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Belen got awfully close to winning its first state team tourney when the Eagles made it to the 2009 Class 4A championship in football. For now, the historical pride and joy of the school is still with its individual titlists.
Who has picked up a state crown for Belen?
It’s below in the Roll Call of State Championships…
Wrestling
A strong wrestling tradition at Belen has translated into many individual tournament champions throughout the years. Add those together and it’s sometimes spelled out state titles in the team category – which is based upon accumulated points. Belen won its first championship in 1970 under coach Tom Hodges and the Eagles reprised that achievement with coach John Romero in 1987 at the Class 1A-3A level. Then, things really took off. Belen grabbed the 2003 grappling state crown, had one year off, and then reeled off six straight years of being Class 4A’s best wrestling squad.
Tennis
2003…Belen’s Derek Lynch becomes the school’s second tennis champ when he wins his way through the Class 4A state boys singles bracket
1994-95…Eagles’ tennis standout Ray Jaramillo proves he’s best in Class 1A-3A by winning state individual tournament two years in a row
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“Ole!” greets drive-through customers from the speaker box.
If that’s the case, it can only be one business: Taco Box.
From frijole burritos to Spanish fries to pig-in-a-panchos, and quite nearly everything in-between, the restaurant has been serving up its eclectic menu for 40 years.
According to owner Tom Martin, the number one seller is the simple-and-tasty frijole burrito while tacos, chalupas and cheese sticks follow closely in popularity.
A popular side item are Spanish fries, a Taco Box-invented title for another potato-based munchie (any guesses?). Martin says his restaurant has only occasionally ventured into making regular french fries and the attempts have ultimately always been futile with the Taco Box customer base.
“I always joke that I don’t make french fries so I can help keep McDonald’s in business,” Martin says.
Other items also remain popular to an extent even though not officially on the menu board anymore – a testament to the loyalty of the typical Taco Box consumer.
The Mexi-Burger was on the menu back in the early 1980s and still gets ordered today. By those in the know, at any rate.
“There’s probably at least a dozen different items over the years like that,” Martin says. “We took it off, just because of space, but we still make ‘em. We probably sell as many as we did when they were on the menu.”
Martin lists breakfast tacos, frijole tacos, guacamole tacos as other such “underground” items. And that’s not to mention the vast array of drink combinations, utilizing the different soft drinks and flavorings, that have actually never been listed on the big board at Taco Box.
Martin, raised in Cleveland and a graduate from Cornell University in New York, ventured west after college and tried his hand with the Taco Box brand. He took over Taco Box on June 1, 1970.
Remembering his first foray into Mexican food, Martin has an oft-repeated story with some variation or another.
“I never had a taco until I was 21. I remember having a mild green chile taco and I thought I was going to die,” Martin recalls.
After having a tastebud-adjustment and following countless tacos served to his customers at Taco Box, it’s safe to say one thing about the guy who originally thought he’d be in the Land of Enchantment for “a couple of years.”
Well Tom, you’re a New Mexican now.
