Category: Current Affairs

8° Encuentro de Cocina Tradicional de Michoacán: Eighth Annual Michoacán Traditional Food Festival
On October 4, 5, and 6, 2013, the Encuentro de Cocina Tradicional de Michoacán
will celebrate its 10th anniversary. In honor of the coming festival,
for the next three weeks, Mexico Cooks! will publishing its articles
about the prior three years of the Encuentro. In mid-October, you'll find the report of the 10th Anniversary Encuentro,
right here on Mexico Cooks!. And if you can possibly get to the 10th
Anniversary event, we'll publish all the details just as soon as we have
them. Meantime, save the dates: October 4, 5, and 6, 2013 in Morelia,
Michoacán.

Maestra Benedicta Alejo Vargas grinds cilantro and mint to prepare tzirita, a deliciously spicy botana (appetizer or snack) based on metate-ground chile seeds and various herbs.

For me, the days leading to the Eighth Annual Encuentro de Cocina
Tradicional de Michoacán moved almost as slowly as the days leading to a
five-year-old's Christmas morning. This event celebrating the
traditional cuisines of regional Michoacán, held annually during the
first weekend of December, is the high point of my personal and
professional year.

Essentials of the Michoacán kitchen: clay pots, wooden utensils, a ventilador (fan) to urge the wood fire hotter, and the skilled hands of a cook.

The Encuentro started life in 2004, sponsored by the Secretaría de Turismo and the Secretaría de Cultura del Estado de Michoacán
as well as by several generous corporate sponsors. During its eight
years, it has grown and changed, evolving into the unique event that so
many of us enjoy. Although there are many different food festivals in
Mexico, no other has the impact of the annual Encuentro.

Maestra Amparo Cervantes (left) of Tzurumútaro and Señora Paulita Alfaro of Nuevo San Juan Parangaricutiro are two of several elegant and vital grandes damas
(great ladies) of the Michoacán kitchen. They pass their recipes and
secrets of the kitchen to their daughters and granddaughters.

In November 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. Since then, Michoacán
regional cooks have proudly carried the banner of what is called el paradigma michoacano–the
Michoacán paradigm. UNESCO included those words in its award based on
miliennia-old indigenous Purhépecha way of food preparation that has
been preserved, protected, and promoted up to the present day. The
Michoacán paradigm is a model for other regional Mexican cuisines.

Freshly hand-made corn tortillas toasting on a wood-fire heated clay comal
(griddle). Note that the tortilla in the foreground is puffed up; this
is a key sign of a properly made tortilla. The tortilla will flatten
out again as it toasts. There are no tortillas like those hand-made in
Michoacán.

Much
of Michoacán's regional cuisine is based on Mexico's native corn.
These dried ears, hung up to decorate a festive food stand at the 2010 Encuentro, show just a few of the several colors of corn native to this area. The preservation of native corn varieties is crucial to the continuity of the Michoacán paradigm.

Maestra Antonina González Leandro of Tarerio, Michoacán, is radiant in her hand-embroidered blouse.

This year, the organizing committee gave special honors to a few of
the consistent winners of the cooking competition at the heart of each
annual Encuentro. These great women of the regional kitchen, now retired from competition, are the soul of this festive event. They are:
- Benedicta Alejo Vargas, San Lorenzo. Her specialities for 2010 were wild mushrooms, traditional churipo (a beef-based soup), rabbit mole, cheese mole, and tzirita.
- Juana Bravo Lázaro, Angahuan. Her specialities were atápakua de kuruchi kariri (dried fish stew), filled corundas with churipo, and two varieties of tortillas.
- Antonina González Leandro, Tarerio. She specialized in fried trout with traditional mole, tomato mole, or in a broth, pozole, and ponteduro (a kind of toasted and sweetened corn snack).
- Esperanza Galván Hernández, Zacán. Her specialties were mole tatemado con arroz (baked mole with rice), quesadillas, corundas filled with vegetables, and blue corn tortillas.
- Amparo Cervantes, Tzurumútaro. For this Encuentro, she specialized in mole con pollo y arroz (mole with chicken and rice), carne de puerco con rajas (pork meat with poblano chile strips), corundas, and uchepos.
A few of Maestra Antonina's special dishes, including (lower right) tortitas de charales, (center, in the molcajete) salsa de chile perón, (back left) nopalitos en salsa de jitomate, and (back right) caldo de trucha (freshly fried Michoacán-farmed rainbow trout in broth).

Maestra Amparo's carne de cerdo con rajas, cooking over a wood fire. She constantly tended and stirred the cazuela (clay cooking dish) so that the preparation would neither dry out nor stick.

Sra. Cayetana Nambo Rangel of Erongarícuaro prepared choricorundas, a type of pyramid-shaped corn tamal filled with cooked chorizo, a spicy pork sausage. The corunda is wrapped in a long green corn leaf (not a corn husk) and then steamed. Traditionally, corundas can be either blind (made without a filling) or filled.

Young cook Susana Servín Galván of Zacán entered the food competition with cuchiatápakua en chile verde con frijoles de la olla, a traditional dish from her small town. The dish consists of pork meat cooked in a thick sauce made of highly spicy chile serrano
and served with freshly cooked beans and blue corn tortillas. This is
my jealously guarded plateful; the dish was stunningly delicious and
sold out quickly. I was lucky to taste it.

Susana Servín Galván, the up-and-coming young cook who prepared the fabulous dish in the preceding photo.

Salsa de chile de árbol pounded into existence using this enormous molcajete y tejolote (volcanic stone mortar and pestle).

More ingredients and utensils crucial to the regional Michoacán kitchen.

Mexico Cooks! will keep you informed about the dates for the 2012 Ninth Annual Encuentro de Cocina Tradicional de Michoacán.
This unique event, a true look at Michoacán's regional cuisine, should
be on everyone's calendar for early December. Come with us and we will
introduce you to all of these dishes and more!

Looking for a tailored-to-your-interests specialized tour in Mexico? Click here: Tours.
28 de September de 2013
7º Encuentro de Cocina Tradicional de Michoacán: Michoacán’s Seventh Annual Festival of Traditional Cuisine

On October 4, 5, and 6, 2013, the Encuentro de Cocina Tradicional de Michoacán will celebrate its 10th anniversary. In honor of the coming festival, for the next three weeks, Mexico Cooks! will publishing its articles about the prior three years of the Encuentro. In mid-October, you'll find the report of the 10th Anniversary Encuentro, right here on Mexico Cooks!. And if you can possibly get to the 10th Anniversary event, we'll publish all the details just as soon as we have them. Meantime, save the dates: October 4, 5, and 6, 2013 in Morelia, Michoacán.

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 2010 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 Restaurante El Naranjo, Austin, 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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21 de September de 2013
La Feria del Chile (The Chile Fair) in Queréndaro, Michoacán
This article, originally published in September 2008, is current once again. The Feria del Chile de Queréndaro is happening this weekend, August 9-11, 2013. If you're in the vicinity of Queréndaro, Michoacán, by all means get there.

We fell in love with these wee ballet folklórico performers, children no more than four years old.

For
the last seven years, just around the late July-early August harvest
time, the town of Queréndaro, Michoacán, has celebrated the Feria del Chile (chile
fair). The center of town fills with rides for children, booths
specializing in all sorts of food, games of chance, a big stage for
daily ballet folklórico and nightly music, and all the usual whoopdedoo of fiesta time. The star of the fiestas is, of course, the chile chilaca.

In Queréndaro, Michoacán, daily work is all about locally grown chiles chilaca.

About 3 thousand acres of chile chilaca are
planted in the central Mexican states of
Aguascalientes, Jalisco, Guanajuato, Zacatecas and Michoacán. Many of
the residents of Queréndaro, Michoacán commercially cultivate this
particular chile.

All work and no play is no good, though. This sign on a Queréndaro grocer's door says, "Beer and wine for the road".

These chiles chilaca matured to their ripe, deep-red color before harvest.

The chile chilaca also has other
names such as negro (black), prieto (dark), or, particularly here in Michoacán, chile para
deshebrar (chile to tear in small strips). High quality chilaca is long, slender and
undulated. Each chile can measure a foot long. Before its fully-ripe state the chilaca is inky blue-green, with color and flavor similar to the chile poblano. Here in Michoacán, where there are at least two names for every growing thing, the fresh chile chilaca is coloquially known as the cuernillo (little horn).

Most of the locally grown deep-red chiles chilaca are dried in the sun. These are spread out along a main street in Queréndaro. The chiles are drying on petates, mats made of woven lake reed.

The chilaca turns dark reddish-brown when it's allowed to ripen on the bush. When ripe and then dried in the Queréndaro sun, the chilaca becomes very dark red and is called chile pasilla. If the seeds are removed from the dried chile, its name is chile capón. Chiles capones literally means 'castrated' chiles. This vegetable castration refers to the removal of the seeds prior to cooking.

Some chilacas are sold bottled, either en escabeche (pickled in vinegar) or as chiles capones (dried, seeded, soaked, toasted, and then cooked with onion), to be used as a botana or condimento (appetizer or condiment).

These are chiles chilaca rellenos—chiles capones stuffed with tomates verdes (tomatillos), onion, and garlic. The chiles in the photo, prepared for carry-out at the Alberto Gómez family booth , still needed to be topped with shredded Oaxaca cheese.

The Barajas family of Queréndaro offered this variety of freshly harvested chiles at their booth at the Feria del Chile. Clockwise beginning with the dark green chiles at the bottom of the basket, they are:
- chiles poblano…………14 pesos per kilo
- chiles güero……………14 pesos per kilo
- chiles chilaca verde……12 pesos per kilo
- chiles cola de rata……..50 pesos per kilo (for dry chiles; the booth was out of fresh)
- chiles poblano rojo…….14 pesos per kilo
Mexico Cooks! bought a kilo of fresh mature (red) chiles chilaca.
We've been preparing them in various dishes. The flavor they add is
deeply sweet and deadly hot. So far, our favorite recipe is with
potatoes, onions, and flor de calabaza (squash blossoms). Here's what to do:

Papas con Flor de Calabaza y Chile

Ingredients
3 large white potatoes, russets if you can get them
1 medium white onion
2 fresh mature chiles chilaca
1 large clove garlic
2 bunches fresh flor de calabaza (squash blossoms)
Flour
Vegetable oil or freshly rendered lard
Water
Sea salt

Utensils
Large pot
Colander
Griddle
Small plastic bag
Large plastic bag
Large sauté pan
Spatula

Procedure
Peel
and cube (approximately 3/4") the potatoes. Bring salted water to boil
in a pot large enough for them. Boil the potatoes until tender
(approximately 15 minutes) and strain. Allow the potatoes to dry for 30
minutes or more.

Wash and rough-chop the squash blossoms. Discard their stems.

Dice the onion to approximately 1/2". Mince the garlic.

Heat the dry griddle and roast the chiles until they are blackened. Put them in the small plastic bag, twist it closed, and allow the chiles to "sweat" for about 10 minutes. Peel and seed. Slice the chiles in 1/2" rounds.

Heat
the oil or lard in the sauté pan. While it heats, put approximately
1/2 cup flour and a teaspoon of sea salt into the large plastic bag.
Add the potatoes to the bag and shake until the potatoes are dredged
with flour and salt.

Sauté the onions, garlic, and chiles.
Add the potatoes and continue to sauté until the potatoes are golden
brown. Add the squash blossoms and sauté briefly–the blossoms will
wilt. Add sea salt to taste.

Serves 3 or 4 as a side dish.

¡Provecho!

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10 de August de 2013
Izote de Patricia Quintana: History on Your Plate

Izote, Patricia Quintana's groundbreaking Mexico City restaurant, will close permanently on June 30, 2013. This article, originally published on November 19, 2011, recounts just one of Mexico Cooks!' wonderful experiences there. Thank you, Chef Paty, for your incredible contribution to the cuisines of our beloved Mexico. Adelante, amiga!

Sr. Brandon Milmo, director of Casa Madero Winery (Parras, Coahuila,
Mexico), chef Patricia Quintana, and don Pedro Poncelis, Mexico's
premier sommelier, at Restaurante Izote de Patricia Quintana.

Rain! As Mexico Cooks! was leaving the house, as we finally
grabbed a cab, while we were traveling (in rush hour traffic, of
course) to Mexico City's upscale Colonia Polanco, the unseasonable rain
bucketed down. But like magic, just as we pulled onto slightly
nose-in-the-air Av. Presidente Masaryk (Mexico City's equivalent to New
York's Fifth Avenue) the rain–and the cab–stopped. Respectably late,
we strolled, blessedly dry and with umbrellas tightly furled, into
Patricia Quintana's little piece of heaven: Restaurante Izote.

Casa Madero sponsored the Casa Grande Shiraz cata vertical
(vertical wine tasting). In a vertical wine tasting, each of the wines
served is the same, but from several different years. In this case,
the Casa Grande Shiraz was from 2005, 2006, and 2007. Grown on the same
vines but under slightly different climatic conditions, each year's
crop had different fragrances, colors, and flavors.

Judith
McKnight, left, enjoys the company of Mexico City wine expert Rondi
Frankel (center) and Fabiola de la Fuente, editorial director of
Food+Travel México magazine. We all found plenty to talk about before
we were seated for the wine tasting and dinner pairings. A tidbit of
information: Casa Madero, founded in 1597, is the oldest winery in the
New World.

At first glance, these Casa Madero placemats appeared to have been already used, stained by circles of vino tinto (red wine). Several people (including Mexico Cooks!)
not-so-surreptitiously touched the wine stains, only to discover that
they were cleverly printed on the paper mat. Below each supposed stain
was space for notes about each year's wine. Jorge Luis Trejo
Villaseñor, Casa Madero's national sales manager, called my attention to
the outstanding legend at the bottom of the placemat: A qué sabe un vino con 5 siglos de pasión? (What is the flavor of a wine with five centuries of passion?)

Casa
Madero's director, Brandon Milmo, listens intently as elegant sommelier
(highly trained wine steward) Claudia Juárez discusses the special
characteristics of each of the three Shiraz wines. She wears the
sommelier's formal uniform, including the tastevin on its chain.

The tastevin (saucer-like silver cup) was originally created
by French winemakers to enable them to judge the clarity and color of
wine that was stored in dim, candle-lit wine cellars. Regular wine
glasses were too deep to allow for accurate judging of the wine's color
in such faint light. Tastevin are designed with a shiny
faceted inner surface. Often, the bottom of the cup is convex in shape.
The facets, convex bottom, and the shiny inner surface catch as much
available light as possible, reflecting it throughout the wine in the
cup, making it possible to see through the wine.

With the advent of modern electric lights, the tastevin has
very little practical use, although sommeliers often wear them on a
ribbon or chain around the neck as a nod to tradition and a symbol of
pride in their profession.

The three Casa Grande Shiraz pours; from left to right, 2005, 2006, and 2007.

While sommelier Claudia Juárez instructed us, we 50 guests of the house carefully tasted the three wines. Mexico Cooks! is a relative neophyte in the world of oenology, but the lessons of the evening were well learned. Really tasting
wine isn't about pounding down a tumblerful of the rosé that you've
poured from the cheap boxed wine in your refrigerator. Instead, there
are qualities to look for in your glass: how does the wine look, from
its color to its 'legs'? How does it smell–fruity, nutty, leathery,
spicy? How does it taste–floral, peppery, acidic, light, heavy? Most
important of all, of course, is whether or not you like what you're
drinking.

A
wine's 'legs' (also called 'tears') are the subtle traces left on the
inner bowl of the glass after the wine is gently swirled around several
times. Once thought to be an indicator of quality, experts now say that
the legs are in fact a product of surface tension and an indicator of
alcohol content. In the photograph, you have the best view of the legs
at the bottom left corner of the flower arrangement.

After carefully tasting each individual Shiraz and then comparing the
various merits of the three years, we began to enjoy the food maridaje
(pairings with the wines). Chef Patricia Quintana, internationally
known for Restaurante Izote, for her many cookbooks, her television
shows, and her annual Aromas y Sabores tours, prepared a twelve-course tasting menu (yes, twelve courses!) consisting of eight savories and four sweets.

First course: timbal de frijol con morillas, queso pijijiapan y chile ancho con mezcal.
In this case, the timbale is a cylindrical mold of beans filled with
minced morel mushrooms and topped with cheese from Pijijiapan, Chiapas.
You can see the sauce on the side.

Next, a taquito de cabrito con salsa verde–a
freshly made corn tortilla wrapped around shredded goat meat, then
fried and bathed with green sauce, Mexican table cream, and dusted with
aged cheese. A chopstick, inserted into one end of the taquito, made for ease of handling.

Third course: enchiladas de queso asadero en salsa de jitomate con chile verde. Queso asadero
is a melting cheese, used in this instance to fill the enchilada. The
tomato and green chile sauce, along with the topping of thinly sliced
onion, finely grated aged cheese, and shredded lettuce, were traditional
accompaniments raised to a celestial level.

Fourth: pescado al vapor a la tinga con papa
(steamed fish, in this case red snapper, in a spicy red sauce–all
sitting on a slice of potato and wrapped for steaming in a banana leaf).

The banana leaf spread open, showing the pescado al vapor a la tinga con papa. This dish was my hands-down favorite. The mixture of flavors in the tinga combined with the sweet tenderness of the fish to explode in a sensational fiesta in my mouth.

Fifth course: ensalada de jitomatitos con vinagreta al Shiraz Casa Grande 2007.
This salad is made of tiny grape tomatoes dressed with a vinaigrette
made with the 2007 wine we were tasting. The presentation of this
salad, as well as that of all the courses, was exquisite.

Sixth: camarones con azafrán y municiones
(shrimp in saffron sauce with little pasta 'bullets'). Perfectly
cooked shrimp-on-a-stick combined beautifully with the richly delicate
flavor of saffron, but in my opinion the municiones were a mistake. The pasta gave the dish a texture that reminded me–and not in a good way–of tapioca pudding.

Seventh: enchiladas de mole negro
(black mole enchiladas). Black mole is one of Mexico's most delicious
sauces and this one was no exception. The combination of mole, sesame
seeds, crisp tortilla, and shredded onions–wow!

All of us guests were of different opinions about which of the three
years' Shiraz wines paired better with each of the courses we were
eating, but many preferred the 2006 to the earlier or later year. The
2006 was Mexico Cooks!' favorite. Waiters circulated with
bottles of each Shiraz, replenishing our wine glasses as we emptied
them. At this point in the meal–after most of the courses had been
served–many of us began requesting water rather than more wine!

Eighth: filete Doña Manuelita de Parras.
This seared and crusty filet mignon was cooked exactly to medium rare.
The accompaniments, including the stuffed chayote seen at the top, were
excellent.

Chef Patricia Quintana gently tapped two copas
(wine glasses) together to quiet the crowd before she spoke to us about
the meal in progress. The flower in the photo's background images is
the izote (the edible flower of the yucca cactus)for which she named her restaurant.

After the first eight courses, which were of course accompanied by
liberal pourings of each of the three wines, most of the invited guests
were simply unable to continue to the four-course dessert menu. Even
though each of the savory courses was a small portion, their accumulated
richness overpowered all but the most hardy souls. In addition, we
finished the last of the savories at midnight! Reluctantly we
congratulated the chef and kissed her goodbye, shook hands with the
remaining guests, and made our way out into the starry late night, the
chilly air cleansed by the earlier rain.

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29 de June de 2013
Kissing the Feet of Two Volcanoes: Amecameca, State of Mexico

This article about the volcano Popocatépetl, published just over a year ago, is once again appropriate. Don Goyo (the volcano's nickname) is even more active today than it was twelve months ago.

The active volcano Popocatépetl is the second-highest mountain in
Mexico at 5,452 meters (17,887 feet) above sea level. Some sources say
that Popocatépetl is slightly higher than those quoted figures. Only
the Pico de Orizaba (5,610 meters or 18,406 feet) is higher. All photos
by Mexico Cooks! unless otherwise noted.

During the last few weeks, Mexico City's newspapers have been full of
information about Popocatépetl, the Náhuatl word for 'smoking
mountain'. This volcano, which sits in the very back yard of the city,
has once again been growling and grumbling and belching gases, steam,
smoke, and red-hot ash. Its last major eruption was in December of 2000
and everyone in this vicinity hopes the mountain won't explode again.

Popocatépetl, 1953. Taken as a young man by my good friend Roger Hagan, this magnificent photograph lets us see how both the shape of the mountain and its cap of snow have changed during the last 60 years. The photograph appears in Roger Hagan's remarkable book, Mexico 1953. Photo courtesy Roger Hagan.

In mid-April of 2012, curiousity and excitement about Popocatépetl's current
activities led us to make a Sunday afternoon trip to Amecameca in the
State of Mexico, the town closest to the volcano from our Mexico City
neighborhood. The town is southeast of Mexico City and we were there in
a bit over an hour. Had we not stopped along the way to take
photographs, we could have arrived sooner.

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eZAvtPJKg8U&w=420&h=315]
Popocatépetl erupting, December 2000. Video courtesy NBC News.

The alert system for possible eruptions
ranges from green (no danger) to red (extreme eruption). Currently,
Popocatépetl has been at Alert Phase 3 Yellow (magma flow and growing
explosions) for about three weeks. Phase 3 Yellow is the alert just
before red. In spite of the high alert level, no evacuations from towns
around the volcano have been ordered. Click the link for updates to
the 'semáforo de alertas' (alert system stoplight): ALERTAS

Iztaccíhautl, the sleeping woman, lies northeast of Popocatépetl and east of the town of Amecameca in the State of Mexico. Mexico Cooks! took this photo from the atrium of the Templo de Nuestra Señora de la Asunción
(Church of Our Lady of the Assumption) in Amecameca; you can see one of
the church arches in the foreground. The photo shows Iztaccíhuatl's
head (far left) and chest.

Full
view of volcano Iztaccíhuatl. Her head is at the far left in the
photo. The clouds are in fact due to the accumulation of steam and ash
emitted by Popocatépetl, just out of camera range to the right. The
northwestern sky (behind me as I took the picture) was clear blue and
brilliantly sunny.

Of course there is a romantic legend about Popocatépetl and
Iztaccíhautl. At the beginning of history, when the Aztecs arrived in
the Valley of Anáhuac and before the mountains had reached their
permanent form, a beautiful princess named Mixtli was born in the city
of Tenochtitlán–today's Mexico City. She was the daughter of Tizoc,
the Tlatoani Emperor of the Mexicas (to be known later as the
Aztecs). Mixtli was sought after by numerous noblemen, among them
Axooxco, a cruel and bloodthirsty man, who demanded the hand of Mixtli
in marriage. However, Mixtli's heart belonged instead to a humble
peasant named Popoca. Popoca went into battle, to conquer the title of
Caballero Aguila (Eagle Knight). If he claimed this title of nobility, Popoca would then be able to fight Axooxco for the hand of Mixtli.

Popoca carries his beloved Mixtli to the snowy mountains.

Mixtli knew the danger Popoca faced in this trial. Finally a
messenger brought the news that he had been killed in battle. But the
messenger was wrong: Popoca was returning victorious. Not realizing
this, Mixtli killed herself, rather than live without Popoca.

When Popoca returned to find Mixtli dead, he picked her up and
carried her body into the mountains. Hoping that the cold snow would
wake her from sleep to reunite them, Popoca crouched at her feet until
he froze there while he prayed for her to awaken.

They have
remained there ever since. The body of Mixtli became the volcano
Iztaccíhuatl (the Sleeping Woman), the ever-watchful Popoca became the
volcano Popocatépetl (the Smoking Mountain). The evil Axooxco became
the Cerro Ajusco (the highest point of the Distrito Federal).
These volcanoes tower above Mexico City and the romantic legend of
this couple has been passed on since the pre-Columbian era as a symbol
of enduring and faithful love.

Popocatépetl exhales a huge cloud of steam, gases, and ash on April 18, 2012. Photo courtesy Notimex.

The volcano is generally known by a local nickname: don Goyo. Don is an honorific used to address or refer to any respected well-known man; Goyo
is a nickname for Gregorio, in this instance specifically referring to
San Gregorio (St. Gregory). Legend says that the volcano once erupted
on San Gregorio's March 12 feast day and subsequently received the
nickname, but the volcano's feast day (yes, he has one!) is celebrated
annually on May 2. On that date, some local residencts carry gifts to
the volcano: blankets and una copita (a shot of liquor) to keep
him warm, and they pay him their continuing respects. As the
white-haired toll booth attendant said when we told him we were on our
way to pay a visit to don Goyo, "Be careful up there! He's making all this racket while he's sober–imagine if he had already had his tequila!"

The
volcano on the night of April 24, 2012. Streams of molten lava flow
down the sides of the crater while fire, steam, smoke, and sparks rise
high into the evening sky. The volcano is so loud that some residents
find it hard to get a good night's sleep. Photo courtesy MSNBC.

During volcanic activity of this kind, the world keeps turning.
Residents in the several towns nearest the volcano go about their normal
daily lives while keeping one eye on the top of the mountain and one
ear out for the latest alerts. In Amecameca, a delightful old gentleman
stopped to chat with us on the street while we were letting a local
woman take a close look at the volcano through the camera's telephoto
lens. "You know," he ruminated, "we still have to shop, cook,
eat, and sleep even though we also have to be prepared for…" he
laughed and threw his arms high into the air. "In case it blows!"

Life
goes on: inside the municipal market in Amecameca, people shop for
food, gossip with their neighbors, and laugh at the latest jokes. Click
on any photo to enlarge it for a better view.

Our new guide continued, "You should go outside town for a better
view. It's easy to get there…" He proceeded to give excellent
directions for heading to the east into the foothills at the base of the
volcano. We shook his hand and followed his directions as far as we
could, but the rutted, stone-filled path we were driving outside
Amecameca was too difficult for our vehicle. We turned onto another,
even smaller road that took us to the crest of a hill. From there, we
had an unobstructed view of the two lovers, Iztaccíhautl and
Popocatépetl. While the wind blew from behind us, we watched as don Goyo sighed several times, sending heavy plumes of steam and ash into the heavens and away from Amecameca.

As
the volcano steams and roars, commerce continues as it has for
thousands of years. Amecameca has a huge Sunday market in the church
atrium outside Templo de Nuestra Señora de la Asunciòn. The peaches, bright-green oval chilacayotes, and round calabacitas (zucchini-type squash) are offered for sale piled up in pyramids, the traditional vendors' display method.

Will the volcano blast off into a major eruption? Will it calm down
and wait till another time? No one really knows for sure, not even the
scientists who monitor its activity. On April 25, the winds shifted and
small amounts of ash began to rain down on Amecameca and some of the
other nearby towns. We're watching, along with the rest of the
populace. And meantime, our lives go on as usual.

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

18 de May de 2013
Food Fair in Uruapan, Michoacán: Una Muestra de Gastronomía

The Purhépecha woman in the foreground pats out tortillas while her companion sorts through a plate of golden, freshly cut flor de calabaza (squash blossoms).

The first two mornings of the huge annual artisans' crafts fair in Michoacán begin with a food fair: la Muestra de Gastronomía.
Fifteen or so outdoor kitchens, set up around a charming plaza just a
block from the crafts booths, offer cooking demonstrations and
inexpensive meals of representative Purhépecha dishes. The food, rustic
and rarely seen outside a Purhépecha home kitchen, is, in a word,
heavenly. The Mexico Cooks! group trooped
into the food fair just in time for Saturday breakfast. The crowd could have
known who we were by the way our mouths were watering with
anticipation.

Corn is the basis for the indigenous Mexican kitchen, and the
tortilla is the lowest common denominator. On the table in front of
this woman, you can see the metate (three-legged rectangular grinding stone) and the metapil (similar to a rolling pin) resting on it, along with the prepared masa from which tortillas are made. Both the metate and the metapil are hand-carved from volcanic rock.

To the left of the table is the clay comal (similar to a
griddle) that in this instance rests loosely on top of a metal drum in
which the wood cook fire is built. Prior to use, the comal is cured with cal (builders' lime). The cal serves two purposes: it gives the comal a non-stick surface and it adds nutrients to the masa as it toasts.

In the past, all of Mexico's women prepared dried corn for masa by soaking and simmering it in a solution of water and cal. The name of the prepared corn is nixtamal. Once it's processed, it's ready to be ground into masa for tortillas, tamales, and other corn-dough preparations. Some rural women still grind nixtamal-ized corn by hand using the metate and metapil. Some take the prepared corn to their neighborhood tortillería (tortilla vendor's shop) for grinding, and some prepare their masa
using commercial dried corn flour. In urban areas, the majority of
Mexican families buy tortillas hot off the tortilla baker at the tortillería and carry them home, wrapped in a special towel, just in time for a meal.

This woman prepares her stove, made of part of a metal drum with an
opening cut away for firewood. She's spreading a paste made of wood
ash and cal on and around the top of the the drum to hold the comal in place. The white streaks on the red clay comal are cal. The volcanic rock metate and mano are on the bench in the background. Her well-used clay cooking pot is visible to your left.

This joyous woman is patting out blue corn tortillas. The masa and metapil are on the metate in front of her. She's toasting the tortillas and roasting tomatoes and chiles on her clay comal. The comal is set into a clay stove fired by wood. The haze that you see is woodsmoke.

The Purhépecha kitchen repertoire includes numerous atápakuas (literally, a type of thick, soup-like salsa served plentifully over prepared food). The Purhépecha word atápakua has meaning deeper than its simple definition. Its connotation is food that is picante (spicy), nutritious, and life-sustaining in a spiritual sense. Mexican culinary historians agree that the preparation of atápakuas
dates from as long as 400 years before the Spanish Conquest, around
1100 AD, when the Purhépecha were strong rulers in the area of Mexico
that is now Michoacán.

An atápakua can be made from the ingredients that are easily
found in the region. The specialty of one tiny village of the Meseta
Purhépecha is atápakua del talpanal (wasp larvae). Another town's specialty is xururi atápakua, the principal ingredient of which is cotton seeds. More commonly, indigenous cooks prepare their atápakuas of seasonal and readily available vegetables along with a bit of meat, poultry, or fish.

We of Mexico Cooks! didn't eat wasp larvae or cotton seeds. We inhaled bowls of atápakua de flor de calabaza (thick, soupy salsa served over squash flowers, fresh corn kernels, and chunks of corundas de ceniza (unfilled tamales made with masa and wood ash).

In the closeup of the atápakua you can clearly see the corn kernels (closest to the bowl of the spoon), small pieces of calabacita (similar to zucchini), orange squash flowers, and a piece of white corunda. For flavor and color, chiles serrano and cilantro are blended into the cooking liquid. The thin, soupy salsa is then thickened by blending a small ball of masa into the hot liquid. This atápakua is deliciously spicy and tastes as fresh as the garden. I finished my portion and wanted another bowl.

Photo by Steve Sando, www.ranchogordo.com

Churipo, shown above, is one of my favorite Purhépecha specialties. Churipo is a hearty soup, the delicious broth flavored by long cooking with beef, cabbage, calabacitas, xoconostle (the sour fruit of a specific nopal cactus), onion, chile, and other ingredients. Served with a squeeze of limón (Mexican lime), a sprinkle of coarse sea salt, tortillas hot off the comal and corundas de ceniza broken up in the bowl, it's a wonderful meal in one dish. If your palate will take the heat, eat some raw chiles serrano along with your bowl of churipo. Remember that the tip of any chile is less picante than the stem end, where most of the seeds are.

Late in the afternoon, after we'd investigated as many of the crafts
booths as we could, we were all in need of something very light and
fresh for our comida (middday meal). We ordered a fruit plate and a plate of guacamole with totopos (triangular fried tortilla chips) at a local restaurant.

For dessert we found limones, with the pulp scraped away, candied and stuffed with cocada (coconut candy). Half of one of these is plenty!

This was such a sweet finish to a fascinating day in Michoacán. If
you'd like to travel to this event in 2014, be sure to email Mexico Cooks! in time to save your place for adventure.

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

13 de April de 2013
Semana Santa (Holy Week) :: La Feria de Artesanía (The Artisans’ Fair), Pátzcuaro, Michoacán

Paper maché marionettes from Michoacán dance merrily during Semana Santa (Holy Week)in Pátzcuaro.

Mexico Cooks!,
as you've probably guessed, rarely turns down an opportunity to visit
an artisans' fair. Although we had traveled to Uruapan for the mother
of all artisans' fairs just a week before, out-of-town company meant a
trip to nearby Pátzcuaro to shop at the fair set up in its Plaza Don
Vasco de Quiroga.

The Pátzcuaro fair is smaller than the Domingo de Ramos Tianguis de Artesanía
in Uruapan, but navigating through its booths is no less fun. The
Michoacán arts and crafts in Pátzcuaro are similar to those in Uruapan,
but many are more commercial and less expensive.

Small laca (lacquerware) boxes in the Pátzcuaro style, made with substantial gold leaf.

Catrines
(fancy-dress skeleton figures of men and women) parade through a booth
at the fair in Pátzcuaro. Several pirates maraud across the center of
the photo, two chef figures in their tall white toques bring up the
rear, and a woman models an 1890s-period dress at the far left.

The monarch butterfly is a brilliant natural symbol of Michoacán. These are worked in copper and enamel.

These handmade wooden flowers move when you push a button under the flowerpot.

Wooden
toys are everywhere, and all are made by hand in Michoacán. The
chickens peck their seed on the paddles in the foreground when you move
their string-operated mechanism.

During Semana Santa, Pátzcuaro honored Nuestra Señora de los Dolores (La Dolorosa)–Our
Lady of Sorrows–with numerous altars set up around town. Monseñor
Diego Monroy, rector of the Basílica of Our Lady of Guadalupe in Mexico
City and a native of the Pátzcuaro region, designed this immense altar
on Pátzcuaro's Plaza Don Vasco de Quiroga.

Altar detail. The Virgin Mary mourns for her son.

The
heart aflame is set high on the altar. It represents the Sacred Heart
of Jesus, borne aloft by doves and surrounded by spectacular cut paper.

Mexico is a land of contrasts and contradictions. Semana Santa, which includes revelry and ritual, the Virgin and vacations, is simple evidence of Mexico's complexity.

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

6 de April de 2013
Good Friday Procession of Silence, Morelia :: Viernes Santo Procesión del Silencio, Morelia, Michoacán

Nuestra
Señora de Dolores (Our Lady of Sorrows) leads the procession. Hooded members of various
Catholic cofradías (confraternities, or religious organizations founded in Europe in
the 15th Century) carry life-size statues on their wooden
platforms approximately three kilometers through Morelia's Centro
Histórico.

Nuestra Señora de Dolores (detail).

Drummers marked the beat of Morelia's penitential Procesión del
Silencio: Good Friday's silent procession commemorating both the
crucifixion of Christ and his Mother's grief. Only the drumbeat broke
the silence along the route.

Jesus
during la Oración en el Huerto (praying in the Garden of
Gethsemane), just prior to his arrest on Holy Thursday night. Boy
Scouts (the young man in red at the right of the photo) hold the
protective rope all along the route of the procession.

Hundreds of cofradía
members marched in the still of this Good Friday night. Foreigners,
particularly those from the United States, are often shocked by the
hoods, which to them are cultural reminders of the Ku Klux Klan. In
Mexico, there is no association between the two. The procession is
penitential and the hoods are a guarantee of anonymity and humility for
the cofradía members. They believe that humility and works of charity are best practiced anonymously.

Roman
soldiers.

The
majority of Morelia's Procesión del Silencio takes place after
dark, by candlelight. For the first time in 2009 and again in 2010, city street
lamps were left on due to security issues.

The
Legion of Christ carry their banner and their lamps. The Procesión
del Silencio lasts about five hours. During that time, all of
Morelia's Centro Histórico is closed to vehicular traffic.

Jesus
carries the cross a cuestas (on his back) to Calvary. More than
50,000 spectators stood along the entire route of Morelia's Procesión
del Silencio.

Candle holders are made of many materials, from crystal to styrofoam to metal.

Penitents
from one of Morelia's confraternities carry their crosses the length of
the procession. Many march barefoot through the city streets. The
procession celebrated its thirty-seventh anniversary this year.

Robed
and hooded members of another Catholic confraternity carry this
image of the Cristo del Entierro (Christ of the Burial), nailed to the cross prior to his elevation. Hoods cover the faces of those who march
as a sign of penitence.

Clothed
in gold and black, these marching penitents carry huge metal torches.

Six
men of all ages carry Cristo Muerto (the dead Christ), while six
others follow as relief when the burden of the image, the platform, the
lights, and the flowers becomes too heavy. The man at the far right of
the photo carries one of two saw horses used to support the platform
during occasional pauses in the procession.

At
the end of the Procesión del Silencio, la Virgen de la Soledad
(Our Lady of Solitude) follows the body of her crucified Son. The
platform bearing her image holds burning candles, a purple and gold
velvet canopy, and banks of fresh flowers.

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

30 de March de 2013
Palm Sunday Artisans’ Fair, Uruapan, Michoacán :: Tianguis Artesanal Domingo de Ramos

Originally published on May 9, 2009, this article takes us to the annual all-Michoacán Tianguis Artesanal Domingo de Ramos (Palm Sunday Artisans' Fair) in Uruapan, Michoacán. The 2013 fair opens today (March 23) and runs until April 6.

Waving papel picado (cut paper) dance sticks and elegantly
dressed in red velvet aprons trimmed with lace , these Purhépecha women
danced their way through the opening day parade at the annual
statewide Feria de Artesanías.

Mexico Cooks! has attended the Feria de Artesanía de Domingo de Ramos
(Palm Sunday Artisans' Fair) in Uruapan, Michoacán, every year for
nearly 15 years. The two-week-long fair is always the same and yet
never boring, a remarkable combination. This largest artisans' fair in
Mexico draws more than 1200 vendors and contestants for the
best-of-the-best from all over the state of Michoacán. It attracts
international tourism: we've heard languages from all over the globe as
we walk the vendors' aisles.

Purhépecha women's festive ropa típica (native dress) includes a knife-pleated skirt, a hand-embroidered guanengo (blouse), a cross-stitch apron, and the long, rectangular blue, black, and white striped rebozo (shawl) that is typical to the region.

This woman marched while carrying an enormous huarache
(shoe made of woven leather strips) representing the goods that her
region of the state produces. She's also carrying a bag of souvenir key
chains that she tossed to individuals in the crowd. Look closely and
you'll see the tiny huarache key chains that decorate her sombrero de paja (straw hat).

Clarinets, trumpets, trombones, and a pink tuba–what a great band!

Artisans hawk thousands of traditional low-fired clay pots and pitchers. These are from Tzintzuntzan, Michoacán.

Michoacán is famous world-wide for its traditional arts and crafts.
For hundreds of years, artisans in this state have produced highly
decorated articles made from locally found materials: clay, wood,
lacquer, textiles, copper, reedwork, and paper maché, among others.

Ollas para frijoles (clay pots for cooking beans) from Capula, Michoacán.

Molinillos (little mills) are used for whipping chocolate caliente (hot chocolate) to a thick froth.
For more about Michoacán-style, hand-made Mexican chocolate, look here: chocolate Joaquinita.

These blue jarras y platones (pitchers and platters) with their finely painted, intricate white designs come from one family workshop in Capula. Mexico Cooks! does not…DOES NOT…have room in the house for more pottery. Well, maybe just one more piece! These glorious jarras were all but impossible to resist.

Clay sculptures from Ocumicho, Michoacán, are full of whimsy and bright colors. Among all of these guaris (Purhépecha word for women), did you notice Our Lady of Guadalupe, in the upper right corner?

Hand-embroidered traditional cotton guanengos (blouses) are so important and finely made that they have their own concurso (competition) at the Feria de Artesanía (Artisans' Fair).

2014 will be the 55th anniversary of the Artisans' Fair in Uruapan. Come see it with us!

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

23 de March de 2013
Día Mundial del Payaso (World Clown Day) in Morelia
Mexico Cooks! is repeating this post (originally published in January 2010) because World Clown Day's 2013 festival, recently celebrated again in Morelia, is such a lot of fun! Enjoy.

Morelia's well-known Mario Galván is Beto Botones (Bert Buttons). Don't be frightened–these Mexican clowns are completely harmless!

One sunny Saturday not too long ago, Mexico Cooks! hopped into the car and headed for downtown Morelia: it was the annual Día Mundial del Payaso
(World Day of the Clown) and we wanted to see the local clown parade as
it trouped west on Avenida Madero from Plaza Villalongín to the
Cathedral.

Nearly 100 payasos (clowns) form Morelia's
clown community. Entire families, in colorful wigs and ear-to-ear
painted smiles, pass the joy of laughter and delight from one generation
to the next. The patriarch among them is Beto Botones,
personified by Mario Galván. His 23 years as a clown and magician make
him one of the elder statesmen in the Morelia clown community. Now his
sons, 11-year-old Oscar Eduardo (Bombonetto) and 14-year-old Mario
Alberto (Beto Bettín) are also part of the group.

This
beautifully made-up clown has also drawn his family into the act: his
wife and his gorgeous baby daughter have joined the fun. His young wife
said, "Most of the women who are clowns are here because of our
husbands. They were clowns when we married them, so we got involved,
too."

A
relative newcomer to Morelia's clown community. Learning to be a true
clown is a lifetime occupation. Some boys start clowning as early as
age four or five.

There's more to becoming a clown than simply
putting on makeup and a
red nose. For the professional clown, the work of laughter is serious
business. Most attend clown conventions and workshops, where they learn
new routines and participate in competitions. It's not cheap to be a
clown: the right costume and makeup can cost more than 7000 pesos
(approximately $600 USD). Many clowns have a profession in addition to
clowning: Eduaro Espinaza (Tornillito), one of Morelia's most
sought-after clowns, is also an auto mechanic.
Beto Botones said, "In other big cities, a clown can charge 1000 pesos
or more for working a party. Here in Morelia, most charge 600 to 650."

A malabarista (juggler) shows off his skill.

In
the worldwide clown community, there are a number of types of clowns.
Mexico's professional clowns adhere to the same fascinating guidelines.
- CLOWN: he's also known as Carablanca (Whiteface), Pierrot, Enharinado (Flourface)and Listo
  (Clever). Normally he's made up in whiteface and wears an elegant,
  shiny costume. When there's a clown confrontation among the various
  types, he always wins–always! He represents law and order and the
  adult world.
- AUGUSTO: He's also known as Tonto (the Fool). He's more naive than all the rest and he's always on the receiving end of any joke.
Purple wig, green eye shadow, glittery nose, and orange suit–brilliant!
- SEGUNDO AUGUSTO: He's also known as "Contraugusto" or "Trombo". He's the third figure in a trio of clowns and is often also a musician.
- EXCENTRICO: This clown has evolved from the role of 'Augusto'. He is normally mute and sometimes uses musical instruments or other objects like juggling pins or balls.
Buck teeth, spiky hair, and starry glasses!
- VAGABUNDO (or TRAMP): His character is sad, oppressed, and abandoned.
- PAYASO DE SOIRÉE: This clown is normally an 'augusto'. He acts out his specialty in the entrance to events.
- MIMO-CLOWN: This guy is a variation on the first
  clown category. He's usually mute, but he has a lot of tricks up his
  sleeve. He can juggle, he's sometimes an acrobat, and he can often play
  a musical instrument or two.
Another juggler, in full regalia.
- MESIÉ LOYAL: He's the ringmaster and the director of the show–the ultimate authority.
- CLOWN DE PERSONAJE: We can identify this clown by
  his character or profession. He might be a fireman, a sailor, a doctor,
  or a cowboy. Or, he might take on the role of a policeman, a child, or
  someone from a familiar story.
This clown's face makeup is superb. Mexico Cooks! particularly loved his eyelashes and golden tears.

In
addition to this time-honored hierarchy of clowns, Mexico is home to
many informal and little-trained stoplight clowns who work our cities'
street corners. You saw some of them in the January 16, 2009, Mexico Cooks! article Lo Que Se Ve En El Crucero.
Beto Botones said, "These street clowns wear jeans, they don't follow
the norms of real clowns, they think it's too costly to train and work
professionally. But it's important to follow clown traditions. It's
not right that they don't know our history, our theories, and that they
don't want to act like professionals."

The wig! The tongue! The gloves, the shirt, the vest! Who could resist him?

The trained clown always has a red nose, a bright plastic sign that this is a real clown.
His wig can be any color he wants, as long as it goes with his
personality. Today, his makeup is usually airbrushed onto his face in
the style that suits him best. Usually he wears gloves; the "Augusto"
generally uses a dandy's white gloves.

These payasitos–baby clowns–are totally adorable. The little guy on the right sports a wonderful hat.

The
shoes: a clown, especially an "Augusto", is notable for his gigantic,
bulbous, and colorful footwear that serves to call attention to his
character. A clown's suit is almost always copious, with big hidden
pockets filled with balls, juggling pins, hats, and handkerchiefs: the
stuff of magic, jokes, and laughter.

At last, the desfile de payasos (clown parade) turned the corner onto Avenida Madero! Even with the difficult economic situation in today's Mexico, Morelia's payasos haven't lost their sense of humor, their smiles, or their optimism.

Morelia's professional payasos
are available to work all kinds parties and other special events.
Nothing enlivens a child's birthday party like a clown; nothing but a
clown takes a suddenly too-serious event to another level of fun. How
wonderful to know that Mexico's traditional clowns live on for future
generations' laughter.

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9 de March de 2013