Templo del Santo Niño (Church of the Holy Child) is the spiritual heart of this neighborhood that is part of Morelia's Centro Histórico (historic center).
The pila del Santo Niño (fountain of the Holy Child), was built in front of the church as the water supply for the neighborhood.
The Santo Niño plaque, embedded in the wall at the side of the church. The church was built because the plaque was found on the site.
The Mercado Nicolás Bravo is the commercial heart of the neighborhood. Because of its proximity to the church, the mercado is more popularly known as the Mercado del Santo Niño. The market has been a presence in Morelia for more than 34 years. Some of the big differences between this market and others are its exemplary cleanliness, wide aisles, and the medical and dental offices upstairs.
Cocina Económica de Doña Felícitas (Doña Felícitas' Affordable Foods) is space number 127, upstairs in the Mercado Santo Niño.
Our dear friend Rosa invited us to lunch at her favorite fonda (small eating place) in the market. Fonda food is usually just a half-step up from eating in Mom's kitchen, but once in a while we discover a treasure. Don Joel Cuamba García and his wife, Doña Felícitas Díaz y Díaz, owners of the Cocina Económica de Doña Felícitas, are just as filled with the joy of life as their picture shows them. Doña Feli's wonderful laugh boomed out across the fonda as Don Joel regaled us with old family stories.
Doña Feli's guisados (similar to stews) wait for customers. Clockwise from seven o'clock: caldo de pollo (chicken soup), frijolitos (beans), carne de res en chile negro (beef in black chile), and sopa de albóndigas (meatball soup). The small blue pot in the middle is hot water. Don Joel mentioned that his wife never uses lard in her cooking; it's always done with vegetable oil.
Doña Feli's delicious, freshly prepared caldo de pollo contains a whole chicken thigh, a piece of corn on the cob, carrots, chayote, tomato, rice, and garbanzos. All of Doña Feli's tortillas are hand-made as you eat.
Doña Feli started learning to cook from her mother. She'd never worked outside her home until so many people begged her to open a restaurant that she finally agreed. Don Joel said, "All our married life her wonderful food has just been for the family and our guests. Now it's for everyone!"
She prepares just enough of her marvelous guisados to serve during any given day. Nothing other than the pot of beans is held over to be served the next day. And, as Don Joel said, "Beans only get better after a day or two."
In the kitchen: Mirna (left, 18) and Marisol (right, 19), Don Joel and Doña Feli's smart, attentive, and beautiful daughters.
The fonda is open daily from 7:00AM until 5:00PM. Don Joel said, "We four–my wife, myself, and our daughters–work as a team to make this business go. Each of us has a role to play. Our daughters serve the tables, I keep the customers happy with my chatter, and my wife–well, without her cooking we'd have to close up! She's the heart of it all, she has the sazón (personal flavor, every fine cook's special touch) that keeps you coming back for more."
Open for just a year and a half, the fonda has plenty of regular customers. For 45 pesos (less than $3.50USD), the little restaurant fills your plate and makes sure you go away satisfied. Even more than filling your plate, the owners fill your heart. Don Joel assured us that even though we were paying customers, we were also members of the family. This was no empty promise; we felt more than welcomed and left knowing we'd be back soon for another serving of comida (the main meal of the day) and affectionate conversation.
Carne de res en chile negro (beef in black sauce), frijolitos, and arroz blanco (white rice) were absolutely delicious.
Doña Feli gave us a quick recipe for her rightly famous salsa de chile negro. "You have to be very careful, because it's easy for the sauce to come out really bitter. First you clean the chiles (in this case, chile chilaca) by wiping them with a towel. You don't roast or peel them. Cut them up and sauté them in a little oil, along with garlic, cloves, three or four peppercorns, and a large cut-up green pepper. Last, add some toasted sesame seeds. Then roast three ripe red tomatoes, add them to the pot, and sauté a while longer. Add three more fresh tomatoes that you haven't roasted. When it looks right, put it all in your licuadora (blender) till it's smooth. Add salt to your taste. That's all there is to it."
Downstairs in the market, vendors are currently selling seasonal huitlacoche (corn fungus).
The bright orange oreja de puerco (pig ear) wild mushroom is also in season.
A lácteos (milk products) vendor offered rich jocoque(a fermented semi-acid cream) from this olla de barro (clay pot).
Several of the booths at the Mercado Santo Niño sell a little bit of lots of items–this vendor offers red or white eggs, at least three kinds of dried, beans, rice, milk, oil, laundry soap, baby formula, two or three kinds of pot scrubbers, dried chiles, and a hundred other things.
If You Go:
Mercado Nicolás Bravo (del Santo Niño)
Calle Nicolás Bravo between Calle Corregidora and Calle Guerrero
Morelia, Michoacán
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