How common are bar fights in Northern New Mexico ? (Santa Fe: tax, living)
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So I'm planning on doing a documentary on the phenomenon of bar brawling in the future and in the process of searching for source material , I found the claim that bar fights are supposedly rather common in Northern New Mexico on this site : https://wikitravel.org/en/New_Mexico
How true is this ? Also how good of an idea would it be to set parts of my upcoming documentary in Northern New Mexican bars with a reputation for fighting ? Would it be possible to convince people of its sociological value ? Or am I walking into a giant potential minefield ?
So I'm planning on doing a documentary on the phenomenon of bar brawling in the future and in the process of searching for source material , I found the claim that bar fights are supposedly rather common in Northern New Mexico on this site : https://wikitravel.org/en/New_Mexico
How true is this ? Also how good of an idea would it be to set parts of my upcoming documentary in Northern New Mexican bars with a reputation for fighting ? Would it be possible to convince people of its sociological value ? Or am I walking into a giant potential minefield ?
You mean this?
Quote:
One warning: small-town bars here, particularly in the northern part of the state, are not always good places for the out-of-state visitor to hang out. For one thing, northern New Mexico has significant problems with drunk driving, and the concentration of intoxicated drivers is high close to small-town bars. For another, there have been ethnic tensions intermittently in this part of the state that have led to serious bar fights, some of which have involved visitors. Tread carefully.
New Mexico is the fifth largest state in the USA... The "Northern Part" is huge... We have lived in New Mexico for 20 years. Have not seen a bar fight here, anywhere. Have seen them in Tucson, El Paso, Boston and Miami. Maybe some others.
Thinking about it, "there have been ethnic tensions intermittently in this part of the state that have led to serious bar fights" might apply to some...
I have been in a couple small bars in northern New Mexico that I never would have set foot in if I wasn't with my girlfriend or friends from the area.
Ethnic tensions? Maybe, but I'd say the tensions are more locals v. outsiders. Some of these little bars are like a living room and people are leery of strange people entering their living room.
I was in a bar near Espanola with about a dozen people in it, probably 8 consisting of three generations of one family. At bars like this they are not used to seeing anyone in there that they haven't known for 20 years.
New Mexico is the fifth largest state in the USA... The "Northern Part" is huge... We have lived in New Mexico for 20 years. Have not seen a bar fight here, anywhere. Have seen them in Tucson, El Paso, Boston and Miami. Maybe some others.
Thinking about it, "there have been ethnic tensions intermittently in this part of the state that have led to serious bar fights" might apply to some...
Ricardo Sanchez
(I'm from the Bronx)...
Yup that's what I meant and thanks for the answer .
I have been in a couple small bars in northern New Mexico that I never would have set foot in if I wasn't with my girlfriend or friends from the area.
Ethnic tensions? Maybe, but I'd say the tensions are more locals v. outsiders. Some of these little bars are like a living room and people are leery of strange people entering their living room.
I was in a bar near Espanola with about a dozen people in it, probably 8 consisting of three generations of one family. At bars like this they are not used to seeing anyone in there that they haven't known for 20 years.
Would you say locals assaulting strangers is common in the sort of bars you've described above ?
Would you say locals assaulting strangers is common in the sort of bars you've described above ?
Definitely not in my experience and I have not heard of any assaults. I would guess that most fights that occur in places like those are the result of long-standing local disputes fuelled by alcohol.
I think that mostly, if you walked into a locals only bar they would make you feel unwelcome enough to leave.
It is certainly not out of the question that a drunk denizen might be moved to assault a stranger, but I have never heard about it myself, much less of any epidemic of assaults on strangers.
Frankly, most of the places that I am talking about are little square adobe structures with hand lettered signs, maybe a small window, if any, a door with bars, and maybe a small, cracked 1970s vintage Coors sign out or faded Bud Light poster out front. Not exactly the kind of place that Greg and Sue Johnson of Madison, Wisconsin are going to randomly stroll into on their day excursion out of Santa Fe.
Also, I might point out that little locals-only bars and taverns like this are far from unique to New Mexico. I have said, "nope" to walking into places like this in New York, both upstate and in the city, in small town Ohio, and numerous pubs in the British Isles that are off the tourist path.
Man, I LOVE walking into those kinds of places! I like people in general, and I've seen some of the most ornery cusses smile and get pleasant when you're polite and respectful of 'em. I've found that if I go in there with a smile and an open mind, I can usually meet some of the most interesting folks - and their stories are worth the effort! Yeah - I get some leery looks, but by showing interest in the locals and their stories, I've generally gotten along well.
Now, if you go into one of these places thinkin' you're "**** of the Walk", yeah - hold on, because someone's VERY liable to show you the error of your ways.....and you deserve it.
But - I have to ask.....WHY? WHY would you go around hoping to film bar fights? Is it to promote some pre-conceived idea about how unfriendly NM people are? Or that they're trouble makers? Would seem to me that if you're going to do an HONEST documentary, you'd go in there with a camera rolling (WITH PRIOR PERMISSION), and document what you honestly see in terms of interaction.
Red River, NM, a town full of bar fights. Locals versus Texas cowboys, always fun. Northern New Mexico is its own place, hillbillies of the Rockies. In general, being a stranger in a cantina is problematic... lots of knives on belts.
$918,856 Federal Study: Bar Fights Tend to Happen in Darker, Dirtier Bars Frequented by Heavy Drinking, Less Agreeable People
By Dan Joseph | October 7, 2010 | 4:42 PM EDT
Quote:
(CNSNews.com) - The National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism paid $918,856 in tax dollars to fund a five-year study of “Alcohol and Bar Violence” that determined, among other things, that bar fights tend to occur in venues that are relatively dark, dirty, noisy, hot, and crowded and that are frequented by a clientele of younger, less agreeable, less conscientious, more impulsive heavy drinkers.
$918,856 Federal Study: Bar Fights Tend to Happen in Darker, Dirtier Bars Frequented by Heavy Drinking, Less Agreeable People
Money well spent!
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