ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. (KRQE) – The city council will consider a bill asking lawmakers to consider making lowriders New Mexico’s official state vehicle. Councilor Klarissa Peña has sponsored a memorial that would urge the legislature to consider it in the next year’s legislative session, saying lowriders are an intrinsic part of the state’s culture.
She got the idea after lawmakers approved the country’s first state aroma – green chile roasting in the fall. According to the secretary of state’s website, New Mexico already has 29 state symbols, including several unique ones like a state question, a state tie, and a state aircraft.
KRQE asked Councilor Peña whether adding another state symbol would dilute their importance. “We’re very unique to the entire United States and we have so much pride in our history and our culture, and we want to share it with the world so when people look up and Google ‘New Mexico’ and look at our state symbols, they’ll see that we’re very prideful, and we have so many different cultural aspects that are important to us,” Peña says.
Next year’s legislative session is only 30 days and lawmakers typically focus on the budget and other financial issues. But Councilor Peña says a bill considering a lowrider state symbol would not take up a lot of time.
