Ah, the good ol’ (and maybe even kind of annoying at this point) “Who has better green chile” debate continues.
This time with billboards in our own Colorado territory.
A billboard that reads “Chile Capital of the World” -- not referring to Pueblo -- sits off Ninth Avenue and Lincoln Street in Denver. More are expected to show up in Colorado Springs and even Pueblo.
It’s part of New Mexico’s $288,000 marketing campaign that kicked off earlier this week by the state’s tourism department. The campaign also includes a 30-second video where a narrator explains why Hatch chile is “the only true green chile.”
There’s even a Subaru with Colorado plates that say “Native.”
The campaign, which includes TV ads in Colorado, is expected to last through October.
New Mexico’s Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham tweeted, “There’s a reason they call New Mexico the chile capital of the world.”
There's a reason they call New Mexico the chile capital of the world – no one does it better. Eat your heart out, Colorado! #NewMexicoTrue pic.twitter.com/8ulpEWErIk
— Governor Michelle Lujan Grisham (@GovMLG) September 3, 2019
Earlier this summer, Colorado Gov. Jared Polis shared on Facebook that New Mexico’s Hatch chile is “inferior” to Pueblo’s on a post about Whole Foods selling Pueblo chile in the Rocky Mountain region.
He challenged New Mexico to a chile taste-off, but there’s been no word on a date.
Pueblo will have its 25th annual Chile & Frijoles Festival from Sept. 20-22.
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