Oct. 11—A friend recently said, “I didn’t really get the New Mexico thing until I spent time with you in New Mexico.” She’s a Californian, a place that has its own brand of state pride, but her point was that my “New Mexico-ness” didn’t really hit home until I was … well, home.
When you’re born and raised here, you tend to take that on the road with you. You think nothing of reaching for salsa at breakfast and ordering “Christmas” at restaurants that have never heard-tell of “green” as a description for how you’d like your food slathered. You see Zia symbols among patterns the way others search for hidden Mickeys, and you always — ALWAYS — pause when there’s a beautiful sunset, no matter where you are or what you’re doing.
I guess that’s why I got a little teary on a cool, fall morning this past weekend, holding a tall styrofoamed coffee as I negotiated a pathway in a dark, sprawling park with no discernible landmarks. “You might get enveloped in a balloon here!” a gentleman said as he stepped around my blanket where I sat mowing down a Blake’s breakfast burrito.
The sky was the weirdest shade of blue, one I don’t typically see at the bleary 6 a.m. hour. It was a tone made from sun yellow seeping into predawn deep purple, forming a color we might see in art but rarely in nature. And it was about to become the backdrop for even more unnatural colors and designs.
As our eyes were transfixed by fiery propane bursts lighting up the sentries comprising Dawn Patrol, all around us on the ground appeared human-sized baskets and unfurled nylon, which smelled faintly of a musty tent that got put away after a rain.
Appropriately, the Dos Equis balloon lifted off first to a wave of cheers, towing an American flag and accompanied by the national anthem — soon after, the Balloon Fiesta flag was green and the grounds became a scene of organized chaos, with rows of people and trucks and whistles blowing. It was like waking up on a movie set, where the backdrop rapidly switches between grassy park to walls filled with colors and patterns to people cheering and watching and waving like Dorothy sending hundreds of versions of the Great Oz into the skies.
Colors and characters and logos and geometric designs and Puebloan patterns popped up on the grass like fat, air-filled gophers, and we watched as folks chased and pointed cameras at their favorites. The sensation of being on the grass as hundreds of balloons inflate around you turns you into a grinning little kid, your field of vision simply not expansive enough so you have to twirl around just to take it all in.
New Mexico pride and our quirks and traditions and color palettes are reflected back at us through this eye-popping display of hot air balloon designs. Smokey Bear’s cheerful mug floated next to the Christmas-chile-themed Visit ABQ entry. The crowd gasped with collective joy as Zozobra slowly stood up, pointed at his admirers, and then drifted up to take his rightful place among such characters as Yoda and a sloth clutching a tree branch.
Waves and waves of balloons caught the wind, each lifting up with them little pieces of our hearts, knowing that no matter how far they travel, they will always be part of our New Mexico home.
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Writers, get writing!: The Pasatiempo Writing Contest is now live! The categories are Fiction, Nonfiction/Essay/Memoir, and Poetry. We’ve assembled a blue chip panel of judges again this year to select the top winners. Details at sfnm.co/writing!
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