Behold New Mexico's ultimate pork fiesta: 43 pigs, 300 gallons of chile and 22,000 tortillas
BELEN, N.M. - It's 4:30 in the morning, and Anthony Guardian has a problem: His cooking oil is frozen.
He's getting ready for the 19th edition of the World's Largest Matanza, an annual fiesta in the small city of Belen, N.M., that celebrates the state's historic nose-to-tail hog-slaughtering festivals. Sixteen teams from across the state will gather in Eagle Park on this chilly late January day to feed traditional New Mexican matanza dishes - carne adovada, chicharrones, carnitas, red chile and more - to an estimated 9,500 attendees who'll pay $15 for all they can eat.
Guardian and his squad, the Rio Grande Matanzeros, are the reigning People's Choice winners - and are aiming for Grand Champions this year. But right now, in windy 20-degree weather and with only generator-powered floodlights for illumination, the 43-year-old is scrambling.
The Matanzeros are busy chopping mesquite wood or laying
