By Vania Raebel | October 4, 2019
The Land of Enchantment
Thousands of years ago, New Mexico was exclusively inhabited by Native Americans. In 1598, it was colonized by the Spanish, and in 1563, was dubbed by the Spanish settlers Nuevo Mexico, after the Aztec Valley of Mexico. Funnily enough, this happened more than 250 years prior to the naming of the country of Mexico. So, to be clear, the state was not named after the country. In 1824, New Mexico became a Mexican territory but with considerable autonomy. At the end of the Mexican-American War in 1848, New Mexico was acquired by the US. It officially became a US state in 1912.
New Mexicans will tell you their state is like an Americanized version of regular Mexico. Would you agree? For some reason, this state is completely enamored with lowriders. Actually, if something does not involve a lowrider or a good helping of chili, then you can count most New Mexicans out.
