Well, Arizona and New Mexico are almost like twins, since we both were admitted to the Union very close together. New Mexico was admitted about a month ahead of us.
One problem New Mexicans face is the fact that most of the rest of America is rather terrible when it comes to geography. There are people out there who are unaware that New Mexico is actual state in the United States, and somehow believe that it's a foreign country.
I remember a guy from New Mexico who got pretty miffed at the US Olympic Committee when he wanted to buy tickets for the Olympics when they were held in Atlanta in 1996. They kept telling him that he had to get tickets from the Olympic Committee in his own country. He finally got it cleared up and got his tickets, but when he got to Atlanta, he set up his own "Embassy of New Mexico" as a way of protesting.
But New Mexico has much scenic beauty. So, that's a point in their favor. Taos is a famous artist community. Santa Fe is the oldest city in the southwestern US, even older than Tucson (which is older than Phoenix).
New Mexico is also the birthplace of the atomic bomb.
And if those stories about Roswell are to be believed, then who knows? I stopped off at a Denny's in Roswell once. It seemed normal enough, but who can say? The whole town could be secretly run by aliens.
