Category: Art and Culture

Indigenous Market in San Cristóbal de las Casas, Chiapas

Here's another re-run from February, 2008. Mexico Cooks! had been visiting friends in Chiapas, one of Mexico's southernmost states, and had just returned home with wonderful photographs of indigenous artesanía (arts and crafts work). Enjoy!

Hand made woolen animal toys at the San Cristóbal de las Casas, Chiapas, artisans' market.

Mexico Cooks! is home again in Morelia, Michoacán. We have just enough oomph left to give you a photo essay from San Cristóbal de las Casas. You'll have a brief but very colorful idea of what we saw during our stay with friends in Chiapas. By next week we will have had enough respite from our vacation to write about local customs, incredible crafts, and, of course, the food.

Every day of the week, indigenous artesanía (crafts) makers and vendors gather to wait for the tourist trade in the plaza of Templo Santo Domingo in San Cristóbal de las Casas. Embroidery and other textiles, leather goods, beads, toys, and trinkets of every kind are on the sellers' tables. Mexico Cooks! was particularly taken with how many of the artisans' goods march along in patterns of vertical and horizontal stripes. Be sure to click on the individual photographs to appreciate the details.

Come look:

Bright yellow-dyed corn and colored beans strung as necklaces.

Hamacas (hammocks) made of handmade string, lined up along a wall.

A stack of finely woven shawls.

Bolts of shiny tela de hule (oilcloth), the top roll featuring Day of the Dead figures.

Woven textile belts finished with leather.

Hand-embroidered zippered eyeglass holders.

Hand-woven bracelets.

Headbands, headbands, headbands!

We're now based in Mexico City, in one of the loveliest old colonias (neighborhoods) in this enormous capital. In a week or so we'll be writing new reports from here–wait till you see what's cooking for Mexico Cooks!.

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9 de April de 2011
Images of Women in Mexico

A late-19th Century image of Our Lady of Guadalupe, the Queen of Mexico and Empress of the Americas.

Collage by Rodolfo Morales, 20th Century Oaxacan artist.

Tortillando y comadreando (making tortillas and gossiping), Morelia, December 2007.

Sayaca (transvestite clown), Carnaval, Jalisco 2004.

Native dance costume, Chiapas 2003.

Berta Alicia Alejo, Michoacán 2007.

Lila Downs, Mexican-American singer, Guadalajara, November 2005.

Two young Purhépecha women, Paracho, Michoacán September 2010.

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12 de March de 2011
Parque Nacional La Marquesa, Estado de México: Road Food in the National Park

Cabaña Carmelita, La Marquesa, Estado de México (the State of México, or Edomex).

When you think of national parks, what comes first to your mind? Smokey the Bear? That cute forest ranger in khaki shorts who showed you how to pitch your tent? Hungry campers 'round the fire, waiting for hotdogs? Next time you think "national park", think La Marquesa in the State of Mexico (affectionately known as Edomex). And forget about forest rangers, tents, bears, and hotdogs. Instead, think about homey fonda-style restaurants lining both sides of the highway.

Watch for the sign on the south side of the cuota–you'll love the place.

For 30 years, Mexico Cooks! has bused to and from Mexico City, first on the old two-lane highways and then on the super-duper toll highway called the autopista. Either way, the road meanders between the city of Toluca and the Distrito Federal, passing through Parque Nacional Miguel Hidalgo y Costilla. The park is affectionately known as La Marquesa, and its natural wonders are an enormous tourist attraction.

Guisado de chicharrón prensado (a stew-like dish made of the compressed crunchy bits left after frying pork skins), ready to be served at Cabaña Carmelita. It was truly hard to choose among all of the wonderful offerings. We wanted one of everything.

Mountains, waterfalls, and green pine forests are one thing: what called my attention every single time the bus passed through the park were the colorful restaurants framing two sides of the roadway. But sadly enough, the bus hurtling along never stopped for food. Think thirty years of unsatisfied craving!

Crocheted lace doilies and hand-decorated clay dishes are just waiting for your arrival.

About a year ago, it suddenly occurred to me that I was familiar enough with getting around in Mexico City that I could drive to and–oh, the daring thought!–in this city of nearly 25,000,000 people. And if I played my cards right, I could time the trip to arrive at La Marquesa just in time for comida, Mexico's main meal of the day. My beloved compañera, our two little dogs, and I left Morelia at eleven o'clock in the morning with happy plans for our lunch break at one of the La Marquesa fondas.

On the left, a guisado of huitlacoche (corn fungus). On the right, hongos silvestres (wild mushrooms).

But which one! The little restaurants line up one after another like tempting booths at a state fair, colorful and filled with promise. Look, this one advertises rabbit! And that one has delicate escamoles (ant eggs)! And then we noticed La Cabaña Carmelita, with pambazos (iconic Mexico City-style sandwiches) blazened prominently on its placards. The thought of pambazos enticed us in, but even though we found out that there were no pambazos that day, the rest of the menu made us stay.

Sopa de hongos (mushroom soup), served with a piece of crunchy chicharrón and a lime to squeeze into the broth. Steaming hot, loaded with big pieces and strips of setas (a kind of mushroom), and deliciously spicy, this mushroom soup is a far cry from Campbell's.

A quesadilla con pollo (quesadilla with shredded chicken). The serving was enormous: it consisted of a huge blue corn tortilla covered with shredded chicken, melted soft cheese, shredded hard cheese, and a salsa picante, plus a salad of sliced ripe tomatoes and cucumbers.

A tlacoyo con frijolitos y queso (an oval tortilla, in this case made of blue corn, stuffed to bursting with refried beans and cheese), accompanied by a big clay mug of café de olla (cinnamon-spiced coffee).

These two women took our orders and cooked and served our delicious food.

By the time you read this, we will have driven once again through La Marquesa. Will we stop for comida? Look at that face–is there any doubt in your mind?

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5 de March de 2011
Jello Shots, Mexican Style

Mexico Cooks! originally published this article in June 2007, in a slightly different form.

Sra. Abundis, a Guadalajara friend, prepared this clear gelatina (gelatin). It's approximately 15" in diameter and stuffed with fresh red and green grapes, canned pineapple, and duraznos en almíbar (peaches canned in syrup).

Whether you're having a midday meal at a traditional Mexican restaurant anywhere in the República or celebrating at a private party at the home of Mexican friends, you can be almost 100% sure that a prominent item on the dessert menu will be gelatin. As you browse the produce at any town's tianguis (street market) or elbow your way through the crowds at a fiesta patronal (patron saint's celebration), you'll see vendors selling plastic cups and glasses of jewel-colored gelatin desserts. Gelatina is a shimmering sweet fact of life in Mexico, popular with young and old alike.

What is this Mexican obsession with a food that smacks of 1950s Middle America? Delight in gelatin desserts has been prevalent in Mexico for years; marketing experts here report that it's eaten daily in nearly 90% of Mexican homes. Mexicans consume more gelatin desserts than nearly any other country in the world—three times the quantity of gelatin consumed in the United States alone. In restaurants, the dessert tray will almost always include a variety of gelatin desserts. When Señora Fulana (Mrs. So-and-So) is invited to a party at the home of her best friend, it's very traditional for her to take along a gelatin dessert, all fancied-up and ready for the admiration of the rest of the attendees. At a birthday party, the dessert of preference is rarely cake and ice cream. It's almost always a plate of cake and a jiggling serving of gelatin, which requires no refrigeration to maintain its shape.

There are far more ways to prepare gelatin desserts in Mexico than your mother's Jell-O mixed with fruit cocktail or shredded celery and carrots. Some of the desserts are prepared with water, some with milk, and some are prepared as a layered combination of both. Some are major productions involving hours of labor intensive preparation time. And trust me when I tell you that housewives closely guard their recipes for gelatin desserts, not sharing among themselves unless the recipient of a recipe swears on her life that she will never take that dessert to a party where the other lady is also invited.

Sra. Abundis and her daughter Cristina prepared and painted this marvelous tiger gelatina for a child's birthday party.

Several months ago it was my task to prepare individual serving cups of gelatin for a two-year-old neighbor's birthday party—it seemed like I made hundreds. I thought it would be a complicated and difficult project, but it turned out to be quite a lot of fun. After asking another neighbor's advice, I learned that it's possible to buy powdered gelatin at any dulcería (candy store) or grocery store. The variety of available flavors is amazing: in addition to the ordinary strawberry, lime, and orange, I also found pistachio, almond, tamarindo, jerez (sherry), and peach.

While I could have kept my project simple, I decided instead to get fancy. No single-flavor cups of gelatin for this party! I read the directions printed on each bag and learned to prepare this flavor with water, that one with milk. I combined a layer of strawberry (prepared with water) with a layer of pistachio (prepared with milk). Recklessly, I disregarded the instructions to use water to prepare the peach flavor and used milk instead, combining an opaque peach-flavored, pale layer with a clear, bright orange-flavored layer.

Commercially made in Guadalajara for sale in Mexico's supermarkets, this three-layer single-serving gelatina includes a clear-gelatin fruit layer (complete with a prune and its pit), a milk-based layer, and a clear layer. The gelatina comes with its own tiny yellow plastic spoon. These 200 gram gelatins are prepared with preservatives and artificial coloring. Each one costs about 8 pesos, or 70 cents US.

It's so simple. Of course you can do this at home, even north of the border. Just buy two different flavors of your favorite brand of gelatin dessert powder, some four-ounce plastic glasses, and have at it. Prepare one flavor and fill each glass to the half-way point. Refrigerate and allow that flavor to set. Prepare the second flavor, using either milk or water, pour it on top of the already jelled flavor, and refrigerate until set. For me, this was fancy–but reader, read on!

The preparation of gelatin desserts has been raised to a fine art in Mexico. Special classes in gelatin preparation fascinate housewives and give rise to thriving cottage industry here. Recipes metamorphose from the relatively simple preparations like mine to the most elaborate of flavor and design combinations. A few years back, the craze for making individual clear gelatin desserts which contain flowers also made of gelatin has hit Mexico like a bombshell.

Flower gelatins like this one, made and copywrited by the Abundis family, are called gelatinas encapsuladas. The flowers are made by injecting colors of gelatin and flower designs with a syringe into clear or transparent gelatins. Neither Sra. Abundis nor Cristina took classes in making the flowers, although many handicrafts schools and individuals offer those courses.

This week I was fortunate to spend some time with Sra. Abundis and her daughter, Cristina, who operate a small home-based business in Guadalajara. The Abundis family invited me to come watch and take pictures as they prepared special gelatinas for a child's birthday party. Mother and daughter have worked together for the last two to three years, preparing made-to-order gelatins for birthdays, baptisms, girls' fifteenth birthday parties, baby showers, engagement parties, and weddings.

The gelatina personality of the day was Spiderman. Cristina explained that the gelatin for the Spiderman mold and many more are milk-based, while other gelatins are water-based. Milk gives the gelatina a more nutritious aspect than does plain water and also makes Spiderman's features show up better after they're painted.

In the Abundis kitchen, Spiderman is fresh out of the mold. A selection of milk ingredients is lined up behind him, along with a small plate full of individual-serving Spiderman heads.

Sra. Abundis showed me the basic ingredients for the dessert; once the basics are assembled, they're flavored with vanilla. Spiderman is prepared with powdered milk. Other gelatinas are made with sweetened condensed milk or with evaporated milk. The Abundis family uses pure cane sugar and unflavored gelatin for its desserts. No preservatives are added. These home-prepared gelatinas must be consumed within 48 hours of their preparation.

Many fancy gelatinas are painted once they're chilled and set. Spiderman is no exception. The paints are special vegetable food coloring gel, manufactured in Guadalajara.

Sra. Abundis watches closely as Cristina paints Spiderman's red base coat.

While Cristina painted, Sra. Abundis told me that when her relatives moved from Mexico City to Guadalajara in 1940, there was no powdered, flavored gelatina available in the city. Finally the relatives found a source–one stall at the Mercado Corona in Guadalajara's Centro Histórico sold it.

Cristina starts the initial work with black gel food coloring, outlining Spiderman's eyes. She holds a licenciatura (bachelor of arts) in graphic design from the University of Guadalajara.

"The gelatina has to be very cold in order to paint it," Cristina commented. "If it's not as cold and firm as possible, the paint will run." Spiderman stayed briefly in the freezer between coats of food coloring gel.

Spiderman's intricate thread work is complete.

I asked Sra. Abundis and Cristina which molds are most popular for parties. "Right now, Spiderman is the one all the kids want. Of course they also like Buzz Lightyear, Sponge Bob, all the Disney princesses, and Barbie. The old favorites like Winnie the Pooh, Mickey Mouse, and Tweetie Bird are always popular."

Josua Isai Abundis Linares, Cristina's now nearly nine year old nephew, participated eagerly in the time I spent with his family. He and I both anticipated our dessert: one of the individual Spiderman heads.

Cristina added, "For adult parties like weddings and baby showers, people want gelatinas encapsuladas, the ones with the flowers, to accompany their special cakes. And it's funny, the kids gobble down their gelatinas, but the adults want to save theirs. The flowers are so beautiful."

Cristina shows off the finished product: Spiderman in person! Sra. Abundis painted the blue base. The cost of this fantastic super hero is 130 pesos, approximately $11.50 USD.

"The people who ordered this Spiderman for their child's party will pick it up late this afternoon. The party is tomorrow." Cristina was happy that she finished the painting with no smears.

One traditional recipe is for Mousse de Rompope (eggnog-flavored gelatin dessert). This preparation is appropriate for dessert at any party for adults. It is so delicious that it bears repeating now.

Rompope (Eggnog) Mousse with Strawberry Sauce
Ten to twelve servings

Ingredients

Mousse
2 envelopes of unflavored gelatin
1/4 cup water
1 cup heavy cream
2 cups rompope (Mexican eggnog flavored liqueur)
1/4 teaspoon vanilla extract
4 egg whites

Strawberry Sauce
1 pound strawberries, stems removed
2 tablespoons sugar
1 tablespoon almond extract, anisette or Frangelica (hazelnut flavored liqueur)

Preparation

In a small bowl, sprinkle the gelatin onto the water and let stand until absorbed, about five minutes. Meanwhile, heat the cream slightly in a small saucepan. (Do not boil.) Remove from heat and stir in the gelatin, mixing well to dissolve. Strain into a bowl; add the rompope and vanilla and mix well. Set aside.

In a large bowl, beat the egg whites until they form stiff peaks. Fold in the eggnog mixture, and then pour into a lightly greased 1.5 quart ring-mold, bowl or specialty-shape pan. Refrigerate at least four hours, preferably overnight.

Place strawberries, sugar and flavoring in a bowl and let stand for two hours. Purée in a blender, strain and set aside.

Just before serving, remove the mousse from its mold and drizzle with strawberry sauce. Garnish with slightly sweetened whipped cream. If desired, the mousse can be molded with a graham cracker crust.

Provecho!

For dessert after your comida (midday main meal), for a snack or for a light supper, sweet wiggly gelatina satisfies every time. Cooling and slithery, a gelatina is just the ticket when you need a little something, but you don't want too much. They knew what they were talking about, way back then, when they said, "There's always room for…"

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19 de February de 2011
Dreams, Reality, and the Future (Sueños, Realidades, y el Porvenir): Restaurante San Miguelito, Morelia

One of Mexico Cooks!' favorite English-language sayings is, "Life is uncertain. Eat dessert first." With that in mind, let's start at the finish. This traditional pastel de elote (corn cake) is deservedly the most popular sweet end-of-a-meal treat at Restaurante San Miguelito. Photo courtesy San Miguelito.

Restaurante San Miguelito, open in Morelia since May of 1995, started life as a piano bar in San Miguel de Allende, Guanajuato. Servando and Erik Canela, the father and son team who started the venture, soon decided that offering an all-in-one restaurant, artisans' gallery and museum to Michoacán's capital city residents and visitors would be a wiser use of their time. They would incorporate Don Servando's forty years' experience as an art and antiques dealer, his son Erik's experience, and his daughter Cynthia Martínez's extraordinary culinary talents and business acumen into a highly unusual endeavor. Today, Restaurante San Miguelito continues its evolution as one of the most beautiful, most delicious, most spiritual, and most frequented restaurants in central Mexico.

The charming and multi-talented Cynthia Martínez of Restaurante San Miguelito.

Walk through the door at San Miguelito and your attention is drawn first by the decor, then by the maitre d' who warmly welcomes you, and then by the artesanía (Mexican arts and crafts) that fills every nook and niche. Even after a score of visits to the restaurant, I still spend as long exclaiming over the latest Noche de Muertos (Night of the Dead) skeletons, the newest finely hand-woven Michoacán rebozos (long rectangular shawls), and the proudly displayed alebrijes (hand-carved and hand-painted wooden fantasy animals) from Oaxaca as I do studying the wine list and the menu. What beautifully tempting thing to buy! What delicious tempting thing to eat! What a wonderful dilemma!

Salón de las Conspiraciones (the Conspiracies Room), Restaurante San Miguelito. Photo courtesy Guillermo Martínez Acebo. Each section of the restaurant has a theme, and almost every item in the restaurant is for sale. If you like the table and chairs, the glassware, or the plates that you and your guests are using, ask the price: you can treasure them in your own home. Click on any of the photos for a more detailed look.

Mexico Cooks! recently spent a leisurely evening talking with Cynthia Martínez about her philosophical relationship with food, especially Mexican food. Her knowledge of the traditional Mexican kitchen comes honestly: her Oaxacan grandmother taught her recipes and culinary legends while she was a young girl helping out at home. "Growing up in Oaxaca, I milked cows, caught the grasshoppers we seasoned and ate, and nourished a passion for the kitchen. My grandmother always said that behind every cultural tradition you find gastronomy, and I still believe that. The motivation to open San Miguelito was my father's desire to put together a fusion of Mexico's artisan and culinary traditions; my grandfather had the initial dream, and my father kept it alive. He and my brother Erik and I have brought that dream to fruition in Morelia."

El Rincón de las Solteronas (the Old Maid's Corner), Restaurante San Miguelito. Photo courtesy Alejandro Canela.

Arguably the best-known of San Miguelito's several dining rooms is el Rincón de las Solteronas. Dedicated to St. Anthony of Padua, patron saint of old maids single women, the room contains over 500 images of him–every image hanging by its feet. From the ceiling, from wall niches, from mantelpieces and window frames, these upside-down St. Anthonys exist only to hear the pleas for a mate from women of all ages. There's a book to write your prayer (including, if you like, all the characteristics you seek in a mate): the longest petition runs to twenty-five pages!

Ensalada Azteca (Aztec Salad), Restaurante San Miguelito. The salad is a beautifully presented mixture of lettuces, zucchini-type squash, roasted sweet red peppers, tender corn kernels, queso fresco (fresh Mexican cheese), and cilantro vinaigrette. Photo courtesy San Miguelito.

"Until very recently–within the last three to five years–it was unusual in Mexico to find a chef in a restaurant. A chef has studied at a culinary school or under a great master of the kitchen, and easily 90% of people working in restaurants here have had no opportunity to study their profession. We Mexicans have usually known to frequent restaurants offering the best food, but until lately, we have not known 'name' chefs. Our restaurant cooks have traditionally been las mayoras, women whose school-of-life experience and whose individual sazón (unique taste in preparing dishes) made them natural leaders in the kitchen. We ate at restaurants where we knew we would have a delicious meal, but we didn't know who was responsible for preparing that meal. Now we have culinary-school graduate chefs whose names are well-recognized and to whose restaurants we flock simply because they are there. But you can't learn sazón in school. Techniques, yes, but sazón? As the saying goes, 'El buen cantante ya tiene voz' (the good singer already has a voice)."

El Altar de las Conversaciones (the Altar of Conversations), Restaurante San Miguelito. Photo courtesy Guillermo Martínez Acebo.

"For us at San Miguelito, the challenge today and every day is consistency. Our clients expect that the meal that they remember eating five days or five years ago, the dish that remains alive on the palate as a fond memory, will look and taste the same now as it did then. We have guests who dine with us as often as two or three times a week, guests who know immediately if we change the brand of cheese in a dish or if we've changed meat purveyors–because the food tastes just a little different. Many of our clients know our staff by name, expect to be seated at 'their' table, and know by instinct if anything from table service to the presentation of a dish is slightly different from the last time they dined with us. Our daily aim is to provide each diner with a delicious meal in beautiful surroundings."

Pescado en Hoja de Plátano (Fish Cooked in Banana Leaf). Photo courtesy San Miguelito. Everything served to you at the restaurant, from the marvelous small bolillos (traditional crusty rolls) to the wine you enjoy with your meal, is chosen with strict attention to quality and consistency.

"Because traditional culture and traditional gastronomy are so closely linked, San Miguelito plans a number of events every year that offer opportunities to enjoy and learn more about both. One of our very popular evenings is a marvelous night that includes the history and uses of Mexico's traditional rebozo (long rectangular shawl). For that event, we showcase weavers and traditional as well as contemporary styles of wearing the rebozo.

"The next event on our 2011 calendar is an evening with Martha Ortiz Chapa, one of Mexico City's most prominent chefs. She'll be at San Miguelito on February 19, preparing a seductive and romantic menu in her own inimitable style. Just in time for el mes de San Valentín (Valentine's month), this evening promises to be extraordinary. If you haven't made reservations yet, don't wait too long; we expect the house to be filled."

Salón con Mural del Lago de Pátzcuaro (room with mural of Lake Pátzcuaro). Photo courtesy Guillermo Martínez Acebo. Tiny lights embedded in the mural create a twinkling illusion of an evening overlooking the lake.

"Aside from the daily challenges of running the restaurant, we also face the challenge of caring for the future of our traditional foods. The advent in Mexico of genetically altered corn would devastate a milennia-old way of eating; globalization has already brought immense quantities of previously unknown 'convenience' foods to this country, and we're asking ourselves who in the new generations will maintain or rescue the old ways. Who will take the time to learn and prepare a grandmother's recipes and write them down for the future?

"Right now, chefs and restaurant owners are in the vanguard of revitalizing the traditional kitchen. But unless today's young people commit to keeping traditions alive in their own homes, Mexico's culinary glories will exist only in our memories and as restaurant-produced curiosities. It's time to put our home kitchens to the test and rescue Mexico's food heritage."

Restaurante San Miguelito
Av. Camelinas at Av. Ventura Puente (across from the Convention Center)
Fracc. La Loma
Morelia, Michoacán, México
Tels: 52.443.324.4411 and 52.443.324.2300

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12 de February de 2011
Maestro Juan Torres: Images for the Ages in Michoacán Contemporary Art

The sumptuously rolling countryside near Capula, Michoacán.

Juan Torres, one of Mexico's most prominent working artists, has made his home in Capula, Michoacán for the last quarter century. Michoacán is fortunate that he chooses to live and work here, and his inspiration and images come most often from the history, landscapes, and people of the region.

The entrance to Torres' home, with its central bronze sculpture by the artist.

Maestro Torres says that he never made a conscious decision to become an artist; from an early age, he simply was an artist. At the tender age of ten, he went to Morelia's Escuela Popular de Bellas Artes (School of Fine Arts) "just to draw", and one of the teachers suggested that he enroll as a student at the school. "At that time there were no requirements that a student had to have completed elementary school, or junior high or high school–you just went and signed up. So I signed up. Like every other child in the world, I drew. The difference is, I never stopped drawing. One day, much to my amazement, I realized that there was a profession that would let me keep doing what I loved. And so I began my work as an artist."

Maestro Juan Torres regards one of the catrinas de barro (clay skeleton figures) that he designed more than 35 years ago. Torres' designs for these figures are based on the late-19th Century drawings of José Guadalupe Posadas, a Mexican political cartoonist of the manners and mores of the Porfiriato (presidency of Porfirio Díaz, 1876-1911). Maestro Torres was the first artist to take Posadas's catrinas from pen-and-ink drawings to three dimensional work in clay.

Alfredo Zalce, "Gente y Paisaje de Michoacán" (Michoacán people and landscape), mural fragment, 1962, Palacio de Gobierno (Government Offices), Morelia, Michoacán.

One of Torres' profoundest influences at the beginning of his career was the legendary Michoacán artist Maestro Alfredo Zalce. Zalce (1908-2003) took the young Torres under his wing and made him his right arm. Once Torres finished school, he lived and worked for years at Zalce's studio. "One way of learning art is, of course, imitating the teacher's work. It's a way of growing as an artist, and art is a job that requires growth or the artist stagnates."

The chapel on Maestro Torres' property serves as his gallery; unlike the gallery, his studio is connected to the home that Torres shares with his wife, Velia Canals Henríquez. Today, Sra. Canals is in charge of the taller (workshop) where the Torres-designed catrinas and other clay figures are produced.

Panteón de Capula (Capula Town Cemetery), oil on fabric, 1 meter X 1.5 meters, Juan Torres. Expo Noche de Muertos, Galería Secretaría de Turismo (Gallery of the Secretary of Tourism), Morelia, Michoacán, November 2010.

"Many people think that the artist's life is bohemian–that it's all about sitting around in cafés, waiting for inspiration to strike. A long time ago, someone gave me the advice that an artist has to work like the rest of the world. If it's at all possible, the artist needs to work at his art eight hours a day. How can it be to wait for the muse, then to paint one painting a year, and still expect to evolve? If that's how he works, then every time the artist picks up a brush, he has to start from zero."

Biombo (screen), side one, Juan Torres. Expo Noche de Muertos, Galería Secretaría de Turismo (Gallery of the Secretary of Tourism), Morelia, Michoacán, November 2010.

Biombo (screen), side two, Juan Torres.

"So I prefer that people know me as someone who works in the arts. And that's what I do: I work at my job every day. Recently I've had this Noche de Muertos exhibit at the Secretaría de Turismo, and I'm working toward another exhibit in Morelia, this time about women in the Mexican revolution. I have about 30 paintings completed in that series, 30 of the 40 that I need to fill the exhibit. So every day, I work."

Angelito (Little Angel), oil on fabric, 1 meter X 1.5 meters, Juan Torres. Expo Noche de Muertos, Galería Secretaría de Turismo (Gallery of the Secretary of Tourism), Morelia, Michoacán, November 2010.

Angelito, detail.

Ofrenda con Cristo (Alter with Crucifix), oil on fabric, 1 meter X 1.5 meters, Juan Torres. Expo Noche de Muertos, Galería Secretaría de Turismo (Gallery of the Secretary of Tourism), Morelia, Michoacán, November 2010.

Panteón (Cemetery), oil and watercolor, 40cm X 90cm, Juan Torres. Expo Noche de Muertos, Galería Secretaría de Turismo (Gallery of the Secretary of Tourism), Morelia, Michoacán, November 2010.

Juan Torres, Expo Noche de Muertos, Galería Secretaría de Turismo (Gallery of the Secretary of Tourism), Morelia, Michoacán, November 2010.

Portions of this article are translated from a piece which originally appeared in the magazine Estilo México, July 2010.

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5 de February de 2011
Viva la Vida: Mexico Cooks! Looks Back at 2010

Fruit stand with mango and papaya, Paracho, Michoacán. A large cup of fruit, served with fresh-squeezed limón, salt, and chile if you like, costs 10 pesos (about 80 cents US at today's exchange rate). The bees are always free.

Artisans from Tzintzuntzan, Michoacán, prepared papel picado (cut paper) banners for a Semana Santa (Holy Week) exhibition of antique religious art in Morelia.

Menta (in this case, apple mint–menta sauveolens) growing against old bricks at the Colegio Culinario de Morelia. It was planted several years ago by Guillermo Lara Góngora, the English-language teacher at the CCM.

Devil dance mask, Tocuaro, Michoacán.

Caldo de pollo (Mexican-style chicken soup), on the hoof. The butcher will use his machete to cut off all the claws for you; the well-washed feet add color and flavor to your chicken broth.

Flowers float in a Morelia fountain at twilight.

Detail of hand-embroidered rebozo (long rectangular shawl) from Tzintzuntzan, Michoacán.

Creating a basket from huinumo (pine needles), Opopeo, Michoacán.

Two colors of masa (corn dough), one metate (grinding stone). Uruapan, Michoacán.

Two beautiful young women from Paracho, Michoacán show off the hand-cross stitched guanengos (blouses) they created for a wedding.

Michoacán, for the joy of life.

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22 de January de 2011
VII Encuentro de Cocina Tradicional de Michoacán: Michoacán’s Seventh Annual Festival of Traditional Cuisine

In Uruapan, Michoacán, on December 3, 2010, multicolored papel picado (cut paper streamers) billowed in the evening breeze to announce our tremendous pride in the VII Encuentro de Cocina Tradicional de Michoacán (Seventh Annual Michoacán Traditional Food Festival).

A sumptuous and traditional mole con pollo (mole with chicken) as prepared by Antonina González Leandro of Tarerio, Michoacán. Sra. González participated in the concurso de la Zona Lacustre (Lake Pátzcuaro region competition) that took place this year in Pátzcuaro. In addition to this mole, she prepared pozole de elote con conejo (fresh-corn stew with rabbit), several other savory dishes, and a wonderful sweet dried-corn snack called ponteduro.

In Pátzcuaro on December 4, 2010, Sra. Antonina González paused at her booth to pose with Cynthia Martínez, in charge of Morelia's Restaurante San Miguelito.

Each of the last several years, Mexico Cooks! has been privileged to be included on the teams of speakers, judges, and hosts for Michoacán's annual traditional cuisine spectacular. This year, our joyous cup of participation in the festival was filled to overflowing by the two-week-prior notice that Mexico's cuisine, and especially the cuisine of Michoacán, had been designated as a UNESCO Intangible Heritage of Humanity–the first cuisine in the world to be so honored. Three cities in central Michoacán (Morelia, Uruapan, and Pátzcuaro) were named to host this year's food festival, and all three went completely overboard in welcoming every participant: host committees, notable chefs and food writers from all parts of Mexico and other countries, hundreds of proud and happy local and regional eaters, and the people without whom there would be no reason to have the party: the stupendous traditional cooks from the Purhépecha communities throughout this part of the state.

In Morelia on December 5, 2010, Dra. Gloria López Morales, president of the Conservatorio de la Cultura Gastronómica Mexicana, shares her views on topics related to Mexico's November triumph at UNESCO.

In Pátzcuaro, Mexico Cooks! talks about Michoacán cuisine with (left) Christian Plotzcyk and (right) David Suárez of the New York restaurant group Rosa Mexicano.

A number of internationally known chefs and food writers attended the festival this year. Among them were Patricia Quintana, Alicia Gironella d'Angeli, Rubén Hernández, Roberto González Guzmán, Sol Rubín de Borbolla, Cristina Palacio, and Gabriel Gutiérrez García, all from Mexico City; Cynthia Martínez, Alma Cervantes, and Joaquín Bonilla of Morelia; and Susana Trilling of Oaxaca. In addition, David Suárez and Christian Plotzcyk of the Rosa Mexicano restaurant group based in New York City and Iliana de la Vega of the Culinary Institute of America, San Antonio, Texas represented the interest of the United States. The festival also counted on the participation of internationally renowned Michoacán chefs Rubí Silva Figueroa (Restaurante Los Mirasoles, Morelia), Lucero Soto Arriaga (Restaurante LU, Morelia), and Blanca Estela Vidales (Restaurante La Mesa de Blanca, Ziracuaretiro, Michoacán), who, along with teams of cooks and assistants, prepared several banquets for specially invited festival participants and guests.

In Uruapan, we tasted delicious jahuacatas (corundas created using layers of frijoles molidos (beans ground on the traditional metate) and fresh masa (corn dough), as prepared by Sra. Juanita Bravo Lázaro from Angahuan, Michoacán. Sra. Bravo served these marvelous jahuacatas with an atápakua de calabaza (thick squash sauce). This preparation won the prize for the best traditional dish. Click on the photograph to enlarge the picture for a better view of the layers.

None of the judges had previously heard of–much less tasted–these incredibly delicious yurucurindas. Once we tasted them in Uruapan, we couldn't stop recommending them to everyone in earshot. "Hurry, get one before they're gone!" we mumbled with our mouths full. Similar in size to but a bit thicker than a standard corn tortilla, the yurucurindas are made from blue corn masa, piloncillo (Mexican raw sugar cones), and canela molida (ground cinnamon), and then baked on a traditional comal de barro (clay griddle). Even this long after the festival, the photo still makes my mouth water at the memory!

Señora Benedicta Alejo Vargas of San Lorenzo, Michoacán is one of the greatest traditional cooks in the Uruapan area. The internationally known Sra. Alejo won the prize for best rescued dish with churipo de carne seca (dried beef soup in the Purhépecha style). Rescued dishes include traditional preparations that are not usually prepared today and are on the verge of extinction. Photo courtesy Gabriel Gutiérrez García.

Mexico Cooks! noticed this basket of fresh green leaves on the table at Sra. Alejo's booth and asked what purpose they served. Sra. Alejo smiled and said, "When I was a little girl, my grandmother always put a basket of leaves on the table to use as napkins. It's part of my family's tradition." In addition to her prize-winning traditional churipo, Sra. Alejo prepared mole de conejo (rabbit mole), mole de queso (cheese mole), and tzirita, a botana (appetizer) made of finely ground chile seeds and other savory ingredients.

For the first time, acclaimed chef (she's the owner of Mexico City's restaurant Izote) and author Patricia Quintana attended the Encuentro de Cocina Tradicional. She happily served as a judge.

Absolutely gorgeous: hot-off-the-comal tortillas, made with two colors of corn masa.

Thick and delicious atole de chaqueta is a corn-based hot drink flavored, in this instance, with the toasted and ground outer shells of the cacao (chocolate) bean. Nothing is wasted here in Michoacán's kitchens: imagine that such delicious things are made from what you might discard: chile seeds and the hulls of cocoa beans!

In addition to the wonderful food competition, the festival organization treated the Uruapan public to a marvelous evening of traditional music and dance.

At the December 5, 2010 Morelia closure of the VII Encuentro de Cocina Tradicional de Michoacán, the prize-winning cocineras (cooks) and other dignitaries posed with (left foreground) Sra. Alicia Gironella d'Angeli, First Lady of Mexico's food world and chef/owner at Restaurante El Tajín in Mexico City and Dr. Genovevo Figueroa, secretary of tourism for the state of Michoacán. Both Sra. Gironella and Dr. Figueroa are long-time supporters of this annual Michoacán festival. Photo courtesy Rubén Hernández.

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15 de January de 2011
Los Reyes Magos to La Candelaria: Three Kings, Rosca de Reyes and Tamales!

Most Mexicans eat traditional rosca de reyes (Three Kings' Bread) on January 6. Its usual accompaniment is chocolate caliente (hot chocolate).

The Día de los Reyes Magos (the Feast of the Three Kings) falls on January 6 each year. You might know the Christian feast day as Epiphany or as Little Christmas. The festivities celebrate the arrival of the Three Kings at Bethlehem to visit the newborn Baby Jesus. In some cultures, children receive gifts not on Christmas, but on the Feast of the Three Kings–and the Kings are the gift-givers, commemorating the gifts of gold, frankincense, and myrrh that they presented to the Baby Jesus. Many, many children in Mexico still receive special gifts of toys from the Reyes (Kings) on January 6

Typically, Mexican families celebrate the festival with a rosca de reyes (Three Kings' Bread). The size of the family's rosca varies according to the size of the family, but everybody gets a slice, from the littlest toddler to great-grandpa. Accompanied by a cup of chocolate caliente (hot chocolate), it's a great winter treat.

Chef Arturo Camacho Domínguez of Tampico, Tamaulipas.

My friend Chef Arturo Camacho Domínguez, who lives and works in Tampico, Tamaulipas, recently wrote a bit about the significance of the rosca. He wrote, "The rosca de reyes represents a crown; the colorful fruits simulate the jewels which covered the crowns of the Holy Kings. The Kings themselves signify peace, love, and happiness. The Niño Dios hidden in the rosca reminds us of the moment when Saint Joseph and the Virgin Mary hid the Baby Jesus in order to save him from King Herod, who wanted to kill him. The three gifts that the Kings gave to the Niño Dios represent the Kings (gold), God (frankincense), and man (myrrh).

"In Mexico, we consider that an oval or ring shape represents the movement of the sun and that the Niño Dios represents the Child Jesus in his apparition as the Sun God. Others mention that the circular or oval form of the Rosca de Reyes, which has no beginning and no end, is a representation of heaven–which of course is the home of the Niño Dios."

On January 6, 2009, Paty Mora de Vallejo, wife of Morelia's mayor Fausto Vallejo, served a slice of the enormous rosca de reyes monumental moreliana, prepared jointly by bakeries from everywhere in the city.

Here in Morelia, Michoacán, bakers prepare an annual monumental rosca for the whole city to share. The rosca contains nearly 3000 pounds of flour, 1500 pounds of margerine, 10,500 eggs, 150 liters of milk, 35 pounds of yeast, 35 pounds of salt, 225 pounds of butter, 2000 pounds of dried fruits, and 90 pounds of orange peel. The completed cake, if stretched out straight, measures two kilometers in length! Baked in sections, the gigantic rosca is the collaborative effort of ten bakeries in the city. The city government as well as grocery wholesalers join together to see to it that the tradition of the rosca continues to be a vibrant custom.

The plastic niño (baby) baked into our rosca measured less than 2" tall. The figures used to be made of porcelain, but now they are generally made of plastic. See the tooth mark on the head? Mexico Cooks! is the culprit. Every rosca de reyes baked in Mexico contains at least one niño; larger roscas can hold two, three, or more. Morelia's giant rosca normally contains 10,000 of these tiny figures.

Tradition demands that the person who finds the niño in his or her slice of rosca is required to give a party on February 2, el Día de La Candelaria (Candlemas Day). The party for La Candelaria calls for tamales, more tamales, and their traditional companion, a rich atole flavored with vanilla, cinnamon, or chocolate. Several years ago, an old friend, in the throes of a family economic emergency, was a guest at his relatives' Three Kings party. He bit into the niño buried in his slice of rosca. Embarrassed that he couldn't shoulder the expense of the following month's Candelaria party, he gulped–literally–and swallowed the niño.

El Día de La Candelaria celebrates the presentation of Jesus in the Jewish temple, forty days after his birth. The traditions of La Candelaria encompass religious rituals of ancient Jews, of pre-hispanic rites indigenous to Mexico, of the Christian evangelization brought to Mexico by the Spanish, and of modern-day Catholicism.

In Mexico, you'll find a Niño Dios of any size for your home nacimiento (Nativity scene). Traditionally, the Niño Dios is passed down, along with his wardrobe of special clothing, from generation to generation in a single family.

The presentation of the child Jesus to the church is enormously important in Mexican Catholic life. February 2 marks the official end of the Christmas season, the day to put away the last of the holiday decorations. On February 2, the figure of Jesus is gently lifted from the home nacimiento (manger scene, or creche), dressed in new clothing, carried to the church, where he receives blessings and prayers. He is then carried home and rocked to sleep with tender lullabies, and carefully put away until the following year.

Each family dresses its Niño Dios according to its personal beliefs and traditions. Some figures are dressed in clothing representing a Catholic saint particularly venerated in a family; others are dressed in the clothing typically worn by the patron saints of different Mexican states. Some favorites are the Santo Niño de Atocha, venerated especially in Zacatecas; the Niño de Salud (Michoacán), the Santo Niño Doctor (Puebla), and, in Xochimilco (suburban Mexico City), the Niñopa (alternately spelled Niñopan or Niño-Pa).

This Xochimilco arch and the highly decorated street welcome the much-loved Niñopan figure.

The veneration of Xochimilco's beloved Niñopan follows centuries-old traditions. The figure has a different mayordomo every year; the mayordomo is the person in whose house the baby sleeps every night. Although the Niñopan (his name is a contraction of the words Niño Padre or Niño Patrón) travels from house to house, visiting his chosen hosts, he always returns to the mayordomo's house to spend the night. One resident put it this way: "When the day is beautiful and it's really hot, we take him out on the canals. In his special chalupita (little boat), he floats around all the chinampas (floating islands), wearing his little straw hat so that the heat won't bother him. Then we take him back to his mayordomo, who dresses our Niñopan in his little pajamas, sings him a lullaby, and puts him to sleep, saying, 'Get in your little bed, it's sleepy time!" Even though the Niñopan is always put properly to bed, folks in Xochimilco believe that he sneaks out of bed to play with his toys in the wee hours of the night.

Trajineras (decorated boats) ready to receive tourists line the canals in Xochimilco.

Although he is venerated in many Xochimilco houses during the course of every year, the Niñopan's major feast day is January 6. The annual celebration takes place in Xochimilco's church of St. Bernard of Sienna. On the feast of the Candelaria, fireworks, music, and dancers accompany the Niñopan as he processes through the streets of Xochimilco on his way to his presentation in the church.

Gloria in Xochimilco with Niñopa, April 2008. Photo courtesy Colibrí.

Blue papel picado (cut paper decoration) floating in the deep-blue Xochimilco sky wishes the Niñopan welcome and wishes all of us Feliz Navidad.

El Día de La Candelaria means a joyful party with lots of tamales, coupled with devotion to the Niño Dios. For more about a tamalada (tamales-making party), look at this 2007 Mexico Cooks! article.

From the rosca de reyes on January 6 to the tamales on February 2, the old traditions continue in Mexico's 21st Century.

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8 de January de 2011
Feliz Año Nuevo (Happy New Year), Mexican Style

In Mexico and other Latin American countries, women wear yellow underwear on New Year's Eve to bring good luck and wealth in the year to come. Red underwear indicates a New Year's wish for an exciting love interest!

Superstition or not, many here in Mexico have the custom of ritos del Año Nuevo (New Year's rituals). Some rituals include foods, others prescribe certain clothing, and still others warrant attention for religious interest.

As the clock strikes midnight, it's common to eat twelve grapes–one at each ding, one at each dong of the bell. While eating the grapes, you make a personal wish for each grape you consume, welcoming the new year that's beginning. Mexico Cooks! finds that it's helpful to write down the twelve wishes so as not to forget one or choke in the rush to swallow the grapes before the clock finishes striking the New Year's earliest hour!

Eating a tablespoonful of cooked lentils on New Year's Eve is said to bring prosperity and fortune. You can also give raw lentils–just a handful–to family and friends with the same wish.

On a small piece of paper, write down the undesirable habits and customs you'd like to let go of in the New Year that's just starting. Burn the paper, then follow through with the changes!

Choose three stones that symbolize health, love, and money. Put them in a place where you will see them every day.

Light candles: blue for peace, yellow for abundance, red for love, green for health, white for spirituality, and orange for intelligence.

Spill clean water on the sidewalk in front of your house as the clock rings in the New Year. Your house will be purified and all tears will be washed away.

To have money for your needs all year, have some bills in your hand or in your pocket to welcome the arrival of the New Year. Some people fold up the money and put it in their shoes!

Take your suitcase for a walk. Legend is that the farther you walk with your suitcase, the farther you'll travel. Several New Year's Eves ago, Mexico Cooks! and a few friends celebrated by walking our suitcases around the block, and we all traveled far and wide during the new year that followed.

Mexico Cooks! wishes all of you a muy Próspero Año Nuevo–and especially wishes that your red underwear brings you (or keeps you) the love of family, friends, and that special someone.

We'll see you in 2011!

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31 de December de 2010