The yellow field and red symbol colors are the colors of Spain.

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THE STATE OF NEW MEXICO

• The yellow field and red symbol colors are the
  colors of Spain.
• First brought to New Mexico by
• Spanish explorers in 1540.
• On New Mexico's flag we see a red sun with rays
  stretching out from it.
• There are four groups of rays with four rays in
  each group. This is an ancient sun symbol of a
  Native American people called the Zia. The Zia
  believed that the giver of all good gave them
  gifts in groups of four.
• These gifts are
• The four directions - north, east, south and
  west.
• The four seasons - spring, summer, fall and
  winter.
• The day - sunrise, noon, evening and night.
• Life itself - childhood, youth, middle years and
  old age.
• All of these are bound by a circle of life and
  love, without a beginning or end.

STATE FLAG (SEE ABOVE) STORY ABOUT STATE FLAG
(SEE RIGHT HAND SIDE) ? ? ?
Prepared by Helen Barela
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WHERE IS NM?
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• State Capital Santa Fe
• Admission to Statehood January 6, 1912
• 47th State
• Current Governor Honorable Bill Richardson
• State also sometimes called
  Land of Enchantment

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New Mexicos Economy

• Agriculture Cattle, dairy products, hay, nursery
  stock, chilies.
• Industry Electric equipment, petroleum and coal
  products, food processing, printing and
  publishing, stone, glass, and clay products,
  tourism.

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• Enjoy the sunshine and beautiful year-round
  weather and much more in Las Cruces, southern New
  Mexico's largest city.
• Whether you want to sightsee, hike, mountain
  bike, camp, canoe, raft, fish, ski, snowboard,
  swim, or just hang out, you have your pick of
  adventures.
• A city of more than 80,000, Las Cruces is located
  in the fertile Mesilla Valley with 9,000 foot
  peaks of the Organ Mountains to the east and the
  Rio Grande to the west.
• Las Cruces is 45 minutes
• from the El Paso airport, 1 hr from White Sands
  National Monument, 1 hr from Elephant Butte Lake,
  2.5 hrs from Ski Apache, 2.5 hrs from Gila, 3 hrs
  from Albuquerque, 4 hrs from Tucson, Arizona, 6
  hrs from Farmington, 8 hrs from Pueblo, Colorado.
• Source http//www.nmsu.edu/exploretheregion.html

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THERE ARE Total of 21 Traditional
Colleges/Universities throughout New Mexico

• Two Major Rival College Teams
• New Mexico State University called
• The AGGIES!!
• From Las Cruces, NM
• VS.
• University of New Mexico
• Called The Lobos
• From Albuquerque, NM

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• New Mexico State Flower
• Yucca flower (Yucca glauca)
• Adopted as State Flower on March 14, 1927.
• Member of lily family
• Symbol of sturdiness and beauty.
• Early summer, pale ivory flowers bloom at tips of
  its long, fibrous stalks. At base of the plant
  are broad, sharp edged leaves that look like
  stilettos.
• Yucca sometimes grows to the height of a small
  tree.

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• State Bird of New Mexico
• Roadrunner (Geococcyx californianus).
• Adopted as State Bird on March 16, 1949.
  "Chaparral Bird".
• Roadrunner prefers running to flying and has been
  clocked at speeds of 15 miles per hour.
• Is approximately 22 inches in length
• Its diet consists of
• insects, lizards, centipedes, mice and snakes.

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Arts/Culture

• April 2005, Governor Bill Richardson signed
  executive order
• Establishing first New Mexico Music Commission.
• Governor Richardson stated, "New Mexico has a
  rich and treasured musical tradition. Diverse and
  vibrant, it is time to recognize the
  contributions of thousands of New Mexico
  musicians and to work with them to preserve our
  heritage, promote continued creativity and assist
  the state's music industry in reaching its full
  potential."
• The New Mexico Music Commission works with other
  state agencies such as the Tourism and Film
  Departments to further develop and promote New
  Mexicos many musical traditions, from ancient
  melodies of New Mexico's Native nations, tribes
  and pueblos, to chart topping current hits of New
  Mexico resident and country music star Randy
  Travis and state's thousands of Mariachi
  musicians.
• Source http//www.governor.state.nm.us/history.ph
  p?mm8

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The Culture of New Mexico

• New Mexico is rich in personality. No other
  state can claim our geographical or cultural
  diversity, or match our historical complexity.
  Our state has been home to successive waves of
  Native American hunters, farmers and herdsmen,
  Spanish explorers, missionaries and settlers,
  Yankee traders, Southern expatriates, emancipated
  Black Americans, Irish railroad workers, Italian
  stonecutters, Japanese farmers, Jewish and
  Lebanese merchants, hard rock miners from Eastern
  Europe, cowboys, soldiers, artists, scientists,
  and many others who have added to the unfolding
  tapestry of our state's evolving history. In
  all of our cultures flows a rich tradition of
  artistic endeavors and achievements, and we are
  pleased to benefit from all the expressions that
  each has to offer, from opera to flamenco,
  traditional fine art to retablos, classical music
  to mariachi, del canto singing, ballet and ritual
  dancing, drumming, ceramics and southwestern
  style jewelry. All of these expressive traditions
  and many more - are ALIVE in New Mexico, and
  are continuing meeting each other and
  re-combining into the rich cultural stew that is
  every New Mexicans birthright. Each community
  of New Mexico owns its own small piece of this
  enormously interesting story. New Mexico's
  cultural heritage is part of everyday life here,
  and we invite you to join us in celebrating the
  uniqueness of our people and places. For more
  information about the rich blend of cultural
  diversity in New Mexico, please visit the
  Department of Cultural Affairs at
  http//www.newmexicoculture.org/ Source
  http//www.governor.state.nm.us/history.php?mm8

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New Mexican Cowboys Photo Credit, Chris Corrie
Native American Drummers Photo Credit, Jack
Parsons
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During September (New Mexico State
Fair)Albuquerque, NM
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WHITE SANDS Is About an hour from LAS CRUCES, NM
RUIDOSO, NM
Elephant Butte, NM Is About 70 miles from LAS
CRUCES, NM Sadly, this Lake has been down quite a
bit (
Gila National Forest,
Close to Silver City, NM Reserve, NM
Gila National Forest, (During a Dry Season)
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Surrounding Areas (El Paso, Texas)Less an hour
from Las Cruces, NM
El Paso County Courthouse
Old Popular Department Store Building
Abraham Chavez Theater
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El Paso/Las Cruces

• Types of Restaurants
• American Fine Dining Mexican Steaks BBQ
  Bars Bar Grill Night Club Clubs
  Italian Asian Burgers Coffee House
  Casual Quick Lunch

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New Mexico State University-Some Pictures of Main
Campus
Go Aggies!!
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WANT TO KNOW MORE?CHECK OUT THESE
LINKS(Request a visitors guidethe 1st link)

• http//www.newmexico.org/guides/index.php
• http//www.nmtourism.org
• nmsu.edu
• http//www.lascrucessymphony.com