I the last few years, I’ve taken an interest in reading newspaper obituaries of people I’ve never heard of or known. I think it’s a natural curiosity about people’s lives that comes from my background in journalism to gather information. My wife says when I’m introduced to new people, I often end up “interviewing” them like I would do when preparing a story. I’m interested to learn what they contributed to the world, what fascinated them, why they ended up in New Mexico, where else they might have lived and unexpected things about their lives.
Last week, my wife found an interesting claim in an obituary printed in our local newspaper. It was about a 96-year-old resident of Dona Ana County, Leandro “Chino” Chavez. The obituary said Chavez served in World War II and was a lifelong farmer in the Mesilla Valley. The obituary went on to say he had “a very good mechanical sense” and is “credited in designing and the building the first chile roaster.”
“Being the modest person that he was, he claimed it was “probably” the first (chile roaster) as he had never heard of one being built before his,” the obituary said.
My hat is off to Chino for developing that and making mass chile roasting possible.
Before the invention of the roaster, the process was probably done on simple flat grills that made roasting uneven because of the gnarled nature of most chile pods. The roaster seems to have solved that problem by allowing them to tumble randomly in a cage that exposes the pods to a hot flame on all surfaces.
But perhaps the best benefit of roasters is the massive production of that great green chile roasting aroma that permeates New Mexico from August through September and beyond.
So next fall, when you smell that uniquely New Mexico odor, thank Chino Chavez for his contribution.
aero-cordero.com 