Category: Mexican Tourism

Fiestas del Señor del Rescate in Tzintzuntzan, Michoacán

The entrance to the Templo de San Francisco (St. Francis Church), Tzintzuntzan, Michoacán, during the February 2009 fiestas patronales (patron saint's festivities) honoring El Señor del Rescate (the Lord of Rescue).

The indigenous community from four regions of Michoacán (the Zona Lacustre [Lake Pátzcuaro Zone], Cañada de los 11 Pueblos [the Ravine of the Eleven Towns], Ciénega de Zacapu [marshlands of Zacapu], and the Meseta Purhépecha [Purhépecha tablelands]) arrives each year during the week prior to Ash Wednesday to give homage to their patron, El Señor del Rescate (the Lord of Rescue). Not only do the Purhépecha gather from the four regions, people come from as far as Monterrey in Mexico's north to Oaxaca in Mexico's south. Cars and trucks with license plates from neighboring and distant Mexican states park side by side next to vehicles from Texas, California, Minnesota, Virginia, New York, and a dozen other states north of the USA border.

Bishop Vasco de Quiroga and other 16th Century Spaniards are credited with introducing limas to Mexico and Michoacán. Notice the round shape of this citrus fruit and the nipple of skin at its blossom end.

In the Atrio de los Olivos, crowds picnic, dance, and buy or sell artesanías (arts and crafts) and regional foods in the shade of ancient olive and cypress trees.

The Atrio de los Olivos (Atrium of the Olive Trees) of Tzintzuntzan's Templo de San Francisco, ordinarily a
peaceful, meditative, park-like setting, fills with the biggest
home-grown excitement of the year. Booths with traditional regional foods, particularly tamales de trigo (wheat and piloncillo [brown sugar] tamales, similar in taste and texture to bran muffins) and limas (a citrus fruit virtually unknown outside Latin America). Sweet, not sour; round, not oval, the lima can be eaten out of hand or squeezed to prepare agua fresca de lima.

El Señor del Rescate: Tzintzuntzan's venerated Lord of Rescue. The original 16th Century painting burned in a church fire in 1944. It's said that the paint colors of this painting, a copy, are taking on the deep burnished tones of the original painting.

From the 16th to the late 19th Century, St. Francis of Assisi (the patron of the Franciscan order) was celebrated as the patron saint of Tzintzuntzan. Late in the 1800's, the church sacristan found an old painting of Jesus hidden away in storage. The town was under siege by a measles epidemic, and the sacristan begged permission to make a vow: if prayers to this image of Jesus put a stop to the epidemic, the sacristan himself would throw a town party, a huge party, in gratitude for the granted favor. That party is today's Fiesta del Señor del Rescate, still going strong after more than 100 years.

The fiesta is what's known in liturgical terms as a 'movable feast'. It's celebrated during what is known in other towns across the world as Mardi Gras or Carnaval–the last blowout party before Ash Wednesday and the abstinence of Lent's forty days. Here in rural Michoacán, El Señor del Rescate takes precedence over Carnaval.

These traditional Tzintzuntzan clay pots, for sale at the fiesta, are for cooking beans. Look closely and you can see Mexico Cooks!' pink blouse reflected in the pots' high glaze.

This huge, thick cazuela de barro (clay cooking vessel) measures approximately 45 centimeters (18") across the top, plus the handles. The cazuela came home with us and is already on display in our kitchen.

Before we even entered the church atrium, we heard the joyous sounds of a band. The music, from classical to the most current Mexican pop favorites, plays nearly non-stop for three days or more. It's tempting to stop and listen before going to the church, but as we heard a woman say to her adolescent children, "Primero le echamos una visita y después venimos a escuchar la música!" ('First we pay him a visit [to El Señor del Rescate] and then we come listen to the music!')

All of the bands are paid by contributions from various members of community organizations, including two groups paid by the local government offices. Traditionally, about a month before the events, the parish priest names several couples as a commission to help oversee the fiesta; these couples must have been married for 25 years before the current year's fiesta. In addition, townspeople who live 'away'–usually in the United States–send dollars to offset the cost of other bands and general costs.

The fragrance of gorditas de nata (cream hotcakes, about 3" in diameter) baking on a comal (griddle) is all but irresistable. Delicious cream, sugar, and vanilla cakes, combined with the magic of a sun-dappled afternoon at a fiesta, always make Mexico Cooks! stop to get'em while they're hot.

These little girls had to be wheedled, but ultimately they let Mexico Cooks! take their picture. They're dressed for la Danza del Señor del Rescate, which represents the fight between good and evil. The dance features a number of characters: queens, angels, and demons. Traditionally, girls wear beige, yellow, or white dresses, a red cape (which represents the robe Christ wears in the painting), and a crown. The devils, of course, represent evil. The angels represent a barrier that the devils can't pass. During the dancing, the devils jump out at the crowds to make jokes and scare children.

All day, every day of the fiesta, bells ring in the church to keep evil forces away. Hundreds of devoted pilgrims–some creeping the length of the church's center aisle on their knees–enter the Templo de San Francisco to give thanks, to ask for a personal miracle, or to be blessed by a crown placed on their heads with a prayer. The crowns represent both the blessings of Christ who has rescued the faithful and a petition for redemption.

We'll surely go back next year to Tinztzuntzan's Fiestas del Señor del Rescate. Plan to join Mexico Cooks! in celebrating these traditions.

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

21 de February de 2009
Traditional and Modern Ceramic Arts in Tzintzuntzan, Michoacán: Manuel Morales, Ceramist

The belltower of the Templo de Nuestra Señora de La Soledad (Our Lady of Solitude, the "new" church, built in the late 18th-early 19th Century), is visible from almost anywhere in Tzintzuntzan. Typical crafts from Tzintzuntzan and other nearby towns are available in the marketplace just outside the churchyard.

Mexico Cooks! often travels the forty minutes from Morelia to Tzintzuntzan, Michoacán, to visit friends. At one time the seat of the Purhépecha kingdom, the town is still rich in the fascination of ancient tradition and its modern interpretation. Tzintzuntzan, which translates from the Purhépecha language to 'the place of the hummingbird', attracts a new kind of hummingbird these days: the tourist. Arriving singly or in groups, the tourist dips into Tzintzuntzan for shopping, just as the hummingbird sips a flower, and just as quickly flits away.

Best known for its Purhépecha Noche de Muertos (Night of the Dead) celebrations, Tzintzuntzan is also an artisans' center. Clay pots, adornos de popote (straw decorations), wood, and hand-embroidered textiles fill the marketplace and shops.

Pottery decorated with green flora and fauna on a black background is indigenous to Tzintzuntzan.

Tzintzuntzan is one of many Michoacán towns sustaining a living tradition: alfarería (pottery making). Clay is abundant in the Michoacán hills and many Purhépecha dedicate their lives to creating both utilitarian and artistic pots. Tzintzuntzan's traditional glaze colors and designs are unmistakable.

About 50 years ago, Miguel Morales popularized Tinztzuntzan's vajilla (dish sets) glazed in white and dark brown. Designs on these two bowls include ordinary local sights: the burro carries firewood, the fish are from Lake Pátzcuaro.

Mexico Cooks! grows rosemary, mint and geraniums in these Tzintzuntzan macetas tradicionales (traditional flower pots). China (CHEE-nah) decided she'd get in the picture.

These and many other olive trees, planted by Bishop Vasco de Quiroga
soon after the Spanish arrived in Michoacán, continue to flourish In
the huge atrium of Tzintzuntzan's Ex-Convento de San Francisco (Former
Monastery of St. Francis).
Three churches anchor the west side of the atrium: the oldest is the Capilla Abierta de la Concepción
(Open Chapel of the Conception), built in the early 16th Century.

Cerámica Tzintzuntzan nestles in the farthest corner of the church atrium. If the bicycle is leaning on the front of the taller (workshop) and the padlock is missing from the hasp on the door, the workshop is open and you might find Manuel Morales at his potter's wheel.

Luis Manuel Morales Gámez, Tzintzuntzan native, artist, and master potter, has created high-fired ceramics for 25 years. His family has worked clay for five generations. Manuel Morales and his father, Miguel, a traditional potter who switched from wood-fired kilns to high-fired ovens, worked together until his father died in an accident.

In 1982, Manuel Morales'
father, Sr. Miguel Morales, received a government subsidy which made it possible to purchase an
electric-powered wheel and the only gas-fired kiln in the village. Under his father's tutelage, Manuel began to
work in clay at the age of eight. Later
Manuel studied painting and graphic design at the University of Michoacán in Morelia,
where he was influenced by the great Mexican painters Diego Rivera, David Siqueiros, José Clemente Orozco, Rodolfo Tamayo, and Pablo Picasso. He
studied the ancient cultures of South America and Mexico, and in particular his own Purhépecha culture, incorporating into his own work ancient symbols found on the yácatas (pyramids) just outside the village.

Green ware ready to be glazed.

This large vessel, similar in shape and size to the one Manuel Morales is holding in the photo above, is ready to be fired.

Manuel returned to
Tzintzuntzan and began to create pottery which reflects
his own world view, a view which integrates past and present and expresses the
vitality, soul and spirit of his village.
His greatest inspiration comes from the natural world, in particular the
lake where since childhood he has watched the unchanging rituals of fishermen
as they set sail at dawn or under the full moon, in expectation of their return
with a full catch.

Finished pots ready for sale. Each of Morales' pieces is unique and the ochre, black, and deep blue colors are particular to his work.

There are few Mexican potters who have achieved the level of accomplishment that Morales enjoys. His work, sold in a very few exclusive Mexican shops, is often shipped to Europe and the United States for sale. The pots Morales sells at Cerámica Tzintzuntzan are occasionally seconds, pieces with tiny defects that are all but invisible.

"Making pottery always has a component of risk," Morales mused when Mexico Cooks! visited him last month. "After three months of painting bowls, platters, vases, and other pieces, I have enough work to fire. Once the pots are in the kiln, all you can do is pray. Sometimes the pieces that have required the most work before firing come out with a crack, or the glaze runs, or some other surprise happens that makes the pieces useless. When clients place special orders, I always tell them that we won't know the results until the firing is done and I open the kiln. Of course we hope for the best, but we never know."

Some of his best pots have regularly won top prizes at Mexican competitions. So much of his current work is made to special order that he now has little time to make pots destined solely for competition.

Manuel Morales' signature on the small bowl (middle front) in the photo above.

In addition to the Cerámica Tzintzuntzan pottery available at Morales' workshop in the church atrium, pots are usually available at the Casa de Artesanía in Morelia, at a few select shops in Pátzcuaro, and at Colección Herlinda Palacios, Independencia #227 in Tlaquepaque, Jalisco.

Manuel Morales is the fifth generation of his family to fire pots in Tzintzuntzan. The legacy continues, however, with his son and his three young daughters. Born and raised in Tzintzuntzan, they have clay in their blood and are already making pottery.

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

14 de February de 2009
Feliz Aniversario (Happy Anniversary) to Mexico Cooks!

Sweetheart, you are my passion–I love you!

Mexico Cooks! celebrates its second anniversary this week. Two years seems on the one hand to be just a blink in time. On the other hand, we feel like we've known you forever. This week is a rerun of some of our favorite photographs, along with links to the posts where they originally appeared.

This beautiful child from Uruapan, Michoacán, originally appeared on April 14, 2007.

Pan dulce mexicano (May 5, 2007) is one of Mexico Cooks! most-viewed photos.

Day of the Dead in Morelia (November 24, 2007).

Tamales, tamales, and more tamales! December 22, 2007. The blackberry tamales in the photo are sweetly delicious for dessert or breakfast.

Hammocks swinging in Chiapas, April 12, 2008. Several weeks before and after this date were devoted to San Cristóbal de las Casas and its surrounding area.

The three-article series about Mexico Cooks!' adventures in Guadalajara with the newspaper El Mural (June 21, 28, and July 5, 2008) was filled with recipes and fun.

The Feria del Chile in Queréndaro, Michoacán. We'll be going back in August or September 2009.

Mexico Cooks! is already eager for the VI Encuentro de Cocina Tradicional de Michoacán–and it's not until December 2009. Revisit the V Encuentro, held in December 2008, for a taste of what's to come.

We're so greatful to all of Mexico Cooks! readers. From the first article in February 2007 to the honor of being named #1 Food Blog in the World by the illustrious Times of London, you've given us your time, your loyalty, and your comments. The next year will be filled with all the best of Mexico–because, we all know, Mexico Cooks!

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

7 de February de 2009
Los Reyes Magos to La Candelaria: Cake and Tamales!

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

Every January 6, the Feast of the Three Kings, Mexican families enjoy a rosca de reyes. The size of the family's rosca varies according to the size of the family, but everybody gets a slice, from the littlest toddler to great-grandpa. Accompanied by a cup of chocolate caliente (hot chocolate), it's a great winter treat.

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

Here in Morelia, Michoacán, bakers prepared a monumental rosca for the whole city to share. The rosca contained nearly 3000 pounds of flour, 1500 pounds of margerine, 10,500 eggs, 150 liters of milk, 35 pounds of yeast, 35 pounds of salt, 225 pounds of butter, 2000 pounds of dried fruits, and 90 pounds of orange peel. The completed cake, if stretched out straight, measured 2000 kilometers in length! Baked in sections, the gigantic rosca was the collaborative effort of every single bakery in the city. For the twelfth year, the city government as well as grocery wholesalers joined together to see to it that the tradition of the rosca continues to be a vibrant custom.

The plastic niño (baby) baked into our rosca measured less than 2" tall. The figures used to be made of porcelain, but now they are generally made of plastic. See the tooth mark on the head? Mexico Cooks! is the culprit.

Every rosca de reyes contains at least one niño; larger roscas can hold two, three, or more. Morelia's giant rosca contained 10,000 of these 1 1/2" tall figures. Tradition demands that the person who finds the niño in his or her slice of rosca is required to give a party on February 2, el Día de La Candelaria (Candlemas Day). The party for La Candelaria calls for tamales, tamales, and their traditional companion, a rich atole flavored with vanilla, cinnamon, or chocolate. Several years ago, an old friend, in the throes of a family economic
emergency, was a guest at his relatives' Three Kings party. He bit into the niño buried in his slice of rosca. Embarrassed that he couldn't shoulder the expense of the following month's Candelaria party, he gulped–literally–and swallowed the niño.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

31 de January de 2009
Bazar Sábado, San Angel, Mexico City

Sun-and-shade dappled Plaza San Jacinto, Colonia San Ángel, in the southern part of Mexico City, hosts Bazar Sábado.

On the Saturday before Christmas, Mexico Cooks! was in Mexico City with some last-minute Christmas shopping to do. The only place to go? Bazar Sábado, the huge artisans' market held every week in gorgeous Colonia San Ángel in the southern sector of Mexico City. The market includes both indoor and outdoor shops and booths. What's to be had? Just about anything!

These tenangos (hand-embroidered textiles) are made in the state of Guerrero. We also saw full-size table cloths, napkins, and place mats. We bought a dozen or two fabric coasters hand-embroidered with birds, fish, and flowers.

Napkin rings to match any decorator's color combination.

Crowds at Bazar Sábado tend to be large and shoppers are fairly aggressive. Lots of tourists go: you'll hear Japanese, French, English, German, and a slew of other languages on the pathways of Plaza San Jacinto. Be prepared to spend a little more money than you might in some other markets, but the atmosphere and the enormous selection of goods will give you great stories to tell back home. Bazar Sábado is worth it!

Wooden boxes, the tops decorated with icons ranging from the sacred to the profane. Frida Kahlo, Che Guevara, and Mexico's lucha libre (wrestling) stars are among the most popular secular images.

Children's toys made of wood. A million years ago, Mexico Cooks! knew these toys as Jacob's ladders. Remember the sound they make? Click, clack, click, clack, click, clack–now turn it over and start again.

Woven straw soft baskets to match your napkin rings. We loved them, although ultimately we decided not to buy them. We have a lot of baskets already.

Mexico Cooks!' antique painted box from Olinalá, Guerrero may well have been sold originally at Bazar Sábado. Booths there still sell similar examples–new, of course.

Mira, los títeres! He's still young enough for the excitement of these simple fantasy-animal marionettes.

Maestro Enrique Segarra López, one of Mexico's most famous mid-20th Century photographers, holds court on Saturdays at his booth. It was always a joy to spend some time with him. He passed away a few years ago.

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

24 de January de 2009
Museo Casa/Estudio (House and Studio Museum) Diego Rivera and Frida Kahlo, Mexico City

On his bedroom floor, a tracing of the soles of Diego Rivera's large shoes invites the visitor to measure up.

Mexico Cooks! felt their presence, but they were always just out of sight: behind us, in the next room, on the patio while we were upstairs, appearing and disappearing along the sidewalk in front of the cactus fence. We heard the whisper of a silk dress brushing against a doorpost, caught the flash of a struck match, smelled a hint of something frying. Diego Rivera, Frida Kahlo, their host of glamorous friends–Tina Modotti, Juan O'Gorman, María Félix, Pablo Neruda, Dolores del Río, Lázaro Cárdenas–they were all there, or had left just moments before we arrived.

Organ pipe cactus forms the fence along the public sidewalk.

Such is the powerfully evocative Museo Casa/Estudio Diego Rivera y Frida Kahlo, designed and created in the early 1930's by the artists' friend, the up and coming architect and painter Juan O'Gorman. Best known for the enormous mosaics that wrap around all four sides of the library at the Universidad Nacional Autónomo de México, it's said that O'Gorman tried to create an ugly house, but failed miserably. O'Gorman designed these two houses to be a factory, a machine to live in joined by a bridge representing Rivera and Kahlo's passion: a machine for Rivera and Kahlo to create their own aesthetic world. From 1932 until 1934, they lived here and solidified their reputations as two of Mexico's finest working artists.

Jars of paint powders and folk art fill the shelves along Rivera's studio walls.

When Diego Rivera died in 1957, his daughter, Ruth Rivera Marín, inherited the property. She donated it to the Instituto Nacional de Bellas Artes. In 1986, the museum opened its doors to the public. It continues to show how Rivera and Kahlo lived: simply, passionately, intelligently.

A small collection of Diego Rivera's figuras de cartón (cardboard figures). A few of his pre-Columbian clay figures line up in the green bookcase.

Both Rivera and Kahlo collected cardboard Judas figures. More than 175 cardboard figures, including Judas, toritos (little bulls covered with fireworks), and piñatas, form part of the huge quantity of folk art that the artists loved.

Two towering Judas figures, each more than 12 feet high, loom over visitors from their corner in the living room. The Judas figures generally look like devils and often are caricatures of people both famous and infamous. In Mexico, they're burned during Semana Santa (Holy Week).

Frida Kahlo's house and studio. The outside stairway, where she often sat in Mexico City's hot afternoon sunlight, leads to the roof and the bridge between her house and Rivera's.

Kahlo's painted "What the Water Told Me" in the bathtub of this house. Filled with psychological symbolism, the painting represents her life's struggles. She also painted "Las Dos Fridas" while living here.

Diego Rivera's bedroom. The tiny room and narrow orthopedic bed seem nearly monastic when compared to the towering artist's flamboyant, larger-than-life persona.

Rivera's office. The figure to the left on top of the bookcase is Frida Kahlo's death mask.

Museo Casa/Estudio Diego Rivera y Frida Kahlo is at the corner of Altavista and Calle Diego Rivera (formerly Calle Palmas) in San Angel, one of Mexico City's finest old neighborhoods.

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

17 de January de 2009
Magia Navideña in Mexico City: Christmas Magic!

El Monumento a la Revolución, not far from Parque Alameda in Mexico City's Centro Histórico.

Mexico celebrates the Christmas season for nearly two months. South of the border, Christmas lasts from December 16 (the start of the nine-day pre-Christmas posadas), blossoms into December 25, journeys on to the the Día de los Reyes Magos (Day of the Three Kings) on January 6, and ends on February 2 (the Feast of La Candelaria) with a fiesta featuring tamales, atole, and a ceremony at home in which the beloved Niño Dios is sung to and carefully tucked away until next season.

When Mexico Cooks! was in the Distrito Federal (Mexico's capital city) just before Christmas, we wanted to visit the enormous fiesta
that takes place at the Monument to the Revolution. Games, booths,
food, children's rides, and the newest addition to Mexico's panoply of
saints–Santa Claus!–were paradise for children and parents. And of
course Mexico Cooks!, the biggest kid on the block, had a blast.

Blancanieves (Snow White) and the Seven Dwarfs flank Santa himself in one of the many photographers' booths at the fiestas.

A Ferris wheel! A carousel! Lights! Action! The fiestas are especially fun in the evening when the crowds are out. It's every child's idea of glory.

The many photographers' booths feature every cartoon character you know, all celebrating along with Santa and beckoning you to have your picture taken. After all, it's Christmas!

A twinkly tiara and a pink butterfly painted on her face made this little beauty a princess for the night.

This Christmas Eve scene features only Santa and his reindeer. Santa Claus has proliferated all over Mexico, although on Christmas, many children receive just one gift from el Niño Dios. If children receive other gifts, those come on January 6, from los Reyes Magos.

Globos de Santa Claus (Santa's head balloons) were a little startling as they drifted toward us, disembodied and surrealistic in the darkness. There really is a vendor holding the pole. Really.

Pink reindeer, Winnie the Pooh, and Jiminy Cricket team up with Santa. After December 25 and until January 6, los Reyes Magos take Santa Claus's place in all the photo booths.

Which diadema (tiara) will it be: pink and white rabbit ears, hearts, kitten ears, or pure sequin sparkle? This booth also sold pestañas y bigotes–glamourous fake eyelashes framed in glitter and big black mustaches, for less than ten pesos each!

This Santa got up from his rocker and asked if Mexico Cooks! had been good this year. Ahem. Mexico Cooks! is always good.

With a longing backward glance at the thrilling lights and spinning rides of the Fiestas Navideñas, we reluctantly headed home to rest.

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

10 de January de 2009
Down Memory Lane: Mexico Cooks!’ Five…No, Six Favorite Platillos Mexicanos (Mexican Main Courses) from 2008

Mexico's best shrimp cocktail, at Guadalajara's Tianguis del Sol, July 2008. Mexico Cooks! has traveled, lived, and eaten in 28 of Mexico's 31 states–plus the Distrito Federal–and has never eaten a better coctel de camarán. Here's the link to the Mexico Cooks! article.

Enchiladas placeras (plaza-style enchiladas), Pátzcuaro, Michoacán. This heaping platter full of enchiladas, potatoes, carrots, chicken breast, chiles, and cheese is addictive from the first bite. Mexico Cooks! shared this big-enough-for-two plate of food with a friend as often as possible during 2008. Read all about it here .

Chiles chilacas were Mexico Cooks!' biggest treat for the month of September. Go with us again to Queréndaro's chile fair.

Mexico Cooks! loves everything on the menu at Fonda Marceva in Morelia. What will it be: aporreadillo, toqueras, frijolitos con queso, pipián, or all of the above? Take five or six people and enjoy the buffet, a taste of the restaurant's many specialties.

A succulent treat during December: Pacific lobster from the port of Lázaro Cárdenas. Sweet, tender, and delicious, these deep-fried lobsters were the hit of December's V Encuentro de Cocina Tradicional de Michoacán.

Close to home and inexpensive, La Inmaculada Concepción is just the place for a down-home Mexican supper. Just seeing the photo of these quesadillas fritas (fried quesadillas) makes our mouthes water.

Mexico Cooks! hopes you've enjoyed this eating adventure through 2008. If you'd enjoy an on-site eating adventure, look here: Tours.

3 de January de 2009
Feliz Año Nuevo (Happy New Year), Mexican Style

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

We'll see you in 2009!

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

27 de December de 2008
Feliz Navidad a Todos…Merry Christmas to All!

May the newborn Niños Dios
bring you abundant riches: overflowing joy, a heart filled with peace,
the love of friends and family, and the wonder of childhood.

Rodolfo Morales (1925-2001), Oaxaca.

Thanks to all of you for a year filled with gladness. Muy Feliz Navidad from Mexico Cooks!

25 de December de 2008