Artists paint an inviting land of captivating white sand deserts and breathtaking mountains.
Photographers capture enchanting images of rich, diverse cultures.
But a statistical snapshot of New Mexico depicts a gloomier scene. New Mexico is poor. One-fourth of New Mexicans lived in poverty in 1995, the highest rate in the nation, reports the 1997 issue of New Mexico in Perspective . Despite the shadow of poverty, the state's population continues to grow. From 1990 to 1996, it increased by 13 percent from 1.5 million to 1.7 million.