Happy 100th Birthday New Mexico!
Here’s some music to accompany your journey through this post:
It’s not the Official State Song, it’s the State Ballad, recoded by Nelson Martinez and Michael Martin Murphey.
The Flag Act of 1818 set forth a rule that no new stars could be added to the flag until the Fourth of July immediately following a state’s admission to the union. Thanks to that mandate, New Mexicans hoping to share their pride at becoming the 47th state were essentially forced into committing their first illegal acts as U.S. citizens.
From January 6 through November 25, 2012, the New Mexico History Museum commemorates that dip into the dark side with “47 Stars,” an exhibit of the officially unofficial 47-star flag. “47 Stars” joins a collection of long-term exhibits commemorating statehood.
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Poke around at that site, there is much more than just the blog. It’s the Official Centennial Website.
Los Angeles Times photographer Christopher Reynolds put together a collection of 100 photos he took in New Mexico as his way of commemorating the occasion. Here’s one, but go look at all of them:
New Mexican journalist and blogger Heath Haussamen wrote a thoughtful column for the occasion.
Heath Haussamen
I traveled much of New Mexico in the last two weeks to visit family, making the trek up to Bloomfield and Farmington before heading into Colorado. In the last two days, I’ve traveled all the way through New Mexico from Raton in the north to Las Cruces in the south.
The trip reminded me of our state’s diversity and beauty. On the day that we celebrate 100 years of statehood, I thought it was important to pause and reflect.
I spend a lot of time criticizing government in New Mexico. There’s lots to criticize; we remain near the bottom of most positive lists, not because we don’t have the ability to do better, but because we don’t choose to do better.
And yet, there’s a reason I remain in the state in which I grew up: I love New Mexico.
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As New Mexico blogger fbihop Tweets,
@fbihop Matthew Reichbach
There many different hashtags for #NM100 #NMCentennial #NewMexico100 #BurnDownChipotle
For those of you who prefer “just the facts”, here’s the Wikipedia New Mexico Portal, where you can find things like the state bird, the state question, and the state reptile, which is the New Mexico Whiptail lizard.
And here’s the State Seal, which features the US eagle with the Mexican eagle.
I agree with SpaceJesus; this song needed to be added:
