Category: Arts and Crafts

Mexico Cooks! Les Desea Feliz Navidad a Todos! :: Merry Christmas to All 2010

Few things represent Mexico's Christmas more than the traditional piñata. Read all about its history right here.

Christmas in Mexico is absolutely the most special time of the whole year. Even our daily municipal markets se visten de gala (dress up in their finest) for several weeks before the holidays. Out come locally-grown arbolitos de Navidad (Christmas trees), out come thousands of nochebuenas (poinsettias). Nativity sets, toys and more toys, just-for-Christmas candy, special Christmas-season fruit, and special foods of all kinds make their annual appearance on market shelves. Just a couple of weeks ago, Mexico Cooks! made a special trip to Morelia's Mercado Independencia (the largest retail market in town) to photograph some of the hundreds of goodies and treats available just this month.

These tiny, beautiful, glass ornaments, mouth-blown and hand-painted in eastern Michoacán, measure no more than one-half inch in diameter. Price in 2010? A dozen for 20 pesos–about $1.50USD.

Peras de anís (anise-flavored pear-shaped candies) are no bigger than the tiny Christmas ornaments in the picture above.

What in the world do devils' pitchforks have to do with Christmas in Mexico! Learn all about our tradition of pastorelas (Christmas pageants–but with a twist) from this article on Mexico Cooks!.

This frilly apron, hand-embroidered with Nuestra Señora de Guadalupe (Our Lady of Guadalupe) is just the right size for a two- or three-year-old to wear on December 12, Mexico's other important December holiday. Traditional male and female clothing for the annual pilgrimages is available in every size, from newborn baby to adult.

Collares (necklaces) of multi-colored glass beads complement a little girl's costume on December 12.

The guacal (literally, wooden crate), in various sizes for children of various ages. Little boys dressed in the traditional indigenous shirt and pants of manta (rough unbleached cotton cloth) carry this crate on their backs, with its miniature clay dishes and tiny straw sombrero, on their pilgrimage in honor of Our Lady of Guadalupe.

A flock of tiny chicks, each about half an inch high and made of clay, is ready to add to your nacimiento (manger scene). Every year, Mexico Cooks! is eager to add figures of one kind or another to ours.

Santa Claus is a relative newcomer to the Mexican Christmas scene. Traditionally, Mexican children have received their holiday gifts on January 6–El Día de los Reyes Magos (Three Kings' Day). The jolly elf is making cultural inroads, though, and some lucky boys and girls get a present from Santa and another one or two from the Three Kings.

More candy! These are similar in texture to gumdrops, but they're shaped like sandía (watermelon). Click on any Mexico Cooks! photo to enlarge it for more detail.

Even Mexican oilcloth, that terrific table covering, joins in the spirit of Christmas. The roll that's front and center is decorated with nochebuenas (poinsettias). Did you know that the poinsettia is a native of Mexico?

These big-as-jack-o'lantern-heads calabazas (squash) are a delicious wintertime treat in Mexico.

Yet another piñata, this one about six feet from the top to the tip of the bottom point. The center container is a large clay pot–just imagine how much it would weigh when it's filled with candy, tangerines, and roasted peanuts!

Ribbons of every kind and color, with or without wire edges, is available by the meter at the Mercado Independencia. In fact, just about anything you could possibly want–from a pair of pliers to a pair of warm gloves, from a pet parrot to a chicken for your dinner table, is available at the market.

May your holidays be filled with all you hold dear, and may your New Year bring you all that you desire.

Feliz Navidad y Próspero Año Nuevo–Merry Christmas and Happy New Year–to you and yours from us at Mexico Cooks!

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25 de December de 2010
UNESCO Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity: MEXICO’S CUISINE
Chiles chilacas, cultivated in Queréndaro, Michoacán, are spread on traditional petates (woven reed mats)to dry in the late summer sun. All photos and their captions are copyright Mexico Cooks! unless otherwise noted.

At its meeting in Nairobi, Kenya on November 16, 2010, UNESCO (the United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization) announced that Mexico, and particularly the state of Michoacán, had been officially inscribed on the Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity.

According to UNESCO, "The term ‘cultural heritage’ has changed content considerably in recent decades, partially owing to the instruments developed by UNESCO. Cultural heritage does not end at monuments and collections of objects. It also includes traditions or living expressions inherited from our ancestors and passed on to our descendants, such as oral traditions, performing arts, social practices, rituals, festive events, knowledge and practices concerning nature and the universe, or the knowledge and skills to produce traditional crafts.

Dra. Gloria López Morales, director of the Mexico City-based Conservatorio de la Cultura Gastronómica Mexicana, spearheaded the latest drive for Mexico to achieve the UNESCO award. Many, many people worked with her to make the dream a reality.

"While fragile, intangible cultural heritage is an important factor in maintaining cultural diversity in the face of growing globalization. An understanding of the intangible cultural heritage of different communities helps with intercultural dialogue, and encourages mutual respect for other ways of life.

"The importance of intangible cultural heritage is not the cultural manifestation itself but rather the wealth of knowledge and skills that is transmitted through it from one generation to the next. The social and economic value of this transmission of knowledge is relevant for minority groups and for mainstream social groups within a State, and is as important for developing States as for developed ones.

In Uruapan, Michoacán, blue corn tortillas, tomatoes, and chiles serranos toast on a traditional clay comal (griddle).

"Intangible cultural heritage is:
- Traditional, contemporary and living at the same time: intangible cultural heritage does not only represent inherited traditions from the past but also contemporary rural and urban practices in which diverse cultural groups take part;
- Inclusive: we may share expressions of intangible cultural heritage that are similar to those practised by others. Whether they are from the neighbouring village, from a city on the opposite side of the world, or have been adapted by peoples who have migrated and settled in a different region, they all are intangible cultural heritage: they have been passed from one generation to another, have evolved in response to their environments and they contribute to giving us a sense of identity and continuity, providing a link from our past, through the present, and into our future. Intangible cultural heritage does not give rise to questions of whether or not certain practices are specific to a culture. It contributes to social cohesion, encouraging a sense of identity and responsibility which helps individuals to feel part of one or different communities and to feel part of society at large;
- Representative: intangible cultural heritage is not merely valued as a cultural good, on a comparative basis, for its exclusivity or its exceptional value. It thrives on its basis in communities and depends on those whose knowledge of traditions, skills and customs are passed on to the rest of the community, from generation to generation, or to other communities;
- Community-based: intangible cultural heritage can only be heritage when it is recognized as such by the communities, groups or individuals that create, maintain and transmit it – without their recognition, nobody else can decide for them that a given expression or practice is their heritage."
Sra. Chef Alicia Gironella de'Angeli headed the group of high-level chefs, culinary professionals and food aficionados in Mexico which, in 2000, began to organize the 2005 application for the UNESCO designation. For the next five years, Sra. Gironella continued to work toward the goal that Mexico finally achieved in 2010.

Cristina Palacio, Mexico City-based food historian and indefatigable promoter of Mexico's culinary heritage.

Text from the UNESCO documents as they relate to Mexico:

"Traditional Mexican cuisine is a comprehensive cultural model comprising farming, ritual practices, age-old skills, culinary techniques and ancestral community customs and manners. It is made possible by collective participation in the entire traditional food chain: from planting and harvesting to cooking and eating.

In Cherán, Michoacán, a Purhépecha woman waits to sell delicious flor de calabaza (squash flowers). Photo courtesy Roset Claes.

Outdoor kitchen, San José de la Torre, Michoacán.

"The basis of the system is founded on corn, beans and chile; unique farming methods such as milpas (rotating swidden fields of corn and other crops) and chinampas (man-made farming islets in lake areas); cooking processes such as nixtamal-ization (lime-hulling maize, which increases its nutritional value); and singular utensils including grinding stones and stone mortars. Native ingredients such as varieties of tomatoes, squashes, avocados, cocoa and vanilla augment the basic staples. Mexican cuisine is elaborate and symbol-laden, with everyday tortillas and tamales, both made of corn, forming an integral part of Day of the Dead offerings.

Late-summer corn shocks mark the end of harvest in Cuanajo, Michoacán.

Ears of red and blue corn, hung to dry from a wooden garabato (hook) in a traditional Michoacán kitchen.

Preparing blue corn masa (dough) on a volcanic stone metate (grinding stone). This masa, used to make tortillas, is made from freshly ground nixtamal-ized blue corn, moistened as needed with water. It has no other ingredients.

Atole de grano (corn soup prepared with fresh anise) dates to the milenia before Mexico's Spanish conquest. All ingredients for this delicious soup are original to the New World, as are the copper that is hand-hammered to make this cazo (cooking pot) and the pine that's hand-carved to form the cuchara (spoon).

"Collectives of female cooks and other practitioners devoted to raising crops and traditional cuisine are found in the State of Michoacán and across Mexico. Their knowledge and techniques express community identity, reinforce social bonds, and build stronger local, regional and national identities. Those efforts in Michoacán also underline the importance of traditional cuisine as a means of sustainable development."

Charales (tiny fish), used in Mexico's cuisine for thousands of years, are still abundant in our lakes. These fish are eaten whole in many different preparations. Click on any photo for a larger view.

Pale light filters through the high window of a traditional Michoacán kitchen. Many 21st Century rural Mexican homes do not have refrigerators.

The UNESCO decision as it relates to Mexico:

"The Committee decides that [this element] satisfies the criteria for inscription on the Representative List, as follows:
- R1: Traditional Mexican cuisine is central to the cultural identity of the communities that practise and transmit it from generation to generation;
- R2: Its inscription on the Representative List could enhance the visibility of intangible cultural heritage and promote respect for cultural diversity and human creativity;
- R3: Current and planned safeguarding measures include consultations and research projects as well as practical training, with the support of the State and the communities concerned;
- R4: Practitioners participated actively in the nomination process and provided their free, prior and informed consent;
- R5: Traditional Mexican cuisine is included in the Inventory of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Mexico maintained by the National Council for Culture and Arts."
On November 16, 2010, Michoacán governor Leonel Godoy Rangel (right) and Dr. Genovevo Figueroa (Michoacán Secretary of Tourism, left) made the official announcement of the UNESCO designation.

All of us who have been involved in this enormous effort, all of the hundreds of traditional cooks who keep the flame of Mexico's ancient culinary excellence alive, all of those who believe in the sanctity of Mexico's trinity of corn, beans, and chile, and all who simply crave a meal of truly Mexican cuisines celebrate UNESCO's recognition of Mexico's cooks, villages, culinary heritage and her tremendous worth. We who are from Michoacán invite you to get to know what UNESCO calls 'the Michoacán paradigm'. We simply call it home cooking.

The wild mirasol, symbol of Michoacán's splendid autumn, invites you to celebrate with us.

Special thanks to the United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization for the use of excerpts from its public documents.

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20 de November de 2010
Noche de Muertos en Michoacán: Night of the Dead in Michoacán

Highly decorated calaca de cartón (cardboard skull) for Noche de Muertos (Night of the Dead) decor.

For the last several days here in Michoacán, people have been cleaning up their family members' graves at local cemeteries. Everything is ready for the wonderful Noche de Muertos (Night of the Dead) festivities during the first two days of November.

Pantéon Municipal (Municipal Cemetery), Tzintzuntzan, Michoacán. Mexico Cooks! photo from Noche de Muertos 2009.

Mexico Cooks! is touring Morelia and Pátzcuaro again during this special time of year. We've attended one or another special Noche de Muertos event every day for an entire week! Traditional ofrendas (altars dedicated to the dead), spectacular crafts exhibits, concerts, and annual concursos (contests) have filled our days and nights. Known in most parts of Mexico as Día de Muertos (the Day of the Dead), here in Michoacán we call the night of November 1 Noche de Muertos (Night of the Dead). By either name, the festival as it's celebrated in Mexico is unique in the world.

These four-inch-long skeletal figures, laid out on their petates (woven rush mats), are hooked up to intravenous bottles of either beer or tequila! Mexico Cooks! has more information about all of the special figures for Noche de Muertos.

Tiny sugar footwear no more than two inches long, in styles from baby booties to high-heeled pumps, is ready to be given as gifts or for placement on an ofrenda. You'll find many more Night of the Dead photos from 2009 on Mexico Cooks!.

Mexico celebrates death as it celebrates life, with extreme enjoyment in the simplest things. Life and death are both honored states. The home ofrenda (altar) usually memorializes a cherished relative, while an altar in a business is normally built to the memory of a political figure (either reviled or beloved), or a figure from the entertainment world. Traditional decorations include the cempasúchil (marigold) and cordón del obispo, pata de león or terciopelo, all regional names for cockscomb flowers, which are used in profusion in churches, cemeteries, and homes.

Sugar skulls are often inscribed in icing with a living friend's name and given to that person as a small token of admiration.

Relatives take favorite foods and beverages to the grave of a loved one gone before. It's said that the dead partake of the spirit of the food, while the living enjoy the physical treats at the cemetery.

Pan de muertos (bread of the dead) is decorated with bone-shaped bread and sugar. The bread itself is flavored with orange and anise.

This miniature ofrenda (altar) is filled with tiny representations of treats that the deceased loved in life.

Several years ago, an article in the New York Times quoted Mexico Cooks! about the Noche de los Muertos: "There's a mutual nostalgia. The living remember the dead, and the dead remember the taste of home." That nostalgia imbues the cities and villages of Michoacán at this time of year just as surely as do woodsmoke and the scent of toasting tortillas.

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30 de October de 2010
El Mesón del Queso Cotija–Región de Origen: Michoacán Aged Cheese
Queso Cotija Gourmet, produced in the Jalmich region of far-western Michoacán by the Mesón del Queso Cotija, SRL de CV.

If you live in the United States, you have more than likely seen packaged cheese labeled 'queso tipo Cotija' (Cotija-style cheese) in your supermarket. You may actually have purchased queso tipo Cotija to crumble on your frijoles refritos (refried beans) or your enchiladas, but have you ever asked yourself why the cheese is Cotija-style? Have you ever wondered what Cotija might be, and what a genuine Cotija cheese is, given that the product in your supermarket is labeled Cotija style?

The Jalmich region of Michoacán is located in the westernmost part of the state along the border with the state of Jalisco. This small area is the región de origen (region of origin) of genuine queso Cotija. Click on the image for a larger view, including the small map in the bottom right-hand corner. Map courtesy Esteban Barragán López.

For starters, Cotija is the largest town (current population about 20,000) in the Jalmich region of far-western Michoacán, where this delicious cheese originated soon after the Spanish brought cattle to what would become Mexico.

Defining what makes a genuine Cotija cheese is a bit more difficult. For many years, local producers have worked diligently to preserve, protect, and promote this well-known but little understood traditional product of Michoacán. Brands of Cotija cheese that are factory-produced or which are produced outside the narrow parameters of the Jalmich region are those that must be called Cotija-style cheese.

General Lázaro Cárdenas del Río, president of Mexico from 1934-1940, introduced hardy Cebú (Brahma) cattle to Mexico in 1925. He believed that the Cebú was ideal for both the tropical and arid regions of the República. His son, Cuahutémoc Cárdenas Solórzano, continues to raise Cebú cattle in Apatzingán, in Michoacán's Tierra Caliente (hot inland lowlands).

Brahma cattle, now cross-bred with Mexican-born or Swiss cattle, need four years to come to maturity and breed. The cows can produce three to four liters of high-quality milk per day while nursing a calf. Cotija cheese producers milk their cows only in the morning. They make cheese from the rich milk only during the June to November rainy season, when the cattle feed on local grasses.

One artisan-made queso Cotija weighs approximately 20-23 kilos (44-50 pounds).

Production of traditional Cotija cheese is limited specifically to the Jalmich region of western Michoacán. Two hundred producers in that area continue to make Cotija cheese. Ten liters of milk are needed to make one kilo of cheese; each cheese weighs in at 20 kilos or more. One nursing cow can produce enough milk during the rainy season to make a single cheese.

At the cava (aging cellar), each cheese is marked with the date that it was made. The cava is strictly controlled for temperature and the intrusion of bacteria. When Mexico Cooks! visited, the producers required us to walk through a disinfecting shoe bath prior to entering the sealed cava.

Sign posted on the entrance to the cava. No mice allowed!

The distinctive characteristics of genuine Cotija cheese are the following:
- Elaborated uniquely on farms in the mountains of Jalmich, Michoacán
- Made from fresh whole leche bronca (raw milk)
- Milk from free-range cattle
- From cows that are nursing their calves
- Prepared with natural rennet from the stomachs of ruminants
- Prepared with artesanal sea salt from Colima
- Production limited to each year's rainy season (June to November)
- Farm-produced and aged in a cava (aging cellar) under strict sanitary regimentation for a minimum of three months
- 100% natural
Dr. Esteban Barragan López, professor at El Colegio de Michoacán and director of promotion for the Mesón del Queso Cotija, points out certain properties of a queso Cotija.

Every afternoon, local farmers hand wrap milk solids in henequen-fiber cloth. Producers initially squeeze the milk solids by hand to drain off excess whey. The cheese is formed in lightweight parota wood molds; then the makers place heavy stones on the molds to continue pressing the cheese. The whey (liquids that run off as the pressed cheese becomes solid) can be used to make requesón, similar to ricotta or cottage cheese, or it can be fed to the farmer's pigs. Eighteen hours later, the cheese is removed from the mold. Two weeks afterward, the wooden belt around the cheese is removed. The cheese continues to age and can be sliced after about three months.

José Luis Barragán Valencia, director of sales for the Mesón del Queso Cotija, examines a cava shelf filled with aging cheeses. The dated cheeses in the cava range from those that are newly-made to others that are about four years old.

The sign on the cava entrance includes its logo, registered as the Marca Colectiva in 2005.

In 2005, Mexico awarded this traditional local cheese with the first Marca Colectiva (Collective Mark) ever given to a Mexican artisanal food product. This distinction recognized the role of the particular Jalmich region, its cheese producers, and the crucial work of the Mesón del Queso Cotija in preserving traditional cheese production. The designation is similar to that of products like Champagne and Roquefort, which enjoy the coveted PDO (Protected Designation of Origin) status. Much like the Mexican Marca Colectiva, the PDO also refers to specific geographic regions in Europe where certain protected products are produced.

Sr. Barragán Valencia uses a Cryovac machine to package a cut of aged queso Cotija. The labels of all cheese cuts indicate the age of the cheese in the package.

In addition to the sought-after and prestigious Marca Colectiva designation, artisan queso Cotija from the Mesón del Queso Cotija won first prize in 2006 in Italy, in a championship of high-quality cheeses from all over the world.

The Mesón del Queso Cotija also markets pre-crumbled queso Cotija.

Due to current United States Food and Drug Administration restrictions on cheeses made of unpasteurized milk, it is not yet possible to export this artisan-made queso Cotija to the USA. However, the cheese is widely available in Mexico, sold in such diverse locations as the prestigious Palacio de Hierro department stores, Restaurante Nicos and La Nicolasa organic grocery shop in Mexico City, and Soriana supermarkets all over Mexico, among other venues.

Breakfast at the Mesón del Queso Cotija: queso Cotija, of course! In addition, we relished plates of delicious fresh fruit picked on the premises, eggs from the Mesón's chickens, avocados from trees on the property, home-prepared chilaquiles with thick cream and cheese, requesón frito (cottage-type cheese fried with chile, onions, and tomato), and cafe de olla (coffee, flavored with cinnamon and sweetened with piloncillo (Mexican brown sugar).

What hard work it is to be Mexico Cooks!. There is always some fascinating place to visit, and always some wonderful food to experience. Come along! We'd be delighted to show you our insider secrets.

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23 de October de 2010
Santa Clara del Cobre: : Michoacán Ferias y Fiestas Pueblerinas 2010 :: Small-town Michoacán Fairs and Festivals 2010

Hand-hammering the finish in a Santa Clara del Cobre copper workshop. Many of the copper artisans' tools are made by the men themselves in order to meet the specific needs of their work.

Death fights a bull at the parade for the 2010 Feria Nacional del Cobre (National Copper Fair).

Carros alegóricos (parade floats) pulled by ox teams represented the stages of crop growth. This one is called "siembra del trigo"–sowing the wheat.

This carro alegórico represents la milpa (the corn field).

Michoacán's governor, Leonel Godoy Rangel, crowns Berenice Saucedo as the 2010 Reina del Cobre (Copper Queen).

La reina Berenice (center) and her two princesas Citlali graciously posed for Mexico Cooks!. Yes, both princesses were coincidentally named Citlali. Note the tiny copper pitcher on the top of the queen's scepter–and the copper crowns and jewelry made just for the occasion.

La Reina Berenice and her princesses, Citlali Nuñez and Citlali Maldonado, rode through the parade crowd in this cart.

Other floats were built on trucks. Unión de Artesanos Pito Pérez (a copper workers' union) decorated this truck bed with the typical roof of a troje (Purhépecha building), tissue paper flowers, and handmade garlands of huinumo (pine needles).

In addition to copper, woven textiles are part of the artisan culture of Santa Clara del Cobre. Weavers and their looms rode the parade route on this flatbed truck.

Coliman, with acres of orchards near Santa Clara, produces huge quantities of Hass avocado, better known in Michoacán as oro verde (green gold). This truck, decorated for the parade and loaded with crates of avocados, barely fit on the narrow main street of town.

This flatbed float is dedicated to Don Vasco de Quiroga, who arrived in Michoacán in 1531 and worked with the indigenous population to raise the quality of artisan work made in this region. Click on any photo to see detail.

After the floats passed by, the parade treated the crowd to local men and boys on dancing horses.

Gorgeous!

And after the horses, heroes of Mexico's 1810 struggle for independence marched by–here, Padre Miguel Hidalgo, who gave the initial grito (cry) for independence on the night of September 15, 1810.

Other men from Santa Clara represented foot soldiers from Mexico's 1910 revolution. The instant after I snapped this photo, the man in the red shirt jovially pointed his mock-up gun at me!

In the traditional copper workshops of Santa Clara, wood fires are still made to blaze with a hand-and-foot operated bellows.

Incredibly complex and beautiful copper artistry comes from this elegant copper shop. The glowing copper pots, on the left are hand enameled with monarch butterflies (a symbol of the state of Michoacán). The dark finish on the pots in the foreground is entirely natural, not applied. Each pot is hand-hammered from a solid ingot–each pot is seamless.

The shirt tells the story: 'los artesanos en Michoacán trabajan' (the artisans of Michoacán work).

Join Mexico Cooks! at the August 2011 Feria Nacional del Cobre. Email me for dates!

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tailored-to-your-interests specialized tour in Mexico? Click here: Tours.

25 de September de 2010
San Francisco Pichátaro: Michoacán Ferias y Fiestas Pueblerinas 2010 :: Small-town Michoacán Fairs and Festivals 2010

At the 2010 XI Feria del Mueble Rústico y Textil Bordado (Eleventh Annual Rustic Furniture and Embroidered Textile Fair) in San Francisco Pichátaro, Michoacán, Hugo the canary is ready to hop out of his colorful cage to pull an envelope with your particular fortune out of a box filled with hundreds of others. Hugo and Luis's owner said that we should read the wee paper folded inside the envelope and then burn it–but don't tell a soul what it says or "tu suerte no se haga realidad" (your fortune won't come true). Canarios de la suerte (fortune telling canaries) have been popular in Mexico for long, long years.

Just outside the atrium wall of Pichátaro's Templo de San Francisco de Asís (Church of St. Francis of Assisi), the carnival rides await the evening's crowd.

A finely cross-stitched guanengo, the blusa típica (traditional blouse) worn by Michoacán's Purhépecha women. This guanengo was for sale, but we didn't ask the price.

Hand-carved wooden angels play the harp and lute.

A baúl (chest) sits on its matching stand. All of the furniture pieces pictured in this article were awaiting judging in the annual concurso (competition).

Detail of chest of drawers, San Francisco Pichátaro 2010.

These hand-made plastic mice, for sale by their creator Apolinar Aguilar Bovadilla, are filled with candy and cost 10 pesos apiece.

Three cuates (buddies) from Michoacán sell blankets, belts, and cacahuates (peanuts) by the bag.

Miguel Martínez has been selling home-made cocadas (coconut candy) for the last eight years. He laughed when I asked if they were made in his home. "No, but they're made in somebody's home!" The yellow cocadas at the top of the photo are flavored with rompope (similar to eggnog); the white and brown cocadas are flavored with vanilla and cajeta (similar to butterscotch); the cocada in the foreground is sweetened and flavored with one of Mexico's dessert-making standbys: La Lechera sweetened condensed milk.

Pichátaro's Templo de San Francisco de Asís, interior. Photo by Mexico Cooks! from the 2009 fiestas; the crowd was so densely packed this year that we could not see inside the church.

In the churchyard, St. Francis patiently awaits the burning of the castillo (set-piece fireworks), pictured in part at the left. The paper tubes are filled with gunpowder. The men who were putting the finishing touches on the castillos said they would be burned at about eleven o'clock at night–nearly twelve hours from the time we arrived at the fiestas. Much as we wanted to wait, we had to leave.

We watched part of the two-hour concurso de tallado en vivo (live competition for woodcarving) for a while. Hands, tools, and chips flew as the young men worked their designs.

This double bed headboard and its two accompanying nightstands riveted the attention of everyone who saw the pieces. Titled "Siembra" (Sowing), the set was carved by Maurilio Morales Goche. While Mexico Cooks! was talking with the artist's mother, the fabulous bedroom set was deservedly honored with the first place ribbon in the 2010 carving competition. Enlarge any of the photos for a close-up look.

"Siembra" headboard detail with mature ears of corn and bird.

"Siembra" headboard detail with flowers, corn leaves, and hummingbird.

A slice of pastel de fiesta (fiesta cake) is essential to make the party complete. Always dyed in garish colors (Mexico Cooks! is partial to the florescent pink), the cake is layered with thick atole (in this case, made stiffer than pudding and dyed in colors to contrast with the cake). The beautiful little girl in the background is Flor García Aparicio, age three, daughter of the vendor.

Next year you'll have to come along with us to San Francisco Pichátro for the fiestas patronales (patron saint's feast days). You can't miss the furniture, or the fun…or the cake.

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28 de August de 2010
Mexico Cooks! Explores Tepoztlán with Betty Fussell

The view is from an upstairs bedroom at Betty's hideaway. Tepoztlán's jagged cliffs and crags are said to hide the secret birthplace of Quetzalcóatl, the omnipotent plumed serpent god of ancient Mexico. Tepoztlán, just 90 kilometers south of Mexico City, is a popular weekend getaway for harried capitalinos hungry for respite from the big city.

A little while ago, Mexico Cooks!' friend Betty Fussell emailed: "I'll be in Tepoztlán for a few weeks this summer, can you come to visit? Rondi's coming…" Never one to pass up a visit with these marvelous women, I answered instantly: of course! Not only was I eager to spend time with Betty and our mutual friend Rondi Frankel (highly respected wine connoiseur, sommelier, and former public relations director for Monte Xanic winery), I had never been to Tepoztlán. I couldn't imagine better company for my initiation into the mysteries of this enormously popular destination.

Midsummer roses graced a table at the house in Tepoztlán.

We had no sooner arrived and gotten our luggage into the house than we were out the door and up the cobblestone streets to the renowned Tepoztlán Sunday market. Rondi parked the car, we all hopped out–and Tlaloc, the rain god, immediately made his presence felt. What a downpour! We sloshed our way to the market, laughing all the way.

Betty, wet through but undaunted, savors her esquite.

We took temporary refuge from the storm under the lonas (tarps) that almost-but-not-quite cover the outdoor sections of the Tepoztlán Sunday market. While we waited for the downpour to slow, we all devoured delicious esquites–fresh, tender corn (either on or off the cob) simmered in water seasoned with epazote and chile de árbol, then slathered with Tepoztlán's famous crema (thick table cream, very similar to France's creme fraiche), finely grated cheese, and more chile muy picante, this time powdered.

Squash blossom vendor. Photo courtesy Roset Claes.

After picking our way down the crowded aisles of the market, we stopped for another bite. It was too late in the day for tlacoyos (a delicious corn dough-based snack)–all of the market fondas were out of the special masa (corn dough) used to prepare them–so we each ordered a quesadilla. Betty and Rondi had theirs with flor de calabaza (squash flower) and I had mine with papas y rajas (potatoes and strips of roasted chile poblano). After finishing our second tidbit of the afternoon, we gave up our near-swim through the market and headed for dry clothes and the warmth of home.

From the 1530s Codice Borboni: a drawing of Tepoztécatl, god of pulque. A whitewashed pyramid built to honor him sits atop the mountain called Tepozteco.

Tepotzlán is legendary home not only to Quetzalcóatl but also to Tepoztécatl, one of the several gods of pulque (Mexico's prehistoric alcoholic beverage made from the fermented juice of maguey cactus). The town is a land of both mystical and historical significance. Set in rugged mountains nearly 6000 feet above sea level, the area around Tepoztlán is believed to hold deep spiritual powers, concentrated in an energy vortex similar to that said to exist at Taos, New Mexico. Near the town, archeologists have found pottery and other artifacts dating to as early as 1500 BCE.

Today, Tepoztlán is partly a traditional Mexican town and partly a foreign artists' colony. Population is approximately 33,000, swelling enormously as hordes of primarily Mexican tourists arrive for weekends and holidays. Homes ranging from the most humble and tumble-down to the sort featured occasionally in Architectural Digest line the cobblestone streets twisting up and down its hills. Green-leaved sub-tropical trees and glorious flowers create bowers of beauty at every turn.

Tepoztlán's Ex-Convento de la Natividad, founded in the 16th Century by Dominican missionaries.

Local tradition at the Ex-Convento includes a mural on the church's arched entry wall, freshly re-created each year in September by local artists. The mural, made entirely of seeds, depicts symbols of pre-Hispanic history and tradition.

Pre-Hispanic family life, depicted in seeds on the entry wall at the Ex-Convento de la Natividad.

Pre-Hispanic symbol of the rabbit in the moon from the 2009 seed mural.

Broken 18th Century bells, removed from the towers at the Ex-Convento de la Natividad. The weight of the bell on the far right is indicated in arobas [sic], a unit of measure equivalent to approximately 15 kilos. Click on any photo for an enlarged view.

Hats for guests hang on a hall tree at the lovely home where Betty, Rondi, and Mexico Cooks! enjoyed time together.

We three spent part of a hot, sunny Monday browsing through the street stands and shops in Tepoztlán's central market. Clothing from the Mexican states of Oaxaca, Chiapas, Guerrero as well as neighboring Guatemala included Oaxacan and Guatemalan huipiles, regionally-made huaraches, hats, and fine linen or cotton guayaberas from Guatemala for men. As in most of Mexico's tianguis (street markets), merchandise at the market in Tepoztlán ranges from produce and meats to CDs, DVDs, and toys, and from flowers to fondas (food booths serving regional specialties).

Cecina de Yecapixtla, Tepoztlán.

The local meat specialty is delicious and hugely popular cecina de Yecapixtla, a type of thinly-sliced beef. The fresh beef is cut from the legs of steers into long, wide, thin strips. The men who train to cut cecina apprentice for as long as two years to learn the correct method. A single beef strip, properly cut, can measure up to 20 meters long. After cutting, the meat is seasoned with salt, allowed to dry slightly in the sun, and rubbed with pork lard. Cooked over a charcoal fire or briefly sautéed in a frying pan, cecina is tender and extremely flavorful. It's commonly served with black beans and crema.

Other local food specialties are tlacoyos and itacates, both of which we left for our next trip to Tepoztlán. There was only so much time and so much room in our stomachs!

Next week: Lunch at El Ciruelo in Tepoztlán, and a relaxing afternoon with the peacocks at Las Mañanitas in Cuernavaca.

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tailored-to-your-interests specialized tour in Mexico? Click here: Tours.

14 de August de 2010
Templo de Santiago Apóstol: Tupátaro and the Painted Churches of Michoacán

Originally published on April 11, 2009. A few weeks ago, a small tour group of Belgian women asked Mexico Cooks! to take them to visit this fabulous church. I thought you might also like to visit it again.

The simple whitewashed facade of Tupátaro's templo (church) of Santiago Apóstol (St. James the Apostle) belies the intense beauty inside. Note the pale-purple orchids blooming in the tree at the left.

The evangelization of Michoacán's Purhépecha tablelands, where many of the state's largest group of indigenous people live, was realized during the 16th and 17th centuries. Religious and secular orders who came to New Spain during the earliest part of the Spanish Conquest worked ceaselessly to convert the native peoples to Christianity. In the 16th Century, Franciscan and Augustinian priests worked together with the first bishop of Michoacán, Don Vasco de Quiroga, creating 'hospital-towns' all along a route through the mountains and valleys of Michoacán. Today, that route is still known as 'La Ruta de Don Vasco'

Bishop Vasco de Quiroga, an intellectual student of Thomas Moore's Utopia, saw in the area that is now the state of Michoacán an ideal place to put Moore's social theories to work. In Michoacán, Quiroga found a thriving crafts-driven economy, a well-developed and organized community, and the opportunity to lead the indigenous to higher and higher goals of barter and commerce. Although Vasco de Quiroga had already founded a similar 'hospital' in Mexico City, he invested his entire life in perfecting the idea throughout Michoacán's Meseta Purhépecha.

The retablo (altarpiece) in Santiago Apóstol is made of carved wood covered with 23.5 karat gold leaf. The six paintings in the retablo, painted by a single artist in the 17th Century, are oil on canvas.

Michoacán's pueblos hospitalarios ('hospital-towns') were evangelized in a manner unlike that in other regions of New Spain. The term 'hospital-towns' refers to the founding of towns specifically for the purpose of offering hospitality to the stranger and religious education as much as physical care for the sick. Each of the several pueblos hospitalarios was built along similar lines: they included a convent, a church dedicated to a particular patron saint, a smaller chapel dedicated to the Immaculate Conception, and a huatápera (meeting place), which was the actual hospital and travelers' hostel. The huatápera was the heart of the complex and the church was its soul.

Religious architecture in the Purhépecha towns was characterized by the use of adobe brick and mortar walls and carved volcanic stone entryways. The roofs were originally made of tejamanil (thin pine strips) which were later covered with clay tiles. The jewel of the interior of the simple churches was the high ceilings. Either curved or trapezoidal, the entire wooden ceiling was profusely hand-painted by indigenous artists with images of the litanies of Mary and/or Jesus, with angels, archangels, and apostols. They are filled with symbols of medieval European Christianity adapted to the perspective of the native Purhépechas. Serving as decoration, devotion, and education in the faith, these churches and their ceilings, along with their finely detailed carved retablos (altarpieces), are some of the greatest artistic treasures of the region. Today, they are still an important part of the Route of Don Vasco.

El Señor del Pino (The Lord of the Pine), 18th Century crucifix venerated on the altar in Tupátaro.

For years, Mexico Cooks! has been fascinated with the Templo de Santiago Apóstol (Church of St. James the Apostle) in Tupátaro, Michoacán. The tiny church was founded by Spanish Augustinian missionary priests who arrived either with or soon after Don Vasco de Quiroga. Under the careful conservatorship of Mexico's INAH (Instituto Nacional de Antropología e Historia), Santiago Apóstol is one of the small 16th Century churches in Michoacán that has been restored to its original glory. Frequently called the Sistine Chapel of the Americas, Santiago Apóstol of Tupátaro is one of the most important early churches of Mexico. INAH recently honored Mexico Cooks! with permission to photograph and write about this national treasure.

The highly revered statue of Santiago Apóstol (St. James the Apostle) stands at the left side of the church altar. Built on a platform made to be carried on townspeople's shoulders, the statue processes solemnly through Tupátaro every year on the saint's feast day.

The 500-year-old wood-plank floors, built over crypts, creaked as we entered the church and walked toward the altar.

Rays of sun semi-illuminate the six oil paintings of the retablo (altarpiece): the crowning with thorns, the flagellation, the way to Gethsemane, the prayer in the garden, the adoracion of the Magi, and, high above the rest, Saint James the Apostle on his horse. The angels on either side of Santiago Apóstol have mestizo (mixed race) faces; all six paintings were created by the same hand. The sense of antiquity and reverence are palpable in this early New World church.

Detail of alterpiece sections Santiago Apóstol (St. James the Apostle) and La Adoración (Adoration of the Magi).

The classic baroque carved wood columns of the retablo, covered with 23.5 carat gold leaf, are adorned with bunches of grapes, mazorcas (ears of corn), granadas (pomegranates), and the whole avocados which represent this region of Mexico. In addition, sculptures of four pelicans decorate the altar. The pelican, with its young pecking at its breast until blood flows from its flesh, is an early Christian symbol of Christ who nurtures his church with his blood.

Detail of the life-size pasta de caña crucifix, Templo Santiago Apóstol, Tupátaro. Pasta de caña, unique to the central highlands of Mexico, is made from corn stalk pulp mixed with paste from orchid bulbs. Shaped around a wooden or bamboo armature, the paste is allowed to harden. It's then carved, covered with gesso, and polychromed.

On the right of the altar stand carvings of the four evangelists: Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John. On the left are four Doctors of the Church: St. Gregory, St. Augustine, St. Jerome, and St. Ambrose.

The wooden bóveda (arched) ceiling, entirely hand-painted by indigenous serfs in the 18th Century, is the most spectacular feature of the church. The paintings include the Passion of Christ, twelve mysteries (stories to meditate) of the lives of the Virgin Mary and Jesus, 33 archangels holding Christian symbols (one archangel for each year Christ lived on Earth), and other religious and secular symbols.

This archangel carries the three nails used to hang Christ on the cross.

Each of the archangels wears distinct clothing, has a unique face, and different wings. Each stands on clouds. In the photographs, you can see that the lower sections of each panel are flat against the wall; the next two or three panels form the beginning of the boveda, and the higher panels curve against the ceiling. Each individual archangel panel measures three to four meters high; together they span both sides of the length of the church, from entrance to altar.

This archangel carries a Christian flag.

This archangel carries a sponge on a pole and a vessel filled with vinegar. When Christ said, "I thirst,", as he hung on the cross, he was given vinegar to drink.

La Anunciación (The Annunciation), one of the mysteries of the life of the Virgin Mary. The angel is telling her that she will be the mother of God.

La Ultima Cena (The Last Supper), a mystery of the life of Christ. The food on the table is food found in this region of Mexico.

La Resurrección (the Resurrection).

The panels showing the mysteries of the life of Christ begin at the front of the church and move toward the altar; the panels showing the mysteries of the life of the Virgin Mary begin at the altar and move toward the front of the church. Watermelons painted on the beams between the panels represent the blood of Christ.

This panel is positioned directly over the altar. In the center is a dove, the symbol of the Holy Spirit.

The ceiling panels and other paintings were painted directly on wood, using tempera paint made with egg yolks. Vegetable and earthen dyes color the 18th Century paints, which have held up very well for nearly three hundred years.

The front panel of the altar, unique in the world, is made of pasta de caña, linen, cotton, and silver leaf. The dedication inside the oval reads, "Se hizo este frontal par al el Santísimo Cristo del Pueblo de Tupátaro a espensas de sus devotos y dando sus limosnas siendo Eusebio Avila año 1765." ("This altar front was made for the Most Holy Christ of the people of Tupátaro at the cost of his devoted followers and giving alms, being Eusebio Avila year 1765.") The panel was recently restored by Pedro Dávalos Cotonieto, a local sculptor who specializes in pasta de caña.

The tiny church has an exquisitely beautiful museum. Juan Cabrera Santana, the church caretaker and our exceptionally knowledgeable guide, showed us its treasures.

Sixteenth century saint, Museo Santiago Apóstol.

La Santísima (The Holy Virgin Mary), fresco, Museo Santiago Apóstol.

Tupátaro, Michoacán town plaza.

Mexico Cooks! is grateful to INAH (the Instituto Nacional de Antropología e Historio) and to Juan Cabrera Santana for their kind permission and guidance in bringing the Tupátaro Templo de Santiago Apóstol to our readers.

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7 de August de 2010
Museo Regional de Arte Popular (Regional Folk Art Museum) in Pátzcuaro, Michoacán

This Mexico Cooks! article was originally published in early 2009. The museum is currently undergoing extensive restoration and expects to re-open to the public in August 2010 and I'll be there to take new photos for publication here. Meantime, let's take a virtual tour for old time's sake.

El
Museo Regional de Arte Popular (Regional Folk Art Museum), located
at the corner of Calle Enseñanza and Calle Alcantarilla in Pátzcuaro,
Michoacán. This small museum, the original site of the oldest college
in the state of Michoacán, now holds arts and crafts treasures of the
regional indigenous Purhépecha people. Exquisite examples of copper,
silver, clay, wood, straw, and textile work from the 16th Century to the
present allow visitors to compare old and new techniques.

Mexico
Cooks! has visited Pátzcuaro's Museo Regional de Arte Popular
(Regional Folk Art Museum) so frequently over the course of the last 30
years that we all but have the exhibits memorized. Some of the items
are such favorites that at times, they populate our dreams. This
marvelously carved wooden dance mask, with its long beard and
exceptionally large nose, makes us laugh every time we see it. Notice
the cut-out slits between the mask's eyes and the eyebrows. They
allowed the wearer to see where he was going while he danced.

This
17th Century Christ is made of pasta de caña de maíz.

Sometimes
erroneously called 'corn dough', the core of the entire Christ figure
pictured above is made of a finely kneaded paste created from the
ground-up inner parts of cornstalks and a liquid exuded from deltatzingeni
(the bulbs of regional orchids). Early artisans created an armature, a
'skeleton' of dried corn leaves and incidental small pieces of wood.
Tiny parts (such as fingers) of some figures were sometimes formed using
turkey feathers as the armature. Artists then sculpted a figure with pasta
de caña. The artisans incorporated insecticides into the
corn/orchid paste, which has protected these sculptures over the course
of several centuries. The Museo Regional in Pátzcuaro has a number of pasta
de caña figures dating to the 16th and 17th Centuries.

Mexico
Cooks! is particularly fond of the museum's display of an early
Michoacán kitchen.

In the photo above, you can see many components
of a traditional Michoacán cocina (kitchen). The wood-burning
cookstove, at lower left, is made of clay-covered adobe. Long
rectangular holes for firewood are under recessed round openings for
balancing round-bottomed clay cooking pots. Ocote (sticks of fat
pine kindling, stored in a metal holder built into the stove,
near-middle left) quickly lights the fire. Ollas de barro (clay
pots) stack for storing kitchen staples–no lids required. To the right
of the stacked ollas, copper vessels line a wooden shelf. Other
ollas are ranged around the lower kitchen shelf. At middle left,
above the ollas, two carved wood cuchareros (spoon
holders) are both decorative and utilitarian. Above the cuchareros,
another wooden shelf holds pottery cups and small dishes and pitchers.
Above that shelf, the intricate wall art, made of individual tiny clay
cups, is typical of nearly every region of Mexico. Whether a simple or
complex design, in Mexico's traditional kitchens, it's always made of
cups.

A
carved wood cupboard, built into the museum wall, holds copper mugs,
pitchers, bowls and platters made in Sta. Clara del Cobre, Michoacán.
The graduated-size copper utensils hung on either side of the cupboard
are measures for dry and liquid ingredients.

A
charola de maque (inlaid lacquer tray) from the 19th Century.

This
large carved figure of Saint Ann holding the child Virgin Maria is made
of one piece of wood–except for one detail. When you visit the museum
on your Mexico Cooks! tour of Pátzcuaro, look closely for the
fine line near the ears of both heads. The faces were carved separately
to allow for the placement of the figures' glass eyes.

Mexico
Cooks! covets this hand-embroidered tablecloth. Every part of the
cloth is sewn with a Mexican dicho de la cocina (kitchen
sayings). We've often told the museum docents that if the tablecloth
disappears, it will be at our house. For more dichos de la cocina,
see Panza Llena, Corazón Contento.

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tailored-to-your-interests specialized tour in Mexico? Click here: Tours.

17 de July de 2010
Ruta de Aromas y Sabores 2010: Touring Michoacán with Patricia Quintana

A decorative charanda barrel at the entrance to Distilería El Tarasco in Uruapan. Charanda, distilled from sugar cane and bottled as both blanco (newly distilled) or reposado (aged), is a regional alcohol specialty of Michoacán.

Eighty hardy souls, chefs, journalists, travel specialists and food writers all, recently toured Mexico's Central Highlands on a two-week fact-finding and eating binge that brought us together from Europe, South and Central America, the United States, and other points around the globe. Aromas y Sabores de México, Ruta del Bicentenario 2010, organized by Mexico's national tourism department, kicked off in Mexico City on May 29 and ended its culinary wanderings in Michoacán on June 10. Naturally Mexico Cooks! thinks they saved the best for last!

Eleven o'clock on a hot spring morning and my friend Betty Fussell was sucking down a charanda piña colada AND a torito at the distillery! It was Betty's first full-blown taste of Michoacán and we had a marvelous time together.

The two-bus, multi-van caravan wound its way from Mexico City to the State of Mexico, then to Querétaro, to Guanajuato and, for the last four days, to Michoacán. Tour participants, accompanied by Chef Patricia Quintana of Mexico City's hot-ticket Restaurante Izote, slept when they could, partied when sleep eluded them, visited countless historic sites gussied up for Mexico's 2010 bicentennial celebrations, and ate till they could eat no more.

John Rivera Sedlar, of Rivera Restaurant in Los Angeles, California, enjoys a super-refreshing torito (made with charanda, of course) and a visit with Mexico Cooks! Photo courtesy Cynthia Martínez, Restaurante San Miguelito, Morelia.

On a hot spring day in Uruapan, Michoacán, Magda Choque Vilca, field coordinator of Argentina's Proyecto Cultivos Andinos, delights in a cooling paleta de aguacate (avocado ice pop).

Two of Michoacán's best known products are the avocado (we're the world's largest avocado grower) and the macadamia nut. This chilly and refreshing mousse, unique to Restaurante Tony's–(Morelos #183, Col. Morelos, Uruapan)–combines both delicacies. The creamy white macadamia bottom layer supports the pale green avocado top layer. It was absolutely delicious.

A metate y mano (volcanic three-legged flat grinding stone and its 'rolling pin') on display at the regional museum at Uruapan's La Huatápera. La Huatápera originated in the 16th Century. Nearly five hundred years ago, Bishop Vasco de Quiroga created the building as a hospitality center for the Purhépecha people.

For the Ruta de Aromas y Sabores tour, La Huatápera once again became a hospitality center. Tables along the portales (covered terraces) around the building held tastes of regional treats: ceviche de trucha, guacamole, paletas, and much more. Brought by Restaurante Tony's, these avocados were halved horizontally, the meat partially removed and then mashed with cream cheese, spices, and stuffed back into the avocado shell and decorated with these charming faces. The parsley eyebrows especially tickled me.

Restaurante Los Mirasoles in Morelia hosted the welcome dinner for the Michoacán portion of the Ruta de Aromas y Sabores tour. Executive chef Rubí Silva Figueroa pulled out all the stops to make the meal a high-end version of Michoacán's regional foods. Seated at a table with food professionals and journalists from Europe, South America, and the United States, Mexico Cooks! explained the food. It was, as one friend said, a comida didáctica–a teaching meal! Photo courtesy of Los Mirasoles.

Paracho, Michoacán, is known as Mexico's guitar central, but it is also famous for weaving, embroidery, and other artisan work. Michoacán's Secretaría de Turismo (state tourism department) had arranged for a small tianguis artesanal (artisans' street market) for our tour. Among the items on display and for sale were rebozos (long rectangular shawls) woven by the famous reboceros de Aranza (rebozo-makers of Aranza). Finely loomed and beautifully patterned and colored, each of these dressy cotton rebozos take anywhere from two weeks to a month to complete.

We had a marvelous time on the tour! Left to right: Lic. Elizabeth Vargas Martín del Campo, director of the Politécnico de Guanajuato; Chef Patricia Quintana, executive chef, Restaurante Izote, Mexico City; Sacha Ormaechea, Restaurante Sacha, Madrid, Spain; Olivia González de Alegría, Director General, Instituto Gastronómico de Estudios Superiores, Querétaro; Cynthia Canela, owner, Restaurante San Miguelito, Morelia; and Mexico Cooks!. Photo courtesy of Cynthia Canela.

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10 de July de 2010