Title: The yellow field and red symbol colors are the colors of Spain.
1THE 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
2WHERE IS NM?
3- State Capital Santa Fe
- Admission to Statehood January 6, 1912
- 47th State
- Current Governor Honorable Bill Richardson
- State also sometimes called
Land of Enchantment
4New 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.
5- 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
6THERE 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
7- 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. -
8- 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.
9Arts/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
10The 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
11New Mexican Cowboys Photo Credit, Chris Corrie
Native American Drummers Photo Credit, Jack
Parsons
12During September (New Mexico State
Fair)Albuquerque, NM
13WHITE 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)
14Surrounding Areas (El Paso, Texas)Less an hour
from Las Cruces, NM
El Paso County Courthouse
Old Popular Department Store Building
Abraham Chavez Theater
15El 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
16New Mexico State University-Some Pictures of Main
Campus
Go Aggies!!
17WANT 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