By: Ernest Gurulé
Southern Colorado’s largest city, Pueblo, ranks 272nd in U.S. city size. But the 271 that rank higher do not have the one special thing that makes Pueblo a special place. Pueblo, said Donielle Kitzman, has—hands down—the best chile in the country. Its chile is so good, in fact, that it holds a three-day festival each fall celebrating this special fruit. Yes. Because it bears seeds, a chile pepper is a fruit. But let’s not get caught up in that argument.
This weekend, Pueblo and its chile growers, will celebrate the 28th Chile & Frijoles Festival on the city’s historic Union Avenue. Except for the COVID years, the event has grown each year. “The first year,” said Kitzman, Vice President for Tourism of the Greater Pueblo Chamber of Commerce, “it was literally only two blocks long.” This year’s homage to hot and spicy, she said, “encompasses nearly twelve blocks of downtown.” The city is expecting record crowds, possibly exceeding 150,000.
The C&F Festival takes place to coincide with Pueblo’s chile harvest. Union Avenue takes on a whole different complexion when it’s time to celebrate a crop that has been part of the region since as early as 1840 when Mexican settlers made their way up from what is today, New Mexico. They stopped. They planted. They stayed.
As the Festival has grown, said Kitzman, so too have out-of-town visitors. While the majority of those attending are local, Chamber research shows that as many as 40 percent of those attending will be from out of town. “We advertise statewide,” she said. This year the Chamber also took out ads inviting visitors in Arizona, Kansas, New Mexico and Texas. “We want them to enjoy real chile,” she said.
As crowds build on one of Pueblo’s oldest streets, so too does the aroma of roasting chile. Vendors toss in pound after pound of verdant peppers. As they spin in the charred, hand-cranked roasters burning the skin off the chile plant, passersby take in the pungency that fills the air. Some say the unmistakable smell means “fall,” while growers might say ‘it’s the smell of money.’
So popular is the Pueblo brand of chile that an association was formed. The Pueblo Chile Growers Association represents a handful of farms, most on the Saint Charles Mesa east of Pueblo. Domenic DeSanti’s family has been in the business for generations. He knows the A-Z of peppers as well as anyone. This year’s crop, he said, was a winner.
“We’re definitely in the middle of a bumper crop,” he said. “It’s the best crop I’ve ever seen in terms of qual- ity and supply.” Because the state has been in a drought, there was no taking chances on compromising the harvest. To compensate for the limits on water, DeSanti says his operation cut back on some of the other crops they grow and focused more extensively on the 80 acres of chile they planted. It was an easy choice. “Chile is our baby in terms of crops. We make sure we have enough water.”
DeSanti’s operation is led by the darling chile of the region, the MiraSol, so named because as it grows it faces the sun. But just because the MiraSol is the pepper that put Pueblo chile on the map, it’s still not DeSanti’s chile of choice. Not taking anything away from the MiraSol which he describes as a “super thick, meated pepper,’ he’s an ‘Anaheim guy.’ But while he’s partial to his own Pueblo chile, DeSanti does not have any harsh words for Hatch chile, New Mexico’s ‘belle of the ball’ pepper. “I’m sure it’s good,” he said, leaving his comment at that.
While Pueblo may still have some catching up to Hatch in terms of crop volume sold, Pueblo’s peppers have meant a multi-million dollar shot in the arm for the city’s economy.
For those making the trek to Pueblo for the festival or those who just want to stock up on chile for the winter months, DeSanti said a visit to his farm means you can even get chile picked and roasted the same day. Or you can buy any of the other fresh produce that he grows.
Whatever you decide, Kitzman says, the festival is going all weekend. This year there’s also going to be a bigger and better ‘balloon glow.’ More than a dozen hot air balloons will be lighting the early evening sky both Friday and Saturday evenings next to the River Walk. There will also music and plenty of vendors selling all varieties of snacks and drinks.
The 2022 Chile & Frijoles Festival, said Kitzman, begins Friday afternoon at three o’clock. Admission is $5, but veterans and children under twelve are admitted free. Kitzman says there are three parking garages for visitors all free of charge or visitors can park on the streets.
