The Reporter's Notebook, Ep. 31: Hatch Chile Fest turns 50
June Lytle, co-founder of the Hatch Chile Festival in 1972 and the 2022 Chile Queen, shows off her red chile scarf on Thursday, Aug. 25, 2022, at her home in Salem, New Mexico. (Meg Potter / Las Cruces Sun-News)
In this week’s episode, we’re talking to Leah Romero, who covers trending stories for the Las Cruces Sun-News — and NOTHING is more “trending” this time of year than Hatch Green Chile. We’re also joined by Adrian Hedden of the Carlsbad Current-Argus, who recently wrote about the chile crop — and the commencement of roasting — around the state.
This year, the annual Hatch Chile Festival celebrates its 50th anniversary. Leah has been working to track down residents who were there for the iconic festival’s beginnings. Adrian has been covering the upspring of chile roasters around Southeast New Mexico. Sometimes, the chile being roasted is from Hatch; other times, it’s from the Pecos Valley — which also grows some respectable green chile.
Leah and Adrian were kind enough to join us this week to discuss their coverage of these events.
This podcast was originally published by the Las Cruces Sun-News.
