Category: Religion

Touring with Mexico Cooks! in 2012…and Beyond! Oh, The Places You’ll Go…

A November market tour on a chilly morning in Pátzcuaro, Michoacán: from left, Charlotte Ekland, Donna Barnett, and Mexico Cooks!. Marvey Chapman, the other member of this tour group, took the picture. I'm holding two Michoacán-grown chirimoyas (Annona cherimola), known in English as custard apples.

One of the great pleasures of 2012 was the number of tours Mexico Cooks! gave to lots of excited tourists. Small, specialized tours are a joy to organize: the participants generally have common interests, a thirst for knowledge, and a hunger for–well, for Mexico Cooks!' tour specialty: food and its preparation. Touring a food destination (a street market in Michoacán, an enclosed market in Guadalajara, a crawl through some Mexico City street stands, or a series of upscale restaurants) is about far more than a brief look at a fruit, a vegetable, or a basket of freshly made tortillas.

A Pátzcuaro street vendor holds out a partially unwrapped tamal de trigo (wheat tamal). It's sweetened with piloncillo (Mexican raw sugar) and a few plump raisins, wrapped in corn husks, and steamed. Taste? It's all but identical to a bran muffin, and every tour participant enjoyed a pinch of it.

A tour planned to your specifications can lead you to places you didn't know you wanted to go, but that you would not have missed for the world. Here, Donna talks with the man who makes these enormous adobe bricks. He let her try to pick up the laden wheelbarrow. She could barely get its legs off the ground! He laughed, raised the handles, and whizzed away with his load.

Twice in 2012 small groups wanted to tour traditional bakeries in Mexico City. The photo shows one tiny corner of the enormous Pastelería La Ideal in the Centro Histórico. Just looking at the photo brings the sweet fragrances back to mind.

Ramon and Annabelle Canova wanted an introduction to how ordinary people live and shop in Guadalajara. We spent a highly entertaining morning at the Tianguis del Sol, a three-times-a-week outdoor market in Zapopan, a suburb of Guadalajara. Our first stop was for breakfast, then we shopped for unusual produce, fresh spices, and other goodies that the Canovas don't often see in their home town. Annabelle said she felt right at home because so much of the style and flavor of this market was similar to what she experienced in the markets near her home town in the Phillipines.

We went to the original location of Guadalajara's Karne Garibaldi for comida (main meal of the day). The restaurant does one thing–carne en su jugo (meat in its juice)–and does it exceptionally well. The food is plentiful, delicious, and affordable. The place is always packed, and usually has a line to get in!

Ramon wanted to try tejuino, a regional specialty in the Guadalajara area. Mixed when you order it, the refreshing, lightly fermented drink is thickened with masa de maíz (corn dough) and served with a pinch of salt and a small scoop of lemon ice.

Pillars of nopal cactus paddles, taller than a man, at Mercado de la Merced, Mexico City. La Merced is the largest retail market in Mexico, if not in all of Latin America. It's the ultimate market experience and just a partial tour takes the best part of a morning. Comfortable walking shoes are a necessity–let's go!

A more intimate, up-close-and-personal Mexico City market tour takes us through the Mercado San Juan. The San Juan is renowned for its gourmet selection of meats, fish and shellfish, cheeses, and wild mushrooms–among a million other things you might not expect to find.

Pepitorias are a sweet specialty of Mexico's capital city. Crunchy and colorful obleas (wafers) enclose sticky syrup and squash seeds. Mexico Cooks!' tour groups usually try these at the Bazar Sábado in San Ángel.

Lovely and fascinating people and events are around almost any Mexican corner. The annual Festival Internacional de Música de Morelia opens every year with several blocks of carpets made of flowers. Residents of Patamban, Michoacán work all night to create the carpets for the festival. This piano is made entirely of plant material. Enlarge any picture for a closer view.

Entire flowers, fuzzy pods, and flower petals are used to create the carpets' ephemeral beauty and design; these carpets last two days at most.

In November 2012, one of Mexico Cooks!' tours was dazzled by a special Morelia concert given by Tania Libertad. With Tania is Rosalba Morales Bartolo from San Jerónimo, Michoacán, who presented the artist with various handcrafted items from the state.

No matter where we start our tour and no matter what we plan together for your itinerary, a Mexico Cooks! tour always includes a terrific surprise or two, special memories to take home, and the thirst for more of Mexico. Marvey Chapman had a wonderful time! By all means come and enjoy a tour!

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

23 de February de 2013
Special Mexican Food for Lent: Comida Mexicana para La Cuaresma

Ash
Wednesday, which marks the beginning of Lent, was on February 13, 2013.
The following article has been very popular as a reference since it was
first published on Mexico Cooks! in 2009. So many people want to know what we eat in Mexico when we're not eating meat! Enjoy…and buen provecho!

Tortitas de papa (potato croquettes, left) and frijoles negros (black beans, right) from the south of Mexico are ideal for a Lenten meal.

Catholic Mexicans observe la Cuaresma (Lent), the 40-day
(excluding Sundays) penitential season that precedes Easter, with
special prayers, vigils, and with extraordinary meatless meals cooked
only on Ash Wednesday and on the Fridays of Lent. Many Mexican
dishes–seafood, vegetable, and egg–are normally prepared without
meat, but some other meatless dishes are particular to Lent. Known as comida cuaresmeña, many of these delicious Lenten foods are little-known outside Mexico and some other parts of Latin America.

Many observant Catholics believe that the personal reflection and
meditation demanded by Lenten practices are more fruitful if the
individual refrains from heavy food indulgence and makes a promise to
abstain from other common habits such as eating candy, smoking
cigarettes, and drinking alcohol. On the other hand, my dear non-Catholic mother (may she rest in peace), once said–at a time of particular late-winter stress–that she was simply going to give up, for Lent.

Atole de grano, a Michoacán specialty made of water, fresh, tender corn and licorice-scented anís, is a perfect cena (supper) for Lenten Fridays.

Ash Wednesday, February 13, marked the beginning of Lent in 2013.
Shortly before, certain food specialties began to appear in local
markets. Vendors are currently offering very large dried shrimp for caldos (broths) and tortitas (croquettes), perfect heads of cauliflower for tortitas de coliflor (cauliflower croquettes), seasonal romeritos, and thick, dried slices of bolillo (small loaves of white bread) for capirotada (a kind of bread pudding).

This common Lenten preparation is romeritos en mole. Romeritos,
an acidic green succulent vegetable, is in season at this time of year.
Although it looks a little like rosemary, its taste is relatively sour,
more like verdolagas (purslane).

You'll usually see tortitas de camarón (dried shrimp croquettes) paired for a Friday comida (midday meal) with romeritos en mole, although they are sometimes bathed in a caldillo de jitomate (tomato broth) and served with sliced nopalitos (cactus paddles).

During
Lent, the price of fish and seafood in Mexico goes sky-high
due to the huge seasonal demand for meatless meals. These beautiful huachinangos (red snappers) come from Mexico's Pacific coast.

Tortita de calabacita (little squash fritter) from the sorely missed Restaurante Los Comensales in Morelia, Michoacán. Mexico Cooks! featured the restaurant (the name means 'The Diners') in October 2009. Less than a year after our interview with her, Señora
Catalina Aguirre Camacho, the owner of Los Comensales since 1980,
became too elderly and incapacitated to continue to operate her
wonderful restaurant. This dish is wonderful for a Lenten supper.

Chef Martín Rafael Mendizabal of La Trucha Alegre in Zitacuaro, Michoacán, prepared trucha deshuesada con agridulce de guayaba (boned trout with guava sweet and sour sauce) for the V Encuentro de Cocina Tradicional de Michoacán held in Morelia in December 2008. The dish would be ideal for an elegant Lenten dinner.

Capirotada
(Lenten bread pudding) is almost unknown outside Mexico. Simple to
prepare and absolutely delicious, it's hard to eat it sparingly if
you're trying to keep a Lenten abstinence!

Every family makes a slightly different version of capirotada: a pinch more of this, leave out that, add such-and-such. Mexico Cooks!
prefers to leave out the apricots and add dried pineapple. Make it
once and then tweak the recipe to your preference–but please do stick
with traditional ingredients.

CAPIROTADA

Ingredients
*4 bollilos, in 1" slices (small loaves of dense white bread)
5 stale tortillas
150 grams pecans
50 grams prunes
100 grams raisins
200 grams peanuts
100 grams dried apricots
1 large apple, peeled and sliced thin
100 grams grated Cotija cheese
Peel of one orange, two uses
*3 cones piloncillo (Mexican brown sugar)
Four 3" pieces of Mexican stick cinnamon
2 cloves
Butter
Salt

*If you don't have bolillo, substitute slices of very dense French bread. If you don't have piloncillo, substitute 1/2 cup tightly packed brown sugar.

A large metal or clay baking dish.

Preparation

Preheat the oven to 300°F.

Toast the bread and spread with butter. Slightly overlap the
tortillas in the bottom and along the sides of the baking dish to make a
base for the capirotada. Prepare a thin syrup by boiling the piloncillo in 2 1/2 cups of water with a few shreds of cinnamon sticks, 2/3 of the orange peel, the cloves, and a pinch of salt.

Place the layers of bread rounds in the baking dish so as to allow for their expansion as the capirotada
cooks. Lay down a layer of bread, then a layer of nuts, prunes,
raisins, peanuts and apricots. Continue until all the bread is layered
with the rest. For the final layer, sprinkle the capirotada
with the grated Cotija cheese and the remaining third of the orange peel
(grated). Add the syrup, moistening all the layers little by
little. Reserve a portion of the syrup to add to the capirotada in case it becomes dry during baking.

Bake uncovered until the capirotada is golden brown and the
syrup is absorbed. The bread will expand as it absorbs the syrup.
Remember to add the rest of the syrup if the top of the capirotada looks dry.

Cool the capirotada at room temperature. Do not cover until it is cool; even then, leave the top ajar.

Try very hard not to eat the entire pan of capirotada at one sitting!

A positive thought for the remainder of Lent: give up discouragement, be an optimist.

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

16 de February de 2013
Día de la Candelaria : February 2 : Candlemas Day in Mexico

For about a month prior to Christmas each year, the Niño Dios (baby Jesus) is for sale everywhere in Mexico. Mexico Cooks! took this photograph in 2006 at the annual tianguis navideño (Christmas market) in front of Templo San José in Guadalajara. These Niños Dios range in size from just a few inches long to nearly the size of a two-year-old child. They're sold wrapped in only a diaper.

When does the Christmas season end in your family? When I was a child, my parents packed the Christmas decorations away on January 1, New Year's Day. Today, my wife and I like to enjoy the nacimientos (manger scenes), the Christmas lights, and the tree until January 7, right after the Feast of the Three Kings. Some think that date is scandalously late. Other people, particularly our many Mexican friends, think that date is scandalously early. Christmas in Mexico isn't over until February 2, el Día de la Candelaria (Candlemas Day), also known as the Feast of the Presentation.

The Holy Family, a shepherd and some of his goats, Our Lady of Guadalupe, an angel, a cat, and some indigenous people form a small portion of Mexico Cooks!' nacimiento. Click on the photo to get a better look. Note that the Virgin Mary is breast feeding the infant Jesus while St. Joseph looks on.

Although Mexico's 21st century Christmas celebration often includes Santa Claus and a Christmas tree, the main focus of a home-style Christmas continues to be the nacimiento and the Christian Christmas story. A family's nacimiento may well contain hundreds–even thousands–of figures, but all nacimientos have as their heart and soul the Holy Family (the Virgin Mary, St. Joseph, and the baby Jesus). The nacimiento is set up early–in 2012, ours was out at the end of November–but the Niño Dios does not make his appearance until the night of December 24, when he is sung to and placed in the manger.

Niños Dios at Mexico City's Mercado de la Merced. The figures are dressed as hundreds of different saints and representations of holy people and ideas. The figures are for sale, but most people are only shopping for new clothes for their baby Jesus. All photos copyright Mexico Cooks! except as noted.

Between December 24, when he is tenderly rocked to sleep and laid in the manger, and February 2, the Niño Dios rests happily in the bosom of his family. As living members of his family, we are charged with his care. As February approaches, a certain excitement begins to bubble to the surface. The Niño Dios needs new clothing! How shall we dress him this year?

The oldest tradition is to dress the Niño Dios in hand-crocheted garments. Photo courtesy Manos Mexicanos.

According to Christian teaching, the Virgin Mary and St. Joseph took the baby Jesus to the synagogue 40 days after his birth to introduce him in the temple–hence February 2 is also known as the Feast of the Presentation. What happy, proud mother would wrap her newborn in just any old thing to take him to church for the first time? I suspect that this brand new holy child was dressed as much to the nines as his parents could afford.

The Niño Dios dressed as San Juan Diego, the indigenous man who brought Our Lady of Guadalupe to the Roman Catholic Church.

Every February 2, churches are packed with men, women, and families carrying their Niños Dios to church in his new clothes, ready to be blessed, lulled to sleep with a sweet lullaby, and tucked gently away till next year.

The Niño Dios as el Santo Niño Doctor de los Enfermos (the holy child doctor of the sick). He has his stethoscope, his uniform, and his doctor's bag. This traditionally dressed baby Jesus has origins in mid-20th century in the city of Puebla.

Every year new and different clothing for the Niño Dios comes to market. In 2011, the latest fashions were those of the Archangels–in this case, the Archangel Gabriel.

The Niño Dios dressed as Peruvian San Martín de Porres, the patron saint of racially mixed people and all those seeking interracial harmony.

Niño Dios de la Eucaristía (Holy Child of the Eucharist).

Niño Dios dressed as San Benito, the founder of the Benedictine Order.

Niño Dios dressed as a Chinelo (costumed dancer from the state of Morelos).

Niño Dios de la Abundancia (Holy Child of Abundance).

The ceremony of removing the baby Jesus from the nacimiento is called the levantamiento (lifting up). In a family ceremony, the baby is raised from his manger, gently dusted off, and dressed in his new finery. Some families sing:

QUIERES QUE TE QUITE MI BIEN DE LAS PAJAS, (Do you want me to brush off all the straw, my beloved)
QUIERES QUE TE ADOREN TODOS LOS PASTORES, (Do you want all the shepherds to adore you?)
QUIERES QUE TE COJA EN MIS BRAZOS Y CANTE (Do you want me to hold you in my arms and sing)
GLORIA A DIOS EN LAS ALTURAS. (Glory to God on high).

One of the most popular 'looks' for the Niño Dios in Mexico City is that of San Judas Tadeo, the patron saint of impossible causes. He is always dressed in green, white, and gold and has a flame coming from his head.

Carefully, carefully carry the Niño Dios to the parish church, where the priest will bless him and his new clothing, along with you and your family. After Mass, take the baby Jesus home and put him safely to rest till next year's Christmas season. Sweet dreams of his next outfit will fill your own head as you sleep that night.

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

2 de February de 2013
Los Reyes Magos to La Candelaria: Three Kings, Rosca de Reyes and Tamales!

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

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

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

Chef Arturo Camacho Domínguez of Tampico, Tamaulipas.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

26 de January de 2013
Pastorela in Cuitzeo: Devil Take the Hindmost
This article, originally published at Christmastime 2007, has been extremely popular every Christmas since then. We think you will enjoy this slightly updated version…

A Seattle Christmas pageant, circa 1953. Thanks, Sandy in Seattle!

My school put on a Christmas pageant when I was in the third grade,
back in the days before the law specified generic holiday greetings. Remember how Joey
and Jimmy, Ralphie and Bobby, were the shepherds in their father's striped
terrycloth bathrobes, the sashes tied three or four times around their
waists? Chuck got to be Joseph and that prissy little Amy got to dress
in blue and white as the Virgin Mary when everybody KNEW it should have
been you up there nuzzling the Baby Jesus. Here's a sweet little
reminder:

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=clSUr9fLapY&w=320&h=240]

A 19th Century pastorela photograph showing Bartolo, the indolent shepherd who overslept and missed his chance to go to Bethlehem to see the Niño Dios.

In Mexico, a Christmas pageant, like almost everything, is different from Christmas plays North of the Border. Called a pastorela,
the Mexican Christmas play is part very naughty topical comedy, part
traditional drama, part Sunday school lesson, and 100% morality play. Pastorela means pastoral, or a play that takes place in the countryside, and concerns the activities of pastores, or shepherds. First introduced to Mexico by Franciscan missionaries in the 1500's, pastorelas
continued to grow in favor here. Today the plays are one of the most
popular Christmastime entertainments. The theme portrays the eternal
conflict between good and evil. The plot revolves around the pilgrimage
of the shepherds to Bethlehem to see the newborn Niño Dios (Christ Child).

The devil is not ordinarily associated with Christmas. In Mexico, however, Satanás
plays a very solid role in the holiday festivities. He is actually the
star! Lucifer works all his worst wiles to detour the shepherds away
from their destination. Costumed as various alluring personages, Satan
and his associate devils do their best to trick the shepherds into
abandoning their journey to redemption. At the end, Satan is trumped,
good triumphs, the shepherds meet the Holy Family, and all is well.

Mexico Cooks! recently spent a week or so looking for a pastorela to be presented at a time we could attend. Last week, Judy noticed an article in the newspaper about a pastorela that was being offered that very night in Cuitzeo, a small town about an hour north of Morelia. The title of the play (El Ermitaño.com:
The Hermit.com) was intriguing, the photo of the performers in costume
looked exciting, and the timing was right. We called our friend Bunny,
who jumped at the chance to accompany us to the evening performance, and
we were off to Cuitzeo.

Cuitzeo reached the status of Mexican Pueblo Mágico, the third in Michoacán, in 2006. The requirements for the Pueblo Mágico designation are:
- a town or city rich in tradition
- located in an area of high interest to tourists
- that it have a strong history
- that it have ready access from major highways
You'll see in this video that Cuitzeo easily meets Pueblo Mágico criteria.

Our pastorela took place outside, on the grounds of the
Ex-Convento de Santa María Magdalena, a 16th Century Augustinian
convent. Judy, Bunny, and I stopped first in the church to see the
Christmas decorations.

Cuitzeo's 17th Century Virgin Mary wears a charming straw sombrero, carries a lace-trimmed basket, and rides a donkey as she and Joseph travel to Bethlehem.

The presentation of El Ermitaño.com was sponsored by Adopt a
Work of Art, the Michoacán Secretary of Tourism, the Cuitzeo city
government, the National Institute of Anthropology and History, and the
newspaper La Voz de Michoacán. We discovered that this pastorela was not a simple country town's Christmas caprice. It is a sophisticated, professional play of great good humor.

According to Miguel Sabido, the creator of El Hermitaño.com,
"The culture which distinguishes Mexico is both vast and rich, but it's
composed of more than our country's admirable buildings. Mexico has
its greatest patrimony in its popular rituals, and its recipes like the pinole cookies that are only made here in this region, and the pastorelas. These are Mexico's legacies and we must make a commitment to spread her traditions."

The pastorela characters mounted the stage dancing, singing, and rejoicing.

Adam and Eve were the first to take the devil's bait: Adam bit the apple and all hell broke loose.

Still singing, the shepherds, in typical indigenous Purhépecha dress, started their trip to Bethlehem.

El ermitaño (the hermit), portrayed as a post-elderly (think
200 years old) fellow, leads the shepherds (in this case, indigenous
Purépecha from Michoacán) on the long trip to Bethlehem. The Archangel
Michael warns them that they'll see the devil in the disguise of famous
and fascinating people. When Satan begins to tempt the simple
shepherds, they easily fall into his traps.

El ermitaño (the hermit) co-starred with Satan.

Famously rival Mexican soccer teams, a drunken debauch complete with
Caribbean dancers in flounced skirts and turbans, and an angelic choir
are all devils in disguise. In every encounter, Archangel Michael has
to intervene to prod the shepherds on their way. Topical jokes ran
wild, references to the famous and the infamous flew, and we loved it
all.

Finally, Bethlehem! The Virgin Mary holds the Niño Dios as St. Joseph and the shepherds look on.

The pastorela story was typically good conquers evil, but
what a production! Acted, danced, and sung by professionals, the
morality play kept the crowd (packed into bleachers on two sides of the
open stage) laughing, clapping, booing and hissing, and singing along
with Mexico's treasured and iconic villancicos (Christmas carols).

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=07FjX4R1d-s&w=350&h=263]
Listen to this lovely version of Los Peces en el Río. Can you hear the lyric 'la Virgen lava pañales'? It means 'the Virgin is washing diapers'!

Mexico Cooks! wishes everyone a very joyous New Year, filled with good health, great happiness, and many delights.

Looking for a tailored-to-your-interests specialized tour in Mexico? Click here: Tours.
29 de December de 2012
Christmas–Piñata Time in Mexico!

Traditional piñatas ready for sale decorate the door to the Hernández family's tiny taller (workshop) on Av. Lázaro Cárdenas in Morelia, Michoacán.

Among clean ollas de barro (clay pots), plastic receptacles filled with engrudo (flour/water paste), and colorful, neatly stacked rounds of papel de china
(tissue paper), Sra. María Dolores Hernández (affectionately known as
Doña Lolita) sits on an upturned bucket. She'll celebrate her 82nd
birthday on December 24, and she still lights up–just like a Christmas tree–when she talks about her business and her life.

The last point of the star-shaped piñata is in Doña Lolita's hands, nearly ready to be glued into place.

"When I was a young woman, raising my family together with my
husband, it was hard for us to make a good living here in Morelia. We
had eight children (one has died, but six girls and a boy survive) and
we struggled to make ends meet. My husband was a master mason, but I
wanted to help out with the finances. I knew a woman who made piñatas, and I thought, 'I can do that.' So I started trying my hand, nearly 60 years ago."

Doña Lolita adds another layer of newspaper to this piñata
in progress. "You can't put too much newspaper on the pot, because it
will take too long to break," she explained. "And you can't put too
little on it, either, because then the first child to hit it will break
it. That's no good, either. You just have to know how much to use."
Click on the photo to enlarge it and get a good look at the clay pot
inside the paper maché.

"The woman who made piñatas wouldn't give away her secrets,
so I had to figure everything out for myself. You should have seen me
the first time I tried to make a bird's beak for a parrot-shaped piñata! A man I knew told me to make it out of chapopote
(a kind of tar), so I did. It hardened all right, but later in the
day the weather warmed up and that beak dripped down to here! What a
mess! I finally figured out how to make the shape out of paper, but I
just about broke my head thinking about it!"

Pre-cut rounds of papel de china (tissue paper) wait to be glued onto a piñata. The black plastic bag holds strips of newspaper.

Doña Lolita told me about the different grades of paper used to create different styles of decoration on the piñata,
and she explained different kinds of paper-cutting techniques; she's
absolutely the expert. Here, her son-in-law Fernando cuts tissue paper
for fringe. His hands are so fast with the scissors it made my head
spin; he can even cut without looking.

"In those days, the clay pots cost four and a half pesos for a gross–yes, for 144. In the old days, I usually sold about 7,000 piñatas every December, so you can imagine the investment I made just in clay pots. In the 1960s, I could sell a large piñata for seven pesos. Now–well, now the pots are much more expensive, so naturally the piñatas cost more, too. The large ones cost 45 pesos. This year, I'll sell about 1,000 piñatas just for the posadas. "

Piñatas in various stages of completion hang from every beam in Doña Lolita's tiny workshop.

"When my daughter Mercedes was about eight years old, she wanted to learn to make piñatas. She'd been watching me do it since she was born. So I taught her, and I've taught the whole family. Piñatería (making piñatas)
is what's kept us going." Doña Lolita smiled hugely. "My children
have always been extremely hard workers. There was a girl for each part
of making the piñatas. Every year, we started making piñatas in August and finished at the beginning of January.

This gigantic piñata, still unfinished, measures almost six feet in diameter from point to point.

"One time, we had so many piñatas to finish that I didn't think we could do it. So I thought, 'if we work all night long, we can finish them by tomorrow morning.'
Only I couldn't figure out how to keep the children awake to work all
night." She laughed. "I went to the drugstore and bought pills to
stay awake. I knew I could keep myself awake, but I gave one pill to
each of the children. And in just a little while, I was working and
they were sleeping, their heads fell right down into their work!
What! Those pills didn't work at all! The next day I went back to the
drugstore and asked the pharmacist about it. 'Oh no! I thought you
asked me for pills to make them sleep!' he said." Doña Lolita laughed again. "We finished all the piñatas in spite of those pills, but you had better believe me, I never tried anything that foolish again."

Doña Lolita builds piñatas
with her son-in-law, Fernando Cedeño Herrera (left), her daughter
Mercedes Ayala Hernández, her grandchildren and her
great-grandchildren. A close friend, Oswaldo Gutiérrez López
(background), works with the family. Her grandson Enrique, 19, says he
intends to keep the family business going.

Oswaldo Gutiérrez works on this piñata in the doorway of the tiny taller. Doña Lolita has taught many people the art of creating traditional piñatas, but her family and her loyal customers say she's the best piñatera (piñata maker) in Morelia.

"People come from everywhere to buy my piñatas. I don't have to take them out to sell; I only sell them here in the taller.
Because they're so beautiful and well-made, all the best people in
Morelia–and lots of people from other places–come to seek me out and
order piñatas for their parties. I've taught my family that
our work is our pride and our heritage, and my children have all taught
their children the same. That is our legacy, our family tradition."

Fill the piñata with candy like these bags of traditional colación (hard candies especially for Christmas).

But why piñatas, and why in December? During the early days of the Spanish conquest, the piñata was used as a catechetical tool. The body of the piñata
represented Satan; each of the seven points symbolized the seven
capital sins (pride, lust, gluttony, rage, greed, laziness, and envy).
Breaking the piñata equated with the triumph of good over
evil, overpowering Satan, overcoming sin, and enjoying the delights of
God's creation as they pour out of the piñata. Doña Lolita's most sought-after piñatas continue the traditional style, but she also creates piñatas shaped like roosters, peacocks, half-watermelons, deer, half moons, and once, an enormous octopus!

Now, for the nine nights from December 16 through December 24, Mexico celebrates las posadas. Each evening, a re-enactment of the Christmas story brings children dressed as la Virgencita María (ready to give birth to her baby) and her husband Sr. San José
(and a street filled with angels, shepherds, and other costumed
children) along the road to Bethlehem, searching for a place to stay.
There is no place: Bethlehem's posadas (inns) are filled.
Where will the baby be born! For the re-enactment, people wait behind
closed doors at certain neighborhood houses. The santos peregrinos
(holy pilgrims) knock, first at one door, then another. At each house,
they sing a song, begging lodging for the night. At each house, the
neighbors inside turn them away in song: 'No room here! Go away! Bother someone else!' Watch a lovely slide show: Las Posadas.

Freshly toasted cacahuates (peanuts) also stuff the piñata. The wooden box holding the peanuts is actually a measure, as is the oval metal box.

After several houses turn away la Virgen, San José,
and their retinue, they finally receive welcome at the last designated
house. After the pilgrims sing their plea for a place to stay, the
guests assembled inside sing their welcome, "Entren santos peregrinos…"
(Come in, holy pilgrims…). The doors are flung open, everyone piles
into the house, and a huge party starts. Traditional foods like ponche (a hot fruit punch), buñuelos (a thin circle of fried dough covered with either sugar or syrup), and tamales (hundreds of tamales!) pour out of the kitchen as revelers sing villancicos (Mexican Christmas carols) and celebrate the coming of the Niño Dios (the Child Jesus). Finally, all the children line up to put on a blindfold and take swings at a piñata stuffed with candy, seasonal fruits, and peanuts.

This five-pound bag of hard candies shows a blindfolded (but peeking) boy ready to break open the filled piñata. Luis Gómez, a merchant at Local 290, Mercado Independencia in Morelia, offers these and other bags of piñata candies.

Mandarinas (tangerines) are in season at Christmastime and round out the goodies in lots of piñatas.

The piñata, stuffed with all it will hold, hangs from a rope during the posada
party. A parent or neighbor swings it back and forth, up and down, as
each child takes a turn at breaking it open with a big stick. Watch
these adorable kids whack away.

The piñata, lovely though it may be, is purely temporary. Nevertheless, happy memories of childhood posadas with family and friends last a lifetime.

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15 de December de 2012
Nuestra Señora de Guadalupe en Imágenes :: Images of Our Lady of Guadalupe

The actual tilma (cape-like garment woven from maguey cactus fibers) worn by San Juan Diego in December 1531. The framed tilma hangs over the main altar at the Basílica de Nuestra Señora de Guadalupe, Mexico City.

The annual feast of Nuestra Señora de Guadalupe (Our Lady of Guadalupe) falls on December 12. Nuestra Señora de Guadalupe
is Mexico's patron saint, and her image adorns churches and altars,
house facades and interiors, taxis, private cars, and buses, bull rings
and gambling dens, restaurants and houses of ill repute. The shrine of
Our Lady of Guadalupe, la Basílica, is a place of extraordinary
vitality and celebration. On major festival days such as the
anniversary of the apparition on December 12th, the atmosphere of
devotion created by the hundreds of thousands of pilgrims is truly
electrifying.

Statues of Our Lady of Guadalupe for sale at the many, many souvenir booths outside the Basílica.

The enormous Basílica of Nuestra Señora de Guadalupe in
Mexico City is the most visited pilgrimage site in the Western
Hemisphere. As many as 18 to 20 million people visit the shrine each year. Its location, on the hill of Tepeyac, was a place of great
sanctity long before the arrival of Christianity in the New World. In
pre-Hispanic times, Tepeyac had been crowned with a temple dedicated to
an earth and fertility goddess called Tonantzin, the Mother of the Gods.
Tonantzin was a virgin goddess associated with the moon, like Our Lady
of Guadalupe who usurped her shrine.

Our Lady of Guadalupe tattoo.

Read the full story of Nuestra Señora de Guadalupe here.

Our Lady of Guadalupe surrounded by fresh roasted peanuts, Morelia, Michoacán. November 2009.

Holy water bottles in rainbow colors of plastic, for sale at the booths just outside the Basílica.

Art casket, Our Lady of Guadalupe and the Basílica.

Folk art depiction of Our Lady of Guadalupe.

Statue
in resin of Our Lady of Guadalupe and Pope John Paul II, who was
devoted to her. This image continues to be reproduced as calendars, statues of all
sizes, and pictures to hang on the wall. Pope John Paul II still has millions of devotees in Mexico.

Portrait of Monseñor Diego Monroy, rector of the Basílica de Nuestra Señora de Guadalupe. The painting is part of Monseñor Monroy's private collection.

Nuestra Señora de Guadalupe, 19th century image on metal. At the top of this antique memento you can see the words, "Santuario de Guadalupe, 12 de Diciembre".

In 1810, Padre Miguel Hidalgo carried this banner to lead the struggle for Mexico's independence from Spain.

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8 de December de 2012
November 2 (Día de los Muertos) in Tzintzuntzan, Michoacán: A Lively Walk through the Cemetery on the Day of the Dead

Graves decorated for Noche de los Muertos (Night of the Dead) in the Tzintzuntzan, Michoacán panteón (cemetery). These recent graves lie within easy sight of the yácatas (Purépecha pyramids, mid-center in the photograph) just across the road. The yácatas were formerly both a priestly burial site and the site of ancient Purépecha religious ceremonies.

The packed-earth paths among the graves at the cemetery in Tzintzuntzan wind through old trees and dappled sunshine.

This little car, decorated with cempasúchil (marigold) flowers, fruits, and pan de muertos (bread of the dead) in the shape of human figures, is the cemetery ofrenda
(altar, or offering) for a baby born in October and dead in November
2005. Tiny white baby shoes are on the car's hood, along with a baby
bottle. Click on any photo to enlarge it.

The faithful Purépecha believe that the angelitos,
the dead children, are the first of the departed who come to re-visit
their loved ones each year during the day of November 1, arriving at
noon. Their parents take an ofrenda (offering) of fruit,
candies, and wooden toys to the children's graves and invite the little
ones to come and eat. Late in the night, the godfather of a dead child
goes to the cemetery with an arco (arch) made of cempasúchil (marigolds). At home, the parents have already prepared beautiful altars to honor the memory and spirits of their children.

Cempasúchiles, gladiolas, and candles adorn this grave. The cross is made of red veladoras (candles in holders) in a framework of blue and white.

Each
year, late in the night of November 1, the spirits of deceased adults
make their way back to this earthly plane to visit their relatives. The
living relatives, bearing food, bright golden flowers, strong drink,
and other favorites of the dead, file into Purépecha cemeteries to
commune with those who have gone before. The assembled lay out
blankets, unfold chairs, bring out plastic cups, cartons of beer, a
bottle of tequila, and assorted food for their own consumption as they
settle in for the long, cold night of vigil.

A band or two or three often wander about in the cemetery, hired for a song or two or three to entertain the living and the dead.

Copal
incense burns, calling the souls of the dead home. Candles, hundreds
and hundreds of candles, flicker on and around the graves, showing the
way home to the wandering spirits. Food–especially corn tamales and churipo,
a beef soup for festivals–and other personal gifts to the 'visitors'
show that the spirits are still valued members of their community.
Special pan de muertos (bread of the dead) in the form of human
bodies represents the relationship between the living and the dead.
Fruits, including bananas, oranges, and limas, are hung on the ofrendas de cempasúchil to represent the relationship between nature and human beings.

This elaborate bóveda de cempasúchil
( marigold arch) hung with an old family photograph and topped by a
feather dove (the symbol of the Holy Spirit) decorates a family grave.
Under the photograph, an angel stands vigil.

Marigolds
are used as symbols for their yellow color, which resembles the gold
that was used as decoration for the ancient grand festivals. The
flowers were used to adorn the visitor in the form of crowns or
necklaces. Today, the belief is that the ofrendas de cempasúchil (marigold arches) aid the visiting spirits to identify their homes. Cempasúchil petals are also strewn over the bare earth mounds of the graves.

These modern coronas
(wreaths) are made of ribbons and plastic, much more durable than fresh
flowers. The brilliant colors eventually fade over the course of a
year, but the wreaths will stay up till next October.

Cempasúchiles, pata de león (lion's paw, as cockscomb is known in this part of Michoacán), freshly cut gladiola, nube (baby's breath) and just-in-season wild orchids from the mountains are the flowers most commonly used on Tzintzuntzan's graves.

My favorite ofrenda of 2009: a terrific full-size bicycle made of cempasúchiles,
decorated with fruit–and with pineapple on the seat! The flowers at
the base of the grave marker are wild orchids. This style figural ofrenda is very unusual.

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3 de November de 2012
Pulque: Pre-Hispanic Drink, Gift of the Gods from the Maguey Cactus

The agave atrovirens cactus. This enormous blue-gray plant, native to the ancient land which became Mexico, continues to provide us with pulque (POOL-keh), a naturally fermented alcoholic beverage. The maguey, with pencas (thick, succulent leaves) which can grow to a height of seven to eight feet, matures in ten to twelve years. At maturity, the plant can begin to produce liquor.

Pulque, native to Mexico, is suddenly all the rage in countries far from its origin. Folks who have never seen a maguey cactus 'on the hoof' argue the relative merits of natural versus flavored pulques, canned versus straight from the barrel, and so forth. Mayahuel, the goddess of the maguey, is laughing up her sleeve at this current rash of pulque aficionados: pulque has been well-loved in what is now Mexico for longer than humankind can remember.

Legend has it that a thousand years ago and more, Sr. Tlacuache (Mr. Opossum) scraped his sharp claws through the heart of the maguey and slurped down the world's first taste of pulque–and then another, and another, until he had a snoot full. His meandering drunken ramble allegedly traced the path of Mexico's rivers.

A drawing from the Codice Borbónico (1530s Spanish calendar and outline of life in the New World) shows Mayahuel, goddess of the maguey, with a mature cactus and a pot of fermented pulque. The first liquid that pours into the heart of the maguey is called aguamiel (literally, honey water); legend says that aguamiel is Mayahuel's blood.

Aguamiel actually comes from the pencas (leaves) of the cactus. In order to start the flow of liquid into the heart of the plant, the yema (yolk) of the plant is removed from the heart and the heart's walls, connected to the leaves, are scraped until only a cavity remains. Within a few days, the aguamiel begins to flow into the cavity in the heart of the plant. The flow of aguamiel can last anywhere from three to six months. Today, the men who work the maguey to produce pulque are still called tlaquicheros. The word is derived from the same Nahuatl origin as the name for the original tlaquichero: Sr. Tlacuache, Mr. Opossum.

An early tlaquichero removes aguamiel from the heart of the maguey by sucking it out with a long gourd. Today, workers use a steel scoop to remove up to six liters of aguamiel per day from a single plant. Aguamiel is not an alcoholic beverage. Rather, it is a soft drink, sweet, transparent, and refreshing. Once it ferments, however, it becomes the alcoholic drink pulque, also known as octli.

The fermentation of pulque can start in the plant itself. Aguamiel, left in the plant's heart to 'ripen' for a few days, begins to ferment. For the commercial production which began in the 19th century, tlaquicheros remove aguamiel from the maguey and transfer it to huge steel tanks, where it ferments.

The heart of the maguey, full of aguamiel. The tool balanced in the liquid is the same type gourd that is pictured in the early drawing seen above. Between extractions of aguamiel, the leaves of the maguey are folded over the cavity where the liquid collects to prevent insects and plant debris from falling into the heart.

Mexican photographic postcard dating to the 1940s or 1950s. The women and children pose in front of huge maguey plants.

By the end of the 19th century, pulque was enormously popular among Mexico's very rich and very poor. Weary travelers in the early 20th century could find stands selling pulque–just for a pickmeup–alongside rural byways. Travelers riding Mexico's railroads bought pulque at booths along the tracks. Pulquerías (bars specializing in pulque) were in every town, however small or large. In Puebla and Mexico City, legendary pulquerías abounded.

Italian expatriate Tina Modotti, a member of the Diego Rivera/Frida Kahlo artists' circle, photographed Mexico City's pulquería La Palanca in 1926.

This common image hung in pulquerías all over Mexico. Clients could order the amount of pulque they wanted according to the drawings–and be reminded of what they had ordered when the pulque had laid them low. Image courtesy of La Voz de Michoacán.

In the foreground are the actual pitchers and glasses used in Mexico's pulquerías. Compare them with the vessels in the drawing. Image courtesy of Museo del Arte Popular (DF).

Pulque lovers spent long evenings in their favorite pulquerías in an alcoholic haze of music, dancing, laughter and delight. Far less expensive than other hard liquors, pulque carries with it the romance of ancient legend, the tradition of a nation, and the approbation of the gods.

Edward Weston, American photographer, immortalized Mexico City's pulquería El Charrito, also in 1926.

Natural pulque is a pale white, semi-viscous, liquid with a slick, thick feel in the mouth; many people are put off by that feel, as well as by its slightly sour taste. Even for those who dislike natural pulque, another kind of pulque–called curado (in this instance, flavored)–is delicious. Natural pulque, combined with blended fresh fruit, vegetables, or ground nuts, becomes a completely different drink. Bananas, guavas, strawberries, and the tuna (fruit of the nopal cactus) are particular favorites.

Feria de Pulque (Pulque Fair) in the State of Mexico. Each of the jars holds pulque curado, each flavored with a different fresh fruit, vegetable, or type of nut.

Mexico Cooks! first tasted pulque about 30 years ago, in Huixquilucan, in the State of Mexico. Huixquilucan, known to its inhabitants as Huixqui (pronounced whiskey), used to be a small town, and Mexican friends took me to its small-town fair where home-made pulque was for sale in what seemed like every booth offering food and drink. "Try it, you'll like it a lot!" my friends giggled. "Just a little taste! C'mon!" I was nervous: I'd heard about pulque and its slippery slimy-ness and its inebriating qualities. Finally we stood in front of a booth offering pulque curado con fresas: pulque flavored with fresh strawberries. "Okay, okay, I can try this." And I liked it! The first small cupful was a delicious, refreshing, slightly bubbly surprise. The second small cupful went down even more easily than the first. And then–well, let it be said that I had to sit down on the sidewalk for a bit. I truly understood about pulque.

Try it, you'll like it a lot…c'mon, just a little taste!

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14 de July de 2012
Crafts, Food and Mayan Culture in Zinacantán, Chiapas: Part Two

If you have not yet read Part One of Mexico Cooks! visit to San Lorenzo Zinacantán, Chiapas, please see the article dated June 23, 2012. This three-part series was originally published during March 2008.

One of several Centros de Artesanía (craft stores) in the town of San Lorenzo Zinacantán, Chiapas.

As we drove into Zinacantán, we noticed many large invernaderos (greenhouses) here and there on the mountain slopes. In addition to the work of artesanía (arts and crafts), there is a large flower-growing industry in the town. Roses, daisies, chrysanthemums and other flowers grow profusely in the greenhouses that dot the hillsides around this tiny town in a valley. The flowers are produced for use in the town as well as for export.

When Mexico Cooks! arrived in the town center, the parish church bells were ringing over and over again–Clang! Ca-CLANG! Clang! Clang! Ca-clang!–in a pattern that was neither the usual call to Mass nor the clamor (the mournful ring that indicates a parishioner has died). Although the Centros de Artesanía (crafts centers) beckoned and we had really come to shop, we decided to answer the call of the bells and visit the church first. Many villagers crowded the entryway, watching one of the most beautiful processions I've seen in Mexico. No photographs are permitted in either the church atrium or the church itself, and I wished so deeply that I had the talent to draw what we were watching.

Young men wearing white cotton shorts embroidered along the hems, thickly furry woven wool cotones, beribboned pañuelos and straw hats processed from a shadowy side chapel carrying huge wicker baskets filled to overflowing with every color rose petal. The procession came slowly, these young zinacantecos scattering thousands and thousands of petals throughout the candlelit main part of the church. The wooden floor disappeared under a pink, yellow, red, and white carpet. Other men wearing ritual black or white woolen cotones followed, stepping reverently on the rose petals, releasing their scent into the air along with the scent of copal burning in the clay incensarios (incense burners) they waved high above their heads.

Then followed twelve highly honored town elders dressed in even more elaborate ritual clothing bearing three life-size statues on their shoulders. The statues, each dressed in the finest ropa típica zinacanteca, represented the Virgin Mary, Jesus, and San Lorenzo, the patron of Zinacantán. The tremendous statues processed, crowned with gold and surrounded by candles and artfully arranged flowers of every description. The three saints gently tipped this way and that on the shoulders of their bearers as they moved through the nave of the church.

The first young men of the procession rained thousands more rose petals on the statues as they wended their way slowly through the small church and back into the half-light of the side chapel, where the saints were situated in places of honor in front of the communion rail and altar.

This image, taken inside Templo Santo Domingo in San Cristóbal de las Casas, Chiapas, shows candles similar to those lit before the saints in Templo San Lorenzo, Zinacantán.

Beneath swooping banners, strings of brightly colored metal ornaments, and tired-out balloons from prior fiestas, church elders lit hundreds of candles to honor the three saints. Men clad in garments resembling ribbon-festooned woolly black or white sheep hurried back and forth placing candles in large stands, stopping to kneel and pray aloud in Tzotzil. Meantime, women elders clad in brilliant blue and teal embroidered chales (shawls) crouched on the church floor. Ritual white cotton rebozos covered their heads and faces, leaving only their black eyes visible, watching the men. The men lit candles and more candles. Young boys left greenery around the statues. In the dimness, a solemn father pinched his laughing son's ear to remind him to respect the ceremony and the saints.

When we could tell that the ceremony was drawing to a close, I asked one of the elders to tell me its significance. "This is the first Friday of Lent," he replied. "We'll have this procession the first Friday of every month from now until All Saints Day in November." He smiled, bowed briefly, and moved away from me. My partner and I walked slowly out of the church and back into the brilliant Zinacantán afternoon light. We felt that we had been centuries and huge distances away from this millennium. And of course, after that much mystical time and space travel, we were starving. Lunch! Where would we have lunch?

View of Zinacantán from the floor of the valley, 8500 feet above sea level.

Next week, read Part Three as Mexico Cooks! continues its visit to San Lorenzo Zinacantán, Chiapas.

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Mexico Cooks! is traveling. We'll be back to our regularly scheduled programming in mid-July.

30 de June de 2012