New Mexico designated Chile & Frijol (pinto bean) as the official state vegetables in 1965. Pinto Beans are the most widely produced bean in the United States (and one of the most popular). The pinto bean (in Spanish: "frijol pinto," or "painted bean") is an important symbol of regional identity in the southwest, especially among Mexican Americans.

The Old World was familiar with several kinds of beans, but the American common bean* was unknown. Native beans were a staple eaten daily by the Indians of the Southwest. The pinto and lima bean were being cultivated in the Aztec and Inca cultures more than 5,000 years ago.

New Mexicans use the word "chili" to describe the plant, the pod, and various dishes made with chili peppers. Chili peppers are native to America. Experts believe the chiltepin is the original wild chile (the plant from which all others have evolved). The chiltepin pepper is a tiny round berry slightly larger than a peppercorn.

* The "American common bean" (Phaseolus vulgaris) includes all these native beans originating in the Americas: pinto bean,navy bean (so named because they sustained the seafaring branch of the military), red kidney, great northern, marrow, and yellow eye beans. It also includes all our edible-pod garden beans (string-less, snap, & string beans).

Source:

Beans: Food Reference Website
The Chili con Carne Project: fiery-foods.com
Two New Beans from America: Plant Answers

Links:

American Food and Agricultural Symbols
American Food Holidays