexico State University.

Wittoff works part time as an assis-tant manager at the Sandia Self Storage, where she’s been employed for 1 1/2 years.

In her spare time, Wittoff enjoys hang-ing out with friends, playing with her 6-month-old chiweenie, Joey, watching movies and reading semi-fantasy or mur-der mysteries.

Abigail R. Ortiz-News-Bulletin photo

MIKAYLA WITTOFF pets her “baby,” Joey’s stomach. Wittoff is the sole candidate competing in the Rio Abajo Becker Street Festival Queen Contest.

By Brent ruffnerNews-Bulletin Staff [email protected]

BelenTen seconds or less. That’s how long some of the entertain-

ment will last at this year’s Rio Abajo Becker Street Festival in Belen on Saturday, Sept. 24.

But don’t be fooled. Competitors from New Mexico and

abroad will bring their best game to the Rio Abajo arm wrestling tournament in an event that is expected to draw a wide range of competition.

In years past, the event has brought as much as 80 competitors including national champions such as local Joseph Cordova, who has won the United States Arm Wrestling Federation Championship nine times.

Registration for this year’s event runs from 10 a.m. to 11:30 a.m., and is $15 for adults.

“They say go and it’s everything you got,” said Paul Risso, who helped organize the event. “But as soon as they are done, (competitors say) good match.”

Risso said he is pleased with the response over the last few years and didn’t expect the overwhelming popularity of the event when it began in Belen in 2008. He

said the event took off after Jeff Ames of Mile High ArmSports became involved.

“All I ever envisioned was getting a table of some sort and standing there and letting people come up and arm wrestle,” Risso said. “I didn’t think in big terms at the time.”

But Risso said arm wrestling champi-ons routinely compete, and said the event should be a good source of entertainment along with a strong man’s competition, a green chile showdown, the Rio Abajo queen contest and a car show.

This year, arm wrestling fans will get a special treat with current and former may-ors who are expected to dual it out on the arm wrestling table that day.

Those competitors include Ronnie Torres, former mayor of Belen, Peralta Mayor Bryan Olguin, Los Lunas Mayor Robert Vialpando and Belen Mayor Rudy Jaramillo.

Olguin, who said he hasn’t arm wrestled in 20 years, said the event should be an interesting way to bring people to the festival. He said each of the competi-tors were assigned a professional to give them “tricks of the trade” and to make sure they don’t injure themselves. He said Vialpando could be a tough match because of “his firm handshake.”


n See Arm wrestling, Page 7

News-Bulletin file photo

THE ARM WRESTLING competitions at the Rio Abajo Becker Street Festival will start at noon and end at 9 p.m. on Saturday, Sept. 24. The Valencia County Mayor’s Division competition starts at 5 p.m.

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Arm wrestlingfrom PAGE 6


MIKEY APODACA, right, of Los Lunas, is on his way to victory over Sam Jaramillo, left, of Belen, while Buzz Switzer referees dur-ing the New Mexico Arm Wrestling Championship at the Rio Abajo festival last year.

“It’s just for kicks,” Olguin said. “I think it’s something going on to draw more people. Win or lose it doesn’t mat-ter.”

Torres agrees. “It’s all in fun,” Torres said. “You’re

going to have four old fart men in there. I think we are going to be the halftime show. But it’s a good cause to get humili-ated for, I guess.”

Cordova, 30, of Los Lunas is ranked fourth in the world and will defend his title this December in Kazahkstan. He competed against people from 48 coun-tries and used “superhuman power” to defeat his opponents.

But Cordova said the general public should come check out the event.

“Of all the events, people identify with it because everyone has arm wrestled at some point,” Cordova said.

Risso said the children will also have a chance to compete, but entries are lim-ited to 35 for the entire event. There is no entry fee this year for children.

“As intense and exciting as the regular open arm wrestlers are, there’s nothing like seeing 5- and 6-year-olds going tooth and nail,” Risso said.

For information about the arm wrestling competitions, call 864-8091.

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RIO ABAJO BECKER STREET FESTIVAL

ISMAEL CANO-JIMENEZ enjoys the day at the Rio Abajo Becker Street Festival last year. There will be lots of events and entertainment for the whole family at this year’s festival.

News-Bulletin file photos

ONE OF THE FAVORITE events at the Rio Abajo Becker Street Festival is the mechanical bull rides.

By DeBorah FoxNews-Bulletin Staff [email protected]

BelenThis is the second year for the Biker’s

Poker Run at the Rio Abajo Becker Street Festival sponsored by the Belen Chamber of Commerce.

The ride is longer this year, more than 50 miles, and a larger turn-out is expected. Last year, about 30 motor-cyclists from the Valencia County and Albuquerque areas participated.

“We have it advertised better this year,” said Larry Marquez, organizer of the ride. “Last year was the first year. Usually they build as you go along.”

“The prizes are better this year, too,” said Rhona Baca Espinoza, execu-tive director of the Belen Chamber of Commerce. “Really nice prizes.”

Entry registration for the poker run is $20, which includes a game card to tabu-late your first poker hand, but you can purchase additional game cards for $10 each.

“They can have as many chances as they want,” Espinoza said.

This is a game you’ll hope to win or lose. The worst hand will win two VIP tickets to see the rock band Journey in concert at the Hard Rock presents the Pavilion, plus $25 cash. Whoever has the best hand takes first place, and wins a $100 cash prize, plus a one night stay at the Hard Rock Hotel and Casino.

“People really want those Journey tickets,” Baca Espinoza said. “Everybody loves Journey.”

She advertised the event on the New Mexico Biker Events website among other places. The poker run benefits youth programs and scholarships.

Motorcyclists who wish to participate must register at the Fat Sats beer garden tent starting at noon Saturday, Sept. 24. They’ll get their first poker card there.

The ride is scheduled to begin at 1 p.m. They’ll travel parade-style with a police escort to the Hard Rock Hotel and Casino in Isleta on N.M. 47 for their second card.

At each stop, there will be about a half hour layover as riders get their poker cards.

“The ride is nice, because you meet


n See Bikes, Page 10

Deborah Fox-News-Bulletin photo

LARRY MARQUEZ, left, organized the Biker’s Poker Run. He and his wife, Sandra Marquez, right, will ride in during Rio Abajo Becker Street Festival in Belen.

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a lot of new people, and see people you don’t normally see,” said Marquez. “Everybody gets to talk and visit a little bit at each stop, and just enjoy the ride together.”

Marquez and his wife, Sandra, both ride motorcycles, as well as their son, Carlos. Carlos and his fiancé, Megan Black, might join in the poker run this year if Carlos can get time off from work, said Marquez.

Marquez rides a bright yellow 1984 Harley Davidson FLH Shovelhead, and Sandra’s bike is a black Harley Davidson FXR.

“It has a large motor in a small frame,” Marquez said. “It’s a perfect bike for a woman to ride. They’re very smooth bikes, and it has plenty of power.”

There are quite a few women who ride motorcycles, he said.

“It’s relaxing and clears my mind,” Sandra said. “There’s just nothing but you and the road.”

“My wife rides, my sister-in-law rides, a friend of mine, his wife rides, matter of fact my son (Carlos) just sent

his girlfriend through riding school in Albuquerque,” Marquez said. “And he just bought her first motorcycle.”

Marquez and Sandra are participating in the Golden Aspen Motorcycle Rally in Ruidoso this week and plan to distribute flyers for the Rio Abajo Poker Run to thousands of bikers.

From the Hard Rock Casino, the bikers will travel south along N.M. 47 through Bosque Farms, Peralta and Los Lunas.

“We’ll be going through the older part of Tomé,” Marquez said. “The farm fields are pretty, the moisture off the hay fields. We’ll ride by Tomé Hill. That’s all real pretty along there, and the curvy roads.

“We’ll go to Al’s Mini-Mart in Rio Communities, that’s where we’ll pick up our third card.”

For the fourth poker card, riders will travel on N.M. 304 past Casa Colorada across the river bridge on N.M. 346 to Bosque.

He is expecting a few friends from the Royal Order of South Dakota Buffaloes, a motorcycle group that formed in

Sturgis some years ago, he said.The poker run continues on N.M. 116

north to Kicks 66, A & W and Long John Silvers on south Main Street in Belen for the fourth poker card, then travels back to Fat Sats for the fifth card.

All bikes are due back at the Fat Sats

beer garden tent by 4:30 p.m., just in time for the surprise arm wrestling guests and the special event of the Mayor’s Division of the Arm Wrestling Championship, and later that night there will be live music, said Espinoza.

Bikes: Poker Run has four stopsfrom PAGE 9

Deborah Fox-News-Bulletin photo

MOTORCYCLING is a family affair. Pictured, from left, are Antwoine Johnson and his fiance, Cassandra Marquez, Larry and his daughter, Ciera Marquez, center, and Sandra marquez and her great-nephew Andres Waters.

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By Jason W. BrooksNews-Bulletin Sports [email protected]

Belen As the Rio Abajo Becker Street

Festival tries to expand and draw in new visitors each year, events have either been added or modified.

In 2010, a car show was added, and for 2011, that show has been expanded. During this year’s Rio Abajo festivities in Belen on Saturday, Sept. 24, the show will not only feature classic cars, but also lowriders and muscle cars.

The 2010 contest, held along Becker Avenue near the Heart of Belen along with many Rio Abajo festivities, only drew 15 entries. That’s why organiz-ers wanted to expand the category, and hopefully get more car enthusiasts to the event.

“We know there’s an interest in old cars and the history behind them,” said Jennifer Hise, one of the organizers of the car show and the second vice presi-dent of the Greater Belen Chamber of Commerce. “This will hopefully get people to come down and stay for the duration of the Rio Abajo events. We are encouraging as much participation as possible.”

The show will not have any model-year limitations, and costs $20 to enter if registration is done before the day of the event. Its start time coincides with the start of the rest of the day’s fun, at 10 a.m., and judging for awards is set to conclude at around 1:30 p.m. A parade of all contest entries will be held on Becker after the judging is complete.

Jeremiah Moya, who recently complet-ed a full restoration of a 1981 Cadillac Coupe de Ville, is looking forward to displaying his car at the event, and is spreading the word to others in the car show crowd.

“I take shows like this as seriously as I take the big shows in Las Vegas (Nev.),” said Moya. “We want to show that guys who own lowriders are often working

their jobs and paying their bills, and aren’t out selling drugs and things.”

Moya said he earned first place with his Coupe de Ville at a recent Albuquerque show in a category that fea-tured 355 cars. He said he wants to do his part to promote the show.

Hise said bringing an arm-wrestling competition and the car show are just two examples of how the Rio Abajo festival has expanded.

The New Mexico Rodeo Association isn’t holding its season finals at the near-by Valencia County Sheriff’s Posse arena this year. This means Rio Abajo won’t be tied to another large event that draws vis-itors from all over the region, but it also means all of the events will be contained in a small stretch of downtown Belen.

The car show will utilize both sides of Becker Avenue, near the Belen Art League.

Some of last year’s entries will likely return, and with a few events such as Summerfest in Los Lunas not being held this summer, county residents might show interest in a local car show.

“By including lowriders, we hope and expect to see more cars with hydrau-lics,” said Hise. “We could see cars from the 1940s through the 1970s. There is definitely an educational element to the show.”

Live entertainment, library events, a poker bike run, a chile showdown and an arm-wrestling tournament are also taking place nearby.

Moya, a 1999 Belen High School grad-uate, said he’s looking forward to show-ing his car on Valencia County soil.

“Almost no one here has seen it,” said Moya. “I put two years worth of work into it, and there are a lot of details. But there’s no show that’s too big or too small for it.”

For information on the car show, call Rhona Baca Espinoza, the executive director of the Greater Belen Chamber of Commerce, 864-8091.

Rio Abajo car show has expanded beyond classic cars

Submitted photo

THE CAR SHOW at the Rio Abajo Becker Street Festival will include classic cars, lowriders and muscle cars.

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Celebrate Bilbo’s birthdayBy Julia M. DenDingerNews-Bulletin Staff [email protected]

BelenThey have gone there and now they

are back again. The Belen Public Library, Friends

of the Library and Valencia County Literacy Council are teaming up to present Bilbo Baggins’ Second Annual Birthday Celebration.

The party will be in grand hobbit fashion, running two consecutive days — Friday, Sept. 23, and Saturday, Sept. 24.

The celebration, held at the Belen Public Library, is part of the Rio Abajo Becker Street Festival and will feature more hobbits, elves and dragons than you can shake a magical ring at.

Belen librarian Deborah Graham said the festivities will start at 9 a.m. on Friday, with a viewing of the complete “Lord of the Rings” movie trilogy.

“I think this will be great fun,” Graham said. “I’m hoping for more cos-tumes this year.”

Last year, Friends of the Library member Girard Michaud approached Graham, asking what the library intend-ed to do for Bilbo Baggins’ birthday celebration. Being a bibliophile of the highest degree, Graham began organiz-ing a hobbit-centric celebration of the old barrel-rider.

This year’s celebration will come within a day of Bilbo’s Sept. 25 birthday.

Last year, Michaud dressed as Bilbo and gave his famous (or infamous if you like) birthday speech.

This year, Michaud, who’s knowledge of J.R.R. Tolkien’s world of hobbits, elves and men is legendary, will once again be taking on the role of Bilbo, Graham said.

“This year, Bilbo will tell the story of the nine rings of power. It’s not in the books and the lore will have to be gath-ered from across Tolkein’s works,” she said. “If anyone can do that, it’s Girard.”

As a special treat this year, Girl Scout Troops 10058 and 91 of Valencia County picked the celebration as an activity to earn badges that promotes literacy. The troops will present stories, music and a dragon puppet show.

“We are going to do a lot on dragons this year. We will have more games for the kids and there will be special guest appearances by Smaug the Dragon and Miracle, the “dragon” therapy dog and surprise guest readers,” Graham said.

Miracle is usually billed simply as a therapy dog for the library. Children can read to Miracle to improve their reading skills. Reading to the canine reduces the pressure many children feel when read-ing out loud.

And what party would be complete

without costumes? Graham said the cos-tumes for the contest must be in keeping with the themes of the books by J.R.R. Tolkien.

Acceptable categories of costumes are elves, dwarves, hobbits, ents, dragons, wizards, men and women of Gondor or Rohan, and other characters and crea-tures from the “Lord of the Rings” tril-ogy or “The Hobbit.”

Registrations must be submitted by Wednesday, Sept. 21, at either Bernie’s Fabric, Notions, Etc., 301 N. Main Street in Belen, or the Belen Public Library at 333 Becker Ave.

Registration forms can be picked up at the library between 1 and 5 p.m., Monday through Thursday; 6 to 8 p.m., Thursdays; and 9 to 4 p.m. on Saturdays.

Bernie’s is open from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m., Monday through Saturday.

Judging, awards and a grand parade of all costume entries will take place at the Belen Public Library at noon on Saturday, Sept. 24, in the Great Hall.

Artists are encouraged to submit entries for a dragon art contest in cel-ebration of Bilbo Baggins’ birthday.

All entries must be related to the theme of dragons and special consider-ation will be given to those related to actual passages from Tolkien’s works. All entries must be suitable for viewing by individuals of all ages to be accepted.

Entries can be up to three-foot, six inches square, and must be no smaller than six inches by eight inches.

Official entry forms may be obtained at the Belen Public Library and all art work must be received by 5 p.m. on Wednesday, Sept. 21. The entries must be available for display through the eve-ning of Sept. 24.

Graham said the bake sale featuring authentic Shire dishes is coming back as a fundraiser for the library.

“People really liked the Beorning honey cakes. They were fantastic last time,” she said.

There will be a trivia contest, created by Michaud again, to test folks’ knowl-edge of Tolkien lore.

This year’s book sale is taking sci-fi and fantasy bent, Graham said.

“A donor brought in hundreds of hard-bound, out-of-print science fiction and fantasy books from the 1930s, many of which are no longer in print,” Graham said. “There are more than we can fit in the library.”

Some of the offerings include all the Edward Rice Burroughs paperbacks bound in one volume and a full set of Andre Norton’s writings that haven’t been for sale for quite some time, Graham said.

“We might give out books to the kids as prizes,” she said. “We want them to read. That is the real goal of all this.”

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By UngelBah Daniel-DavilaNews-Bulletin Staff [email protected]

Belen“It’s not a cook off, it’s a show down!”

said Bryan Chavez, organizer of the Rio Abajo Becker Street Festival’s first de los Abuelitos Green Chile Showdown.

The showdown, which was held for the first time “just for practice” at the Valencia County Community Expo in August, is an event that gives chile farm-ers in Valencia County and surrounding counties the opportunity to compete for best green chile.

The reason it is a showdown and not a cook off, says Chavez, is because the chile is roasted, but not cooked.

“With enough seasoning, you can make any chile taste good,” said Chavez, who plans to make the showdown an annual competition that judges chile in its natu-ral and post-roasted state.

While there are cook offs held in the county that judge chile as a stew or salsa, there is no event designed to judge green chile from the gunny sack, to the roaster, to the peeling to the freshly diced end product.

There are a variety of qualities judges will look for, including the texture, color and shape of an unroasted chile, as well as its scent, the pigment of its seeds and how easily it peels after it is roasted. The final test though, is the flavor.

Chavez said each batch of chile is given the same amount of salt and garlic pow-der, but besides that, the chile is left to its own devices to win over the judges.

Both Chavez and his mother, Georgia Barreras, who was a judge at the Expo competition, claimed that they didn’t know anything about chile, except that they enjoyed eating it, prior to organiz-ing this event, and that they had to call in an “expert” whom they call their secret weapon to give them a crash course in chile-ology.

“It’s really fun to learn. It’s really inter-esting,” said Barreras, handling a chile and pointing out its flaws as if she’d been doing it for years. “A year goes by, I’m going to get really smart with this.”

Barreras will be judging again at the Rio Abajo event along with a minimum of two other judges.

Each farmer’s chile will be scored on different categories. The ideal chile, according to Barreras, should be firm and a deep green, because that will make it easy to peel after its been roasted.

It should not “smell like weeds” and should have a strong flavor even before its roasted, although, she said at the first showdown the chile that tasted worse unroasted ended up tasting the best after roasting and won the competition.

She also mentioned that the way to pick out a hot chile from a sweet one is to look

at the veins. If they are red, it will have more spice, and also if the pepper has a point at the end.

For the farmers though, no one needs to tell them how to spot a good chile. Edwin Esquibel, the winner of the Expo showdown along with his brother, Miguel, said they are fourth generation chile farmers who grew up helping farm chile and other produce on their grandfa-ther’s farm in Veguita.

Esquibel, who, with his brother, will be defending his title at the Rio Abajo show-down, said the family farming died down for a while, but he and his brother began farming chile again two or three years ago, reviving the tradition.

He said rather than flood their fields, they grow their chile the way their grand-father did, using a hose line as well as no pesticides or fertilizers.

To encourage chile to produce heat, he said they reduce the water, which stresses the plant and causes it to produce Capsaicin, the chemical that makes chile spicy, as a defense mechanism, .


Submitted photo

VEGUITA BROTHERS Miguel and Edwin Esquibel will be competing in the first annual de los Abuelitos Green Chile Showdown at the Rio Abajo Becker Street Festival on Saturday, Sept. 24, in Belen.

Green chile showdown to heat up this year’s Rio Abajo event

n See Chile, Page 15

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By UngelBah Daniel-DavilaNews-Bulletin Staff [email protected]

BelenPicture this: It’s the second day of fall,

the moon is waning and the night is dark except for a handful of incandescent orbs, rising from the heart of Belen, illuminat-ing Main Street and Becker Avenue.

As the air begins its gradual chill into winter, the Rio Abajo Becker Street Festival’s Balloon Glow is an opportunity to gather friends and family and welcome autumn by the warmth of a glowing hot air balloon, or better yet, by becoming a balloon crew member.

Grant Crawford, of the Valencia Flying and Retrieval Society and volunteer for the Rio Abajo Balloon Glow, says bal-looning is a good, free way to get people out and involved in their community.

Depending on the hot air balloon, a crew can require different amounts of people to help inflate, chase and retrieve the balloon.

La Ristra balloon, which might be at the event, is a hot air balloon designed to look like a red chile ristra that requires a crew of 15. While Crawford’s balloon, a 70,000 cubic feet red “racer balloon” with a yellow Zia across the top, a bal-

loon that he says is small in comparison to larger 90,000 cubic feet ones, requires a crew of four to fly.

The balloons at the glow will not be leaving the ground, but even so, Crawford says they will still be needing volunteer crew members to help inflate and deflate the air crafts.

He said they are hoping to have five or six balloons present for the glow and will need the assistance of between 30-40 volunteers.

Jody Skelton, a Valencia County resident who has been a volunteer crew member at the event in the past, took her first hot air balloon ride in Las Cruces in 1994 and has been doing it ever since.

“I absolutely love it,” Skelton said. “It’s so simple; anyone could do it.”

She said it doesn’t matter how old you are as long as you can follow the pilot’s directions and do what he or she says. Last year, there was an 82-year-old man and a 76-year-old lady, Skelton said, and they were crewing with the best of them.

For example, she said some people think that the crew is just leaning against the basket being lazy, but in actuality, they are using their weight to keep the balloon on the ground. Both Skelton and


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Balloon: Opportunity to learnfrom PAGE 14

According to Esquibel and Chavez, the best green chile in the world is grown in Valencia County, and this event is a perfect opportunity to prove it. Esquibel said he hopes the competition will help get the name, Valencia County chile, back out there.

The competition is free to farmers from any county, and while they aren’t allowed to sell anything, farmers are welcome to set up a booth for free to adver-tise and give out samples.

For information on de los Abuelitos Green Chile Showdown, or to reserve your spot, call Rhona Baca Espinoza at 864-8091, or Bryan Chavez at 720-2142.

Chile: Best chile is in Valenciafrom PAGE 13

Crawford speak from experience when they say once you try ballooning you get hooked.

For someone interested in riding in a balloon, volunteering as a crew member is the place to start as every person is trained in all areas of crewing and even-tually it will be their turn to go up with the balloon.

Crawford says even people who think they are going to be afraid of the height end up enjoying the experience and find it’s not heights they are afraid of but edges.

When you get up in the air and because the basket is so large,“it’s like the edge goes away from you,” he said.

Since the pilots will be on hand at the event, the balloon glow is also a great opportunity for children young and old to learn about the science that keeps a hot air balloon afloat.

Hot air balloons are the oldest form of

human-carrying flight technology and the first hot air balloon was invented in France in the late 1700s by the Montgolfier brothers. The modern bal-loons that are used today were developed in the 1950 and ’60s.

According to Crawford, it was origi-nally thought that smoke kept the balloon afloat but later discoveries proved that it was the rising hot air that made the air-craft fly. He says the central Rio Grande valley has the ideal terrain and weather patterns this time of year for hot air bal-looning.

There are two types of burners, a big blast burner and a whisper burner, which is quieter and produces a yellow flame, making it ideal for night glows. Crawford said at the Rio Abajo glow they will be dimming and brightening the whisper burners in different patterns to create a light show.


THE RIO ABAJO BALLOON GLOW will be held at 7 p.m. on Saturday, Sept. 24.

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