Edgar Mitchell (born 1930), Astronaut who walked on the Moon during the 1971 Apollo 14 mission
Vernon Asbill (born 1945), educator and former member of the New Mexico Senate
Mack C. Chase (born 1931), oil and natural gas tycoon[11]
Candy Ezzell (born 1953), member of the New Mexico House of Representatives
Tanner Gray (born 1999), National Hot Rod Association driver
Ray Handley (born 1944), former New York Giants head coach
Alexa Havins (born 1980), Daytime Emmy Award-winning television actress, known for role as Babe Carey Chandler in soap opera All My Children and Esther Drummond on BBC's Torchwood: Miracle Day
Landry Jones (born 1989), quarterback for Oklahoma Sooners and NFL's Pittsburgh Steelers
Steve Jones (born 1958), professional golfer
Cody Lambert (born 1961), professional rodeo cowboy
Aztec West, with reconstructed great kiva
Aztec
The Aztec Ruins National Monument is located on the north side of the city.
Notable people
Paul Bandy, member of the New Mexico House of Representatives
Alex Kennedy, stock car racing driver
Uma Krishnaswami, author of children's books
T. Ryan Lane, attorney and member of the New Mexico House of Representatives
Steven Neville, real estate appraiser and member of the New Mexico Senate
Sandra Townsend, former member of the New Mexico House of Representatives
Bernalillo
Wine Festival
In the 1620s, the wine grape was introduced to Bernalillo and the wine industry blew up. Families were making their own wine from scratch and vineyards were flourishing. Unfortunately, the market dipped due to drought and floods. Slowly over time, the wine industry came back into Bernalillo and has sustained its health today, becoming a tradition and staple within the town itself.
The town has embraced its wine heritage and hosts the New Mexico Wine festival yearly during each Labor Day. The event brings in people from all of New Mexico as well as tourists. The event has served as an economic development project for the area as well.[4]
Cultural references
Anton Docher, who became known as "The Padre of Isleta", first served as a priest in Bernalillo after coming as a missionary to the United States from France. He later served for decades in Isleta.[9]
Bernalillo Courthouse is the setting for the marriage between Jimmy "Saul Goodman" McGill and Kim Wexler in Better Call Saul.
Bernalillo is mentioned several times in Willa Cather's 1927 novel Death Comes for the Archbishop.
Sam Shepard's play The Late Henry Moss is set "on the outskirts of" Bernalillo.
Bernalillo is mentioned and is the scene of part of the action in Ben Sanders book "American Blood" Allen and Unwin 2015
Deming
Literature
In Cormac McCarthy's second Border Trilogy novel, The Crossing, Billy Parham heads for Deming after returning to the U.S. from his second trip to Mexico[15]
Movies and television
Since 1953, several motion pictures have been filmed in Deming:
Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull[16]
Gas Food Lodging
The Themyscira scenes in Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice
The French-American movie Two Men in Town (2014 film) (a remake of the 1973 French film, Deux Hommes Dans La Ville starring Alain Delon) was filmed in Deming and other locations in Luna County
Creed II: Rocky Balboa and Donnie Creed (Sylvester Stallone and Michael B. Jordan) hold their training camp in the desert of Deming, NM.
Notable people
Wade Blasingame, MLB pitcher
Nacio Herb Brown, songwriter
Craig Noel, founding director of the Old Globe Theatre in San Diego, California
Sarah Bedichek Pipkin, geneticist
Frank Ray, country music singer
Max Crook, the musician and songwriter who co-wrote Del Shannon's hit song "Runaway"
Police controversy
On January 2, 2013, Deming officers Bobby Orosco and Robert Chavez pulled over David W. Eckert for a rolling stop. Based on claim of "clenched buttocks", police obtained a search warrant and executed multiple cavity searches, surgeries and several other medical procedures on the driver.[24] No drugs were found, and the driver was sent a bill for the procedures performed by Gila Regional Medical Center in Silver City.[25][26] In January 2014, the lawsuit with Luna County and the city of Deming was settled for a total of $1.6 million.[27]
Grants
Perhaps the most memorable boom in the town's history occurred when Paddy Martinez, a Navajo shepherd, discovered uranium ore near Haystack Mesa, sparking a mining boom that lasted until the 1980s (see Uranium mining in New Mexico). The collapse of mining pulled the town into a depression, but the town has enjoyed a resurgence based on interest in tourism and the scenic beauty of the region.[
Notable people
Greg Baldwin (born 1960), actor and voice actor
Joseph Fidel (1923–2015), member of the New Mexico Senate
George Hanosh (1938–2008), member of the New Mexico House of Representatives
Al Johnson (1922–2011), NFL player for the Philadelphia Eagles and coach for Western New Mexico University
Walter K. Martinez (1930–1986), member and speaker of the New Mexico House of Representatives
W. Ken Martinez (born 1959), member and speaker of the New Mexico House of Representatives
Paddy Martinez (1881–1969), prospector who discovered uranium at Haystack Mesa
Dianna Ortiz (born 1961), Roman Catholic sister of the Ursuline order who was abducted by the Guatemalan military
Clemente Sanchez (born 1958), member of the New Mexico Senate
Marvin Stephens (1922–2008), actor known for the Mickey McGuire and Jones Family film series
David Ulibarri, former member of the New Mexico Senate and Cibola County manager
Jack Wallace (1925–1995), NFL player and coach
Popular culture
Author Robison Wells has stated in his novel On Second Thought that the fictional town of Alamitos is based on Grants, which is the historical name before it was renamed after the mining camp.[14] Wells lived in Grants during the late-1990s.
Grants is mentioned as a central location in the Louis L'Amour novel Flint
Las Vegas
Films and television - Movies and television shows filmed in and around Las Vegas include:
Many silent Western films were made in and around Las Vegas, especially in the years 1913–1915, including several that starred Tom Mix.
The 1962–1963 NBC television western series Empire and its second-season version entitled Redigo were filmed in Santa Fe and near Storrie Lake in Las Vegas.
In the 1969 movie Easy Rider, Las Vegas, New Mexico, is the town where the two bikers ride behind a parade, are arrested for "parading without a permit," and meet Jack Nicholson's character in jail. The name of the town can be viewed in the background in one scene during this part of the movie.
The town was the filming location for parts of the 1978 movie Convoy, a film about truck drivers inspired by the 1975 song of the same name.
Las Vegas stood in for the fictional Calumet, Colorado in John Milius' 1984 film Red Dawn. As of 2022, many of the buildings and structures seen in the film remained.
Parts of the 1994 film Speechless, with Geena Davis and Michael Keaton, about a fictional New Mexico senatorial campaign, were filmed in Las Vegas.
Most of the 1994 film Wyatt Earp, with Kevin Costner was filmed in Las Vegas, though it was set in Kansas.
Several scenes in the 1998 film John Carpenter's Vampires were filmed on the plaza.
The Hi-Lo Country and All the Pretty Horses, released in 1998 and 2000 respectively, were almost entirely shot here.
In the 2001 documentary Freedom Downtime, a cross-country road trip to Las Vegas, Nevada, ends up in Las Vegas, New Mexico, by mistake.
The 2003 film Blind Horizon[19]
In 2006, the film Fanboys used Las Vegas as one of its film locations. The film is about a dying Star Wars fan and was released in 2009.
Portions of the 2006 movie The Astronaut Farmer were filmed here.
The 2007 film Wild Hogs starring John Travolta included scenes filmed around Las Vegas.
Most of the 2007 Coen brothers' No Country for Old Men was filmed here.[20]
The 2008 music video Beer for My Horses starring Toby Keith and Rodney Carrington was filmed in and around Las Vegas.
The 2009 thriller Not Forgotten was shot in Las Vegas for incentive reasons.
The 2010 film Due Date starring Robert Downey Jr. and Zach Galifianakis was partly filmed in Las Vegas, and was used as a fake border crossing into Mexico.
Scenes for the 2011 film Paul starring Simon Pegg and Nick Frost with Kristen Wiig, Jason Bateman, Bill Hader, Seth Rogen, Joe Lo Truglio and Sigourney Weaver, were filmed in and around Las Vegas.
The 2012 A&E TV series Longmire starring Robert Taylor and Katee Sackhoff and set in Wyoming was filmed in Las Vegas.[21]
The TV series House of Cards filmed in Las Vegas in November 2014 for two weeks. The footage was used in the third-season finale.[22]
The TV series Good Luck Charlie aired episode "Weekend in Vegas" in which one of the main characters travels to Las Vegas with her best friend and her family, thinking they were going to the city of the same name in Nevada.
The Criminal Minds season 11 episode "Outlaw" takes place in Las Vegas, New Mexico.
Notable People
Antonia Apodaca (1923-2020), musician[24]
Paula Angel (1842–1861), murderer, only woman to be executed in post-colonial New Mexico
S. Omar Barker (1894–1985), oft-recited cowboy poet; born in a log cabin in New Mexico, where he lived his entire life as a rancher, legislator, WW1 veteran, teacher and writer
Margaret Herrera Chávez (1912–1992), painter[25]
Ann Nolan Clark (1896–1995), teacher in public schools and reservations, writer of children's multicultural books
Teresa Leger Fernandez (born 1959), attorney, member of the U.S. House of Representatives (current)
Wally Funk (born 1939), aviator, astronaut, and Goodwill Ambassador
Fabiola Cabeza de Baca Gilbert (1894–1991), educator, nutritionist, activist, writer, inventor of the u-shaped fried taco shell
Pelham D. Glassford (1883–1959), U.S. Army brigadier general[26]
Eddie Guerrero (1967–2005), professional wrestler for WWE, wrestled for New Mexico Highlands University
Edgar Lee Hewett (1865-1946), archaeologist and anthropologist, founder of the Museum of New Mexico and first president of the New Mexico Normal School (now New Mexico Highlands University)
Mari-Luci Jaramillo (1928–2019), educator and U.S. Ambassador to Honduras under Jimmy Carter
Andrieus A. Jones (1862–1927), school principal and attorney, mayor of Las Vegas (1893–1894), United States Senator (1917–1927)
Margaret Larkin (1899–1967), writer and musician; born in Las Vegas
Ray Leger (1925–2009), educator and member of the New Mexico Senate
Pola Lopez (born 1954), artist
George J. Maloof Sr. (1923–1980), heir and businessman; born in Las Vegas
Frank Olmstead (1923–2004), mayor of Las Vegas and 18th Auditor of New Mexico
Patrick Swayze (1952–2009), actor, dancer and singer-songwriter; owned a ranch on the Gallinas River near Las Vegas
Los Lunas
Notable people
Rosie Hamlin, Hit singer of the song Angel Baby
Sal Artiaga, Minor League Baseball president, born in Los Lunas
Bo Diddley, rock musician, lived in Los Lunas in the 1970s
Anton Docher (aka The Padre of Isleta) served as a priest in Los Lunas during his long period in Isleta[13]
Michael A. Montoya, 26th New Mexico State Treasurer
Adelina Otero-Warren, women's suffragist
Walter Jon Williams, Nebula Award-winning science fiction author
Magdalena
The Very Large Array lies 24 miles due west of the community. The Magdalena Ridge Observatory lies 25 miles southeast at an elevation of 10,600 feet. Magdalena is located 26 miles west of Socorro.
Portales
Notable people
John Burroughs, Democratic governor of New Mexico, 1959–1961
Ronny Cox, actor, singer, songwriter, and storyteller; starred in the film Deliverance and on the CBS series Apple's Way
Ed Foreman, represented Texas and New Mexico in the United States House of Representatives, motivational speaker and philanthropist
Darynda Jones, paranormal, mystery, and young-adult author
Danny Leary, comedian and actor
Wayne Mass, American football player
Cody Ross, professional baseball player
Christopher Stasheff, fantasy author
Ned Sublette, singer and Cuban scholar
Jack Williamson, science-fiction author
Gila Cliff Dwellings
Silver City
The Gila Cliff Dwellings National Monument is about 44 miles (71 km) north of Silver City, via the winding NM 15. At the monument, the remains of Indigenous inhabitants within five caves in a cliff can be found. They were built sometime between 1275 and 1300 AD by the Mogollon culture. In addition to ancient ruins, there are plenty of places to camp, hike and fish within the Gila Wilderness.
The Catwalk is a trail enclosed by a metal walkway that suspends 25 feet (7.6 m) above the Whitewater Canyon hugging the canyon walls. It follows water-pipe routes built by miners in 1893. When the pipes needed repair, the miners walked on them. Visitors can explore the walkway and trail, picnic, and enjoy the river. It is located 70 miles (110 km) north of Silver City on U.S. Route 180 near Glenwood.
The Kneeling Nun is a natural rock formation located about 20 miles (32 km) to the east of Silver City along NM 152. Several legends have developed explaining its origin.
Alfred Shea Addis (1832–1886), photographer of Billy the Kid's mother's home, lived in Silver City and acted as sheriff in 1886
Angela Sommer-Bodenburg, author
Ben D. Altamirano (1930–2007), politician and businessman
Poker Alice (Alice Ivers Duffield Tubbs Huckert), frontier gambler, lived for a time in Silver City as well as in Colorado and South Dakota
Paul Benedict, actor, "Harry Bentley" on The Jeffersons[24]
Billy the Kid, outlaw, aka Henry McCarty, Henry Antrim, William H. Bonney
Jeff Bingaman, U.S. Senator, grew up in Silver City
Karen Carr, artist
Kit Carson, western scout and frontiersman, in 1829 went into Apache country along the Gila River, where he first saw combat
Cochise, Apache war leader who raided surrounding area
Geronimo, born at the headwaters of the Gila River (north of Silver City)
Charles S. Kilburn, U.S. Army brigadier general[26]
Ben Lilly (1856–1936), hunter and mountain man
Mangas Coloradas or "Dasoda-hae" (known as "Red Sleeves"), Apache war leader who roamed the Silver City area
Naiche, Apache war chief, second son of Cochise; mother was daughter of Mangas Coloradas, roamed area with Geronimo
Nana, Apache war leader who roamed the Silver City area
Norman Packard, physicist[25]
Phillip Parotti, fiction writer and educator[25]
Harrison Schmitt, American geologist, retired NASA astronaut, university professor, former U.S. senator, and the most recent person living to have walked on the Moon.
James Tenney (1934–2006), composer, born in Silver City
Victorio, Apache war leader who roamed and attacked area
Cathay Williams, first African-American female to enlist in the US Army (posed as a man)
George L. Young, track star
Daniel B. Borenstein, MD, President, American Psychiatric Association, grew up in Silver City[27]
William Harrell Nellis, United States fighter pilot who flew 70 World War II combat missions. He was shot down three times, the last time fatally. On April 30, 1950, the Las Vegas Air Force Base in Nevada was renamed Nellis Air Force Base in his honor. Born in Santa Rita, NM, near Silver City.
Ralph McPherran Kiner, American MLB player and broadcaster. An outfielder, Kiner played for the Pittsburgh Pirates, Chicago Cubs, and Cleveland Indians from 1946 through 1955, and was elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1975. Born in Santa Rita, NM, near Silver City.
Roy Bean, American saloon-keeper and Justice of the Peace. In 1861 Samuel G. and Roy Bean operated a store and saloon on Main Street in Pinos Altos (just north of Silver City) in present-day Grant County, New Mexico.
John J. Pershing, reported for active duty on September 30, 1886, and was assigned to Troop L of the 6th U.S. Cavalry stationed at Fort Bayard, near Silver City, in the New Mexico Territory.
George Hearst, US Senator from California and mining entrepreneur. Father of William Randolph Hearst.
Howie Morales (born 1973), American politician and educator, the 30th Lieutenant Governor of New Mexico
Nichelle Nichols (1932–2022), died in Silver City. Actress, singer, and dancer who portrayed Lt Nyota Uhura in Star Trek.
Mushroom cloud of 'Gadget' over Trinity
Socorro
Trinity Test Site - Trinity was the code name of the first detonation of a nuclear weapon. It was conducted by the United States Army at 5:29 a.m. on July 16, 1945, as part of the Manhattan Project. The test was conducted in the Jornada del Muerto desert about 35 miles (56 km) southeast of Socorro, New Mexico, on what was then the USAAF Alamogordo Bombing and Gunnery Range, now part of White Sands Missile Range. The only structures originally in the vicinity were the McDonald Ranch House and its ancillary buildings, which scientists used as a laboratory for testing bomb components. A base camp was constructed, and there were 425 people present on the weekend of the test.
White Sands Missile Range - White Sands Missile Range (WSMR) is a United States Army military testing area and firing range located in the US state of New Mexico. The range was originally established as the White Sands Proving Ground on 9 July 1945. White Sands National Park is located within the range.
National Radio Astronomy Observatory
Notable people
Elfego Baca (1865–1945), lawman, lawyer, and politician[27]
Jeff Bhasker, record producer and musician
Conrad Hilton (1887–1979), founder of the Hilton Hotels chain[28]
Robert Fortune Sanchez (1938–2012), Roman Catholic archbishop
Holm O. Bursum (1867-1953)
Jan Thomas, (1958-) Children's writer and illustrator.
