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professional people who
come to work in the state’s
national laboratories, or to
teach in the Universities.
Recent arrivals tend to be
well-educated; some are
students, while others are
medical professionals and
engineers.
Are there places or personalities of special importance when describing
Italian heritage in New
Mexico?
is the fifth largest state in
terms of territory, it is very
sparsely populated, with
only a little over 2 million
residents. So, we can’t really boast of a “New Mexico
Italian community” per se.
Distances between towns
and cities are vast and Italian communities exist in
pockets, scattered across
the state, predominantly
in Albuquerque, Santa Fe,
Rio Rancho, Gallup, Farmington and Raton. Those
pockets of Italians, however, are close-knit and active.
Native Italians continue to
arrive in New Mexico, settling mostly in Albuquerque and Santa Fe. The
new arrivals are chief ly
Certainly the most renowned Italian American personality in New Mexico
history is former Senator
Pete Domenici, who served our state for 36 years.
Across the state, buildings, institutes, roadways
and courthouses have
been named in his honor.
There’s also the late Honorable Gene Franchini, who
from 1990 - 2002 served
as a Justice on the New
Mexico Supreme Court
– and as Chief Justice for
two of those years. Families of the early Italian immigrants continue to be
prominent in the political
and economic fabric of
our state, proudly carrying
WE THE ITALIANS | 43
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