"New Mexicans consume mass quantities of this magical and lifegiving fruit from birth, and labels on chile products, descriptions of dishes at New Mexican restaurants and billboards and advertisements all reinforce the fact that chile is spelled with an ‘e’ and not an ‘i,’” Domenici said in the speech, entered into the Congressional Record. “A naivete exists among native New Mexicans who wrongly assume that everyone spells it with an ‘e.’ "
"Even the dictionary makes the error,” Domenici waxed on. “Knowing that criticizing the dictionary is akin to criticizing the Bible, I nevertheless stand here before the full Senate and with the backing of my New Mexican constituents state unequivocally that the dictionary is wrong.
"that inedible mixture of watery tomato soup, dried gristle, half-cooked kidney beans, and a myriad of silly ingredients that is passed off as food in Texas and Oklahoma. The different tabascos and jalapeno sauces added to the mixture do little good and in most cases simply cause a casual visitor to suffer great gastrointestinal distress."
Contrast this to New Mexico, where ordering a bowl of chile is a delightful experience,” Domenici said. “Hospitable as we are to all visitors, we have chile that is mild enough to make a baby coo in delight, or hot enough to make even the strongest constitutions perspire in a sensual experience of both pleasure and pain.
“I could go on and on about the wonders of red and green chile, but in reality, all I wanted to do was inform Congress on the correct way to spell the word.”
A ‘magical and lifegiving fruit’
Domenici, P. 1983. The correct way to spell chile. Congressional Record 129 (149) (Nov. 3).
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