Category: Travel

Breakfast at the Red Star Café, Erongarícuaro, Michoacán, México

The red-geranium-filled patio at the charming Red Star Café.

From start (Espresso Rosa Luxemburg, one shot) to finish (Flan Casero Comunero), the menu at the Red Star Café lets you know that the collective owners aren't run of the mill. But how in the world did the Colectivo Las Rosas find its way to way-way-way off the beaten path Erongarícuaro, Michoacán, and why in the world did it open a restaurant?

Carlos Dews, the self-described red diaper baby, green revolutionary communist, anti-capitalist barista (gourmet coffee concocter), and spokesperson for the Red Star Café.

In Carlos' own words:

"I came up with the idea of the Red Star Café. I thought it was a catchy
name and the decorating of the place became easy seeing as how I
already had a cool Trotsky poster bought at the Trotsky Museum in
Mexico City, a dog-eared copy of the Communist Manifesto in Spanish,
seven unpainted tables and twenty-something humpbacked chairs that just
cried out for a coat or two of mandarin red. Add a CD of music from the
Mexican Revolution, a gaggle of red clay pots in which to plant
red-bloomed geraniums, and I knew where I could get some print-outs of
ancient photos of Marx and Mao and Prince Kropotkin and a square
kilometer of bright red tablecloths. It seemed a good fit.

Salsa roja (red sauce) at the Red Star Café.

"I am not a romantic or a utopian. I know that what I am doing here at
the Red Star Café is not communism or anything like it. As Trotsky
said, "Communism cannot exist in isolation." He figured out that one
country raising the red flag and proclaiming itself communist did not
make it so, and, as a matter of fact, would probably lead to the dreary
and deadly bureaucratism that invaded the Soviet Union under Old Joe
Stalin. I hope that, at least, I can avoid that trap.

Red lilies against a sun-baked añil (cobalt blue) wall at the restaurant.

"But
Trotsky was right. A worldwide revolution lead by the working class is
the solution to our problems today. An old gringo living in a dream
world, however cushy and cool, is not going to change anything much."

You can read the rest of the story at http://erongaredstarcafe.blogspot.com/2008_05_01_archive.html.

A while back,Mexico Cooks! drove over to the Red Star Café for almuerzo (late breakfast). A day or so later, Carlos emailed to ask if everything had truly truly truly been up to snuff. We hemmed and hawed, but eventually said a couple of things could have been a bit better. We accepted the restaurant's invitation to come back at the end of June and give the staff a few tips about food preparation and service, and what a good time we all had! Mexico Cooks! spent four hours with Carlos, Juan, Susy, and Elizabeth, working out some trouble spots and cooking up some new additions to the restaurant menu.

Juan, head chef at the Red Star Café.

In Carlos' words:

"About half of the time was spent in just talking and asking and
answering questions. Chef Cristina gave us some great new ideas about
how, for example, to set up the tables for our guests, as well as how
to best attend to their needs and make them absolutely comfortable
while they are in "our home".

"She also helped us design a better
way to arrange the kitchen, which had been getting to be more and more
a source of irritation since our business is expanding every day and we
were quite actually bumping behinds and stumbling all over each other
in our tiny space. So we set up two mise en place, which are, in more
common parlance, work stations. We now have two set up in the kitchen,
one for Juan and one for Susy.

St. Pascual Baylón, the patron saint of the kitchen, watches over the Red Star Café.

"Chef Cristina taught us how to make a French-style omelet using a
number of different ingredients–your choice. I made one for myself
yesterday that had melted cheddar cheese and artichoke hearts in it. I
cooked the eggs in my own special, very spicy chile oil, and they came
out golden and delicious.

"La Chef also taught us her personal
version of pan francés (French toast). It's a strict secret, but involves a
little vanilla and a touch of cinnamon. She prepared pan francés for us during
the cooking hours of the class and had to make up a second batch to fill
the needs of the comuneros. Deeelicious!

Susy (left) and Elizabeth giggle over sandwiches of telera (a flattish bread) and frijolitos estilo Celia (refried beans the way Mexico Cooks! prepares them).

"Chef Cristina is a
believer in using manteca (lard) in refried beans. We have resisted this for
health reasons, but after tasting her version of frijoles peruanos with
a hint of chile serrano sautéed in that magical fatty substance, we are
going to have to offer both versions to our clientele. If you are
against eating lard, you can just tell us, and we will make your
frijoles the new-fashioned way, in olive oil. I can just hear Chef
Cristina snickering."

Read the rest of the story at: http://erongaredstarcafe.blogspot.com/2008/07/chefa-cristina-potters-to-our-rescue.html

As we say in Mexico, 'Cada quien a su gusto'…to each his own taste. Mexico Cooks! wouldn't choose olive oil for preparing refried beans, but we can almost understand that some people might choose health over flavor.

Here's the recipe:

Frijolitos Refritos Estilo Celia (Refried Beans Celia's Way)

Ingredients
Dried peruano beans, cooked in plain water until very soft (about 2 1/2 hours)
1 or 2 chiles serrano, depending on your tolerance for picante (heat)
2 Tbsp lard
Bean-cooking liquid
Sea salt to taste
Queso cotija (aged Mexican sharp white cheese), crumbled

Method
Over high flame, melt lard in a medium-size heavy skillet. While the lard melts, split the chiles in half from the tip almost to the stem end. Add the chiles to the melted lard and fry until the chile skins are dark brown, nearly black. Allow the lard to cool slightly.

Add the amount of cooked beans that you'll need. For three servings, Mexico Cooks! uses about two cups of beans. Add enough bean-cooking liquid to allow you to mash the beans easily. When the beans are heated through, begin to mash them with a heavy potato masher or a wooden bean masher. Mash the beans, the lard, AND the chiles into a fairly smooth and slightly liquid paste. Add more bean-cooking liquid as necessary. We usually leave a few semi-mashed beans for a little texture. Add sea salt to taste.

Plate the frijolitos refritos and sprinkle heavily with queso cotija. Serves three as a side dish for breakfast.

Another delicious (and don't knock it till you've tried it) snack to prepare with frijolitos refritos is a sandwich similar to the ones Susy and Elizabeth are eating in the photo. Buy half a dozen bolillos (Mexican bread for tortas) and slice in half lengthwise. Take out some of the crumb so that a hollow is left in each half of the bolillo. Fill the hollows with plenty of frijolitos refritos, add queso cotija, garnish with sliced pickled jalapeños (this is optional), make the halves of the bolillos into sandwiches, and eat. These are marvelous for picnics, as they require no refrigeration and absolutely thrill your mouth.

Juan's son Fernando David is the real boss at the Red Star Café.

Buen provecho! (Good appetite!)

Red Star Café
Portal Hidalgo #3
Erongarícuaro, Michoacán
Hours: Breakfast Only

October 24, 2008: Mexico Cooks! regrets to inform you that the Red Star Café closed in September 2008.

12 de July de 2008
Mexico Cooks! and “El Mural” at Birriería El Chololo

South of the Guadalajara airport, near the exit for El Salto, you’ll see the green tile domes of Birriería Chololo on the west side of the highway. Be sure to stop!

Over 80 years ago, Birriería Chololo started life as a street stand. Its founder, Don Isidro Torres, made a huge success of the family business. Today, there are three Birrierías Chololo run by Don Isidro’s eight children, and the Chololo campestre (countryside), managed by Fidel Torres Ruiz, is the busiest of the batch. The restaurant, which seats 1000 people and turns the tables four times every Sunday, is closed only on Lenten Fridays and Christmas Day. Every other day of the year, it’s a goat feast.

Birria and frijolitos refritos con queso, for two people. A bowl of consomé is in the background.

The offerings at Birriería Chololo (a nickname for Isidro) are pure simplicity. Birria de chivo (goat), consomé (the rich goat broth), frijolitos con queso (refried beans with melted cheese), salsa de molcajete (house-made salsa served in heavy volcanic stone mortars), a quesadilla here and there, and a couple of desserts are the entire bill of fare. The birria, cooked 12 to 14 hours in a clay oven, is prepared to your order, according to the number in your party. You can ask for maciza (just chunks of meat) or surtido (an assortment of meats, including the goat’s tongue, lips, and tripitas (intestines).

Each order of birria is prepared at the time it’s requested. The goat meat is chopped, weighed, mopped with sauce and glazed under the salamander, then brought piping hot to the table.

Birriería Chololo raises its own animals from birth to slaughter. That way, says Don Fidel, quality control is absolute. The restaurant butchers approximately 700 100-pound animals per week to feed the hungry multitudes.

Salsa de molcajete estilo Chololo: addictive as sin and hotter than Hades.

The full bar at El Chololo serves its liquor in a way you might not have seen at your local watering hole. A bottle of your favorite tipple is set down on your table. A black mark on the open bottle’s label indicates where your consumption starts, and at the end of your meal, you’re charged for alcohol by the measure.

Consomé, birria, salsa de molcajete, and frijoles refritos con queso.

Some birrierías serve meat and consomé in one plate, but not El Chololo. Consomé, the heady pot likker rendered from the goats’ overnight baking, is served in its own bowl. Before you dip your spoon into the soup, add some fresh minced onions, a pinch of sea salt, a squeeze of limón, and a squirt of the other house-made salsa on the table, the one in the squeeze bottle. Ask for refills of consomé–they’re on the house. Just don’t ask for the recipe. It’s a closely guarded family secret.

One of the two huge clay ovens for baking birria at El Chololo.

On Sundays and other festive days, roving mariachis brighten up the restaurant’s ambiance. Birthday parties, First Communion parties, wedding anniversaries, and other family fiestas are all celebrated at El Chololo, and nothing makes a party better than a song or two. You’ll hear Las Mañanitas (the traditional congratulatory song for every occasion) ten times on any given Sunday!

From the front door to the back garden, everything about Birriería Chololo is puro folklor mexicano and wonderfully picturesque.

5 de July de 2008
Mexico Cooks! and “El Mural” at Taco Fish La Paz in Guadalajara

Taco Fish La Paz is just a couple of carts on the street in Guadalajara, with the kitchen across the way. Mexico Cooks! and El Mural arrived early and beat the crowds. Lines can be up to 30 people long! This famous street stand offers parking and parking assistance, necessary because of the hordes of tapatíos (Guadalajarans) who show up hungry.

This delighted tourist had just flown in from Acapulco. Taco Fish La Paz was her first stop in Guadalajara. Her drink is agua fresca de jamaica, a cold hibiscus tea.

A plate of freshly made tacos de pescado (fish tacos). These are garnished with house-made cabbage and carrot slaw and cucumber slices. Taco Fish La Paz also prepares tacos de camarón (shrimp), de marlín ahumado (smoked marlin), and de jaiba (crab).

Choose your condiments and sides from the cart. You'll find chiles toreados con cebollas, pickled onions, sliced cucumbers, a different slaw, and house-made salsas.

Our photographer from El Mural was starving!

Next, the bottled salsa bar, including every table salsa you can imagine, plus freshly-squeezed jugo de limón (Mexican lime juice), mayonesa (mayonnaise), salsa inglesa (Worcestershire sauce), salt, and crema (like creme fraiche), with or without chile.

Freshly fried fish and shrimp at Taco Fish La Paz. Each taco de pescado (fish taco) includes a huge piece of fish. Each taco de camarón (shrimp taco–Mexico Cooks!' favorite) includes three very large fried shrimp. The taco in the tongs is a taco dorado de jaiba–fried crab taco!

It takes hours to peel and de-vein the vast quantities of shrimp eaten at Taco Fish La Paz.

The fish and shrimp are dipped in batter and fried, then carried across the street in tubs to the taco stand.

Last time we were there, the youngest customer at Taco Fish La Paz was only a month old. What a cutie pie!

28 de June de 2008
Mexico Cooks! and “El Mural” Love El Ostión Feliz (The Happy Oyster)

Denisse Hernández, reporter from Guadalajara's newspaper El Mural, interviews Rosario Reyes Estrada about the coctel de camarón (shrimp cocktail) that Mexico Cooks! proclaims to be the best in Mexico. Behind the two women is another tianguis (street market) booth that sells balls and toys.

Last February, while Mexico Cooks! was deep in the heart of Chiapas, an email requesting a tour arrived saying that El Mural, the prominent Guadalajara newspaper, wanted Mexico Cooks! to guide a writer and photographer on an eating tour of…Guadalajara! The initial email from the editor said Mexico Cooks! was the best blog in the blogosphere, they were dying to meet us, and that the article would be featured in an upcoming Buena Mesa, El Mural's Friday food section. Flattery will get you everywhere, so of course we said a delighted YES.

Sra. Reyes, her family, and a small staff operate El Ostión Feliz.

Mexico Cooks! met reporter Denisse Hernández and a staff photographer in Guadalajara and off we went on our eating outing. Our first stop was Guadalajara's enormous Tianguis del Sol, an outdoor market specializing in everything from replacement parts for your blender to incredible food and produce purveyors.

When I was first living in Guadalajara, a dear friend introduced me to Rosario Reyes Estrada at her booth El Ostión Feliz (the Happy Oyster). Sra. Reyes is at the Tianguis del Sol every day it's open, serving concoctions of fresh fish and seafood. Her tiny booth, where about ten hungry diners at a time sit on plastic stools at a long, oilcloth-covered table, is definitely where the desayuno (breakfast) and almuerzo (brunch) action is. We've been eating her coctel de camarón (shrimp cocktail) for years, and as far as Mexico Cooks! is concerned, it's the best in Mexico. We don't know what magic ingredient she incorporates into the coctel (she swears her only secret is the use of the absolutely freshest ingredients), but from the first bite years ago, we were instantly addicted.

Look at the size of the shrimp in that soup spoon! Each of Doña Rosario's cocteles de camarón includes a dozen shrimp like that.

A Mexican coctel de camarón resembles a shrimp cocktail from the United States or Canada only in that both are made with shrimp. When asked for her recipe, Sra. Reyes, originally from the state of Veracruz, just smiles. This approximation of her coctel will have to satisfy you till you get to Guadalajara.

Coctel de Camarón Estilo Mexicano for Four

Ingredients for Poaching the Shrimp
48 fresh large (U25) shrimp, shell on.
1 clove garlic
1 stick celery, with leaves if possible
1 carrot, washed but not peeled
1 medium white onion, peeled
1 Roma tomato
1 chile serrano, split from tip almost to stem
A few stems of cilantro

Ingredients for composing the coctel
Caldo (broth) reserved from cooking shrimp
Sea salt to taste
1 1/2 cups tomato catsup (not a typo)
1 Tbsp minced white onion per serving
1 Tbsp minced Roma tomato per serving
1 Tbsp minced cucumber per serving
1/2 tsp minced chile serrano
Roughly chopped cilantro to taste
Ripe avocado
Mexican limes, halved and seeded
Salsa de mesa (table salsa) such as
     Cholula, Valentina, Búfalo, etc.
     DO NOT USE TABASCO!

What You Might Not Have On Hand
Ice cream soda glasses–optional, but authentic for serving

Procedure
In simmering water, poach the shrimp, along with the garlic, celery, carrot, onion, tomato, chile serrano, and cilantro until the shrimp are just done, firm and pink but still tender. Discard the vegetables from the poaching. Reserve and chill the caldo de camarón (poaching liquid) for later use. Be careful: a friend of mine poached his shrimp and drained it, inadvertently pouring all the liquid down the drain! Be sure to use a container under your strainer.

Shell the shrimp and chill.

At serving time, mix the catsup, the reserved, chilled caldo de camarón (shrimp broth), and sea salt to taste.   Add a squeeze of fresh Mexican lime juice.

In each ice cream soda glass or other large glass, put the indicated quantities of minced onion, tomato, cucumber, chile serrano, and chopped cilantro. Add 12 shrimp to each glass. Pour the catsup/caldo de camarón mixture to cover all ingredients.

Serve with diced avocado. At the table, offer Mexican lime halves for those who prefer a limier flavor, a small dish of sea salt, a dish of minced chile serrano and another of chopped cilantro for those who prefer more, and a salsa de mesa or two for those who like more picante (HEAT!).

A coctel de camarón is traditionally served with saltine crackers and tostadas, those crunchy fried or dehydrated salty tortillas. Tostadas are usually rubbed with the cut side of a squeezed lime for added flavor. Buen provecho!

The lovely Sra. Josefina Naranjo of Guadalajara has eaten at El Ostión Feliz for years, coming every Friday to enjoy Doña Rosario's fish and seafood.

The assortment of Doña Rosario's salsas includes Valentina (in the bottle), a house-made salsa of cucumber, onion, and chile habanero (in the bowl), a green avocado/cilantro salsa, and my favorite, the little jar of salsa de ajonjolí (sesame seed) and chile de árbol. This one is so popular that Doña Rosario sells it to take home. Mexico Cooks! wouldn't be without a jar of this salsa muy picante in the refrigerator.

Next week with Mexico Cooks! and "El Mural": Taco Fish La Paz.

21 de June de 2008
Sin Maíz, No Hay País: Without Corn, There is No Country

Yumil Kaxob, the Mayan corn god.

Mexico is corn, corn is Mexico.   From prehistoric times, Mexico has produced corn to feed its people. Archaeological remains of early corn ears found in the Oaxaca Valley date as far back as 3450 B.C. Ears found in a cave in Puebla date to 2750 B.C.

Diego Rivera, Festival de Maíz, 1923-24.

Around 1500 B.C. the first evidence of large-scale land
clearing for milpas appears.
Indian farmers still grow corn in a milpa, (corn field),
planting a dozen crops together, including corn, melon, tomatoes, sweet potato, and varieties of squash and beans.
Some of these plants lack nutrients which others have in abundance,
resulting in a powerful, self-sustaining symbiosis between all
plants grown in the milpa. The milpa is therefore seen by some
as one of the most successful human inventions – alongside corn.¹

Listen as this group from Burgos, Tamaulipas, sings Las Cuatro Milpas, a song from the early 20th Century: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=se4OcLbFuFg.

The song's sad verses recount the loss of a family's home and its milpas.

         "Only four cornfields remain
          Of the little ranch that was mine,
      And that little house, so white and beautiful
          Look how sad it is!

        Loan me your eyes, my brown woman,
          I'll carry them in my soul,
          And what do they see over there?
         The wreckage of that little house,
         So white and beautiful–
       It's so sad!

   The stables no longer shelter cattle,
        Everything is finished! Oh, Oh!
        Now there are no pigeons, no fragrant herbs,
      Everything is finished!

    Four cornfields that I loved so much,
      My mother took care of them, Oh!
If you could just see how lonely it is,
      Now there are no poppies and no herbs!"

The family-owned milpa is quickly disappearing from Mexico's flatlands and hillsides, giving way to agro-business corn farming. Today, Mexico's corn industry produces more than 24 million tons of white corn a year. Nearly half again that amount is imported from other countries. The imports are primarily yellow corn used to feed animals.

Woman blowing on corn as she puts it in the fire– so that the corn will not be afraid of the heat. Florentine Codex, Fray Bernardino Sahagún, third quarter 16th Century.

According to the Popul Vuh, the Mayan
creation story, humans were created from corn. Do you know the story?

At first, there were only the sky and the sea. There was not one bird, not one animal. There was not one mountain. The sky and the sea were alone with the Maker. There was no one to praise the Maker's names, there was no one to praise the Maker's glory.

Traditional milpa (cornfield) in the mountains of central Mexico.

The Maker said the word, "Earth," and the earth rose, like a mist from the sea. The Maker only thought of it, and there it was.

The Maker thought of mountains, and great mountains came. The Maker thought of trees, and trees grew on the land.

The Maker made the animals, the birds, and all the many creatures of the Earth.

Masa tricolor (three-color corn dough) ground by hand using the metate y mano.

The Maker wanted a being in his likeness. First the Maker used dirt to create a Human, but
made of mud and earth. It didn't look very good. Dry, it crumbled and wet, it softened. It looked lopsided and twisted. It only spoke nonsense. It could not multiply. So the Maker tried again.

Our Grandfather and Our Grandmother, the wise deities of the Sun and Moon, were summoned. "Determine if we should carve people from wood," commanded the Maker.

They answered,
"It is good to make your people with wood. They will speak your name.
They will walk about and multiply."

"So be it," replied the Maker. And as the words were spoken, it was done. The doll-people were made with faces carved from wood. They had children. But they had no blood, no sweat. They had nothing in their minds. They had no respect for the Maker or the creations of the Maker. They just walked about, accomplishing nothing.

"This is not what I had in mind," said the Maker, and destroyed the wooden people.

In Michoacán, unfilled tamales called corundas are eaten with churipo, a richly delicious beef and cabbage soup.

The Maker sat and contemplated the ears of corn, the kernels of the ears. The Maker thought, "What comes from this nourishing life will be my people," and the Maker ground the corn, ground the corn and formed Man and Woman. On the first day, when Man and Woman, formed from corn, awakened, they rose up praising the Maker's name and giving thanks for their lives. They bore children, they praised the Maker as they planted corn and tended the crop. They were made in the Maker's image, born from corn. The Maker and his people rejoiced in one another."

Stone image of Yumil Kaxob. Photo courtesy of Michael Martin.²

Imagine an entire people formed from corn, formed to honor the seed, the earth, the plant, the crop! Corn cannot grow without human intervention; ancient Mesoamerican humanity could not have existed without corn. Spiritual planting rituals continue to be celebrated in the milpas every chosen planting day.

Corn is still the staple food of Mexico. Nixtamal (dried dent corn soaked in water and cal, builder's lime) is corn's basic currency. Nixtamal is the starting point for the tortilla, the tamal, the corunda, the sope, the cup of atole, and a myriad of other masa-based preparations.

This poster advertises a conference about "Nuestro Maíz" (Our Corn) held on June 3, 2008 at the Autonomous University of Chihuahua, Mexico.

As Mexico changes, corn production also changes. NAFTA and globalization have affected Mexico's corn industry, as has genetic modification of corn itself. Is corn food, or is corn fuel for vehicles? Argument rages about the future of Mexico's corn. There is, however, no doubt: sin maíz, no hay país. Without corn, there is no country.

1. http://www.philipcoppens.com/maize.html
2. http://www.pbase.com/pinemikey/image/85632845

14 de June de 2008
What Do You Collect?

Many collectors hunt for fine Mexican textiles. These are hand-embroidered Purépecha huipiles (blouses).

Mexico Cooks! reads a lot of blogs, some about Mexico, some specifically about Mexican culinary affairs, some about photography, and some of general interest. Once in a while, a particular blog post jogs some deep connection and keeps us pondering the subject for days. When I read the April 6, 2008, post on Billie Mercer's Billieblog (written from San Miguel de Allende, Guanajuato), I was stopped in my tracks.

Billie had read and linked to this article about the psychology of collecting. I'm not so sure I buy the various theories that the article discusses, but the topic really pushed my buttons.

When I was a very small child, my family lived next door to the Fords. The Ford family included Mr. and Mrs. Ford, their my-age son, and Mrs. Ford's mother, who seemed from my six-year-old perspective to be very, very old. She was tiny, her face creased with age, and her white hair was wound into a bun high on her head.

Once a week, Mrs. Ford washed her mother's hair. I often sat chatting with her mother while Mrs. Ford brushed and brushed the long white hair until it was dry. While we chatted, Mrs. Ford's mother let me hold a little doll that she had owned since her own long-ago childhood. Unlike my own hard plastic Madame Alexander dolls or my nearly-real Baby Newborn, the old doll was made of what I learned to call bisque. She had real hair and open/shut eyes made of glass! She had four teeny-tiny china teeth! Her wee blue shoes and white socks were also bisque, part of the mold that made her legs. Her hand-sewn clothing (including an apron) was from another time, not from the 1950s. Mrs. Ford's mother knew that the little bisque doll was from Germany and that she had received it as a birthday present when she turned seven–the very same age that I was about to be! That small doll fascinated me. It seemed to hold clues to a life not my own and a time I did not understand.

Dolls like these intrigued me throughout my childhood.

When the week of my birthday arrived, Mrs. Ford and her mother presented me with a small ribbon-tied box. The doll! They gave me the doll! She sat in a place of honor on my bookshelf, her tiny white teeth gleaming, and she went with me every time I visited Mrs. Ford's mother. When my family moved away, my hardest loss was those weekly visits to another childhood far removed from my own.

That little doll, so special to me, started my collection. My parents and my grandparents began giving me other antique dolls on big-gift occasions: birthdays and Christmas often brought a new addition to my doll family. Soon my father's antique glass-doored bookcase moved into my bedroom to house my own books along with these antique children.

I loved my 1920s Grace Storey Putnam bisque Bye-Lo Baby, originally modeled in clay, from the head of a sleeping three-day-old infant.

For me, the fascination of collecting antique dolls was in large part about the mystery: whose dolls had they been originally, where had they traveled, what happened to the little girl who first treasured them? The mystery also included the information treasure hunt: who made the doll, and when, and where? How much did it cost when it was first made, and what was its value today, and why?

As a young adult, I lost interest in my dolls and eventually sold the collection. During the following years, I occasionally experienced what I think of as 'collector's lust', the hunger for a roomful of this or that. In my case, I lusted for one-of-a-kind early American folk art. The idiosyncratic, the outsider, the slightly off-kilter intrigued and beckoned to me. Beloved pieces still decorate my house in Mexico.

A handmade mid-19th century black walnut fretless banjo, a country Hepplewhite table, and a home-made Mexican shooting gallery dog target are among the items that decorate my Morelia entry hall.

Later, I learned about late 19th and early 20th century Mexican arte popular (folk art) and began to accumulate a few examples. A friend of mine says, "Two of anything is just a pair, but three is a collection." My collection, then, is primarily of old Mexican folk art. Newly made pieces do occasionally creep into the house, but I prefer to find little treasures that verge on the antique.

In my office, a new papel maché (paper maché) Judas reclines next to an early 20th century Balbino Lucano-style jarra (pitcher) from Tonalá, Jalisco.

The blue-and-yellow Mexican fantasía plate dates to the 1920s. The painted Lake Pátzcuaro box was made in the late 19th century and has its original key. My partner and I commissioned the calabaza de barro (clay squash) from the artist.

Why do I collect? It's all about Mrs. Ford's mother, that German bisque doll and the fascination that hooked me at age seven. Why do certain things grab my attention and others leave me cold? The jury is still out on that one.

So I wonder: what do you collect? And why do you collect it? Please leave your comments, I'm collecting those, too!

31 de May de 2008
Torito de Petate: Morelia’s Festival of Dancing Bulls

Mexico Cooks! is turning back the clock this week, but only a little: let's imagine that it's February 2, 2008, just before Lent begins, and we're in Morelia, Michoacán for the afternoon festival of the Torito de Petate.

El diablo (the devil) is an annual participant in Morelia's torito de petate competition.

The idea of this celebration is that everyone, young and old alike, have a great time celebrating and learning the significance of this age-old tradition. Year after year, the creativity that characterizes the making of these so-called 'little bulls' surprises us with huge and exceptionally colorful figures.

A huge owl decorates this torito de petate.

The figure is made of a bamboo frame, covered with colorful tissue paper. Near the bottom of the torito, the head of a bull peeks out, adorned with banderillas. The upper part of the torito shows off huge cut-paper shapes: swans, lyres, stars, mermaids, and every other fantasy that can be created in cut tissue paper.

A monumental sirenita (mermaid) is the top of this torito. Compare the sirenita figure with the adult women standing to its left and right to get a good idea of its size.

The torito de petate honoring Nuestra Señora de Guadalupe, built by Eduardo Hernández and his crew.

Mexico Cooks! talked with Gregorio Hernández, head of the torito team representing El Clavelito in Morelia's Colonia Eduardo Ruíz. Sr. Hernández gave us some history. "Before the Spanish conquest, the Purhépecha (local indigenous people) danced with the head of a bull, a real bull, to welcome the spring planting season and to insure a good crop. It's said that the little bull is the symbol of fertility.

"After the Spanish came and the indigenous people were converted to Catholicism, Tata Vasco (Don Vasco de Quiroga, the first Roman Catholic bishop in Michoacán) encouraged the people to include the bull dance in pre-Lenten celebrations. At first the same bull head was used, and then the people added a sombrero de listones (a beribboned hat) to make a bigger show. After that, the torito just got bigger and bigger and became what it is today: a joyful dance and artistic competition."

The young man standing next to this fantasy-figure torito is about 1.60 meters (5'6") tall. Just below the yin-yang symbol you can see the horned black bull head in its red cap. Be sure to click on all of the pictures on Mexico Cooks! to enlarge them for a better view.

One of the toritos dancing on stage at Morelia's Plaza Valladolid. Photo courtesy of La Jornada de Michoacán.

In another version of the story of the torito de petate, it's said that the dance had its beginning in the 1830s, when hacienda owners allowed their slaves to celebrate planting or a good harvest with the Dance of the Bull. The dance troupe was made up of la maringuía (a female figure said to represent the Virgin Mary), the caporal (soldier, representing St. Joseph), a caballito (little horse), representing the Niño Jesús (Child Jesus), and the bull, representing worldly activities. At the end of the 20th Century dancers added another figure, known as el apache, a fearsome creature whose sole role is to strike fear into the hearts of children in the audience!

She's choosing small toritos de petate to take home as souvenirs. Mexico Cooks! liked so many of them that we ended up not buying one. We simply couldn't decide.

Cascarones (dyed eggshells filled with confetti), ready to break on the heads of your best pals or your girlfriend. You can always tell who's the grade school heartthrob of the moment by the amount of confetti in his or her hair.

Time to take the torito de petate back to the colonia (neighborhood) where it was made.

We stayed at the festival till the last dance was done. What fun we had watching the dancers fill Morelia's Plaza Valladolid with color, music, and joy. Maybe we'll see you there next year.

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

24 de May de 2008
Not in Any Guide Book: Why You Will Love a Mexico Cooks! Tour
Mexico Cooks! has been around the manzana (city block) a time or two since first living in Mexico nearly 30 years ago. Over all of that time, we've found a lot of hidden wonders in this vast República.

A huge popsicle marks the entrance to this way-off-the-beaten-path town. Why? We can take you there to find out!

In the "ABOUT" section listed on the front page of Mexico Cooks! (up there in the right-hand corner, where it's easy to miss), I make mention of the highly personalized tours I occasionally give for small groups. Many of my readers have asked about planning a Mexico Cooks! tour for themselves and their friends. Today, I've succumbed to your requests for more information.

This pale and placid moon graces a lovely fountain–but where, why is it special, and how do you find it?

Minimum group size is two people, and I can accommodate up to seven tour participants for a day trip, a few-days' trip, or a longer adventure.

All of the tours that I offer include the following:
- my undivided attention for the duration of your tour
- personalized tours to meet your special interests
- extensive pre-planning to maximize your experience on tour
- my 100% bilingual (English/Spanish) guide service
- tour transportation (not including air travel), including all ground vehicle related expenses, gasoline, parking fees, and tolls
- Cost of all meals taken as a group, tips, museum entry fees
Mexico Cooks! knows the secret of this private chapel and will share it with you.

Tour participants pay individually for:
- air transportation costs to/from and within Mexico
- ground transportation to/from airports and/or bus stations and participants' hotels
- hotel accommodations and accommodation-related tips
- alcoholic beverages consumed at tour meals
- all food and all beverages consumed at non-tour meals or during "on your own" times
You can discover the joyous heart of Mexico with Mexico Cooks!

The myriad wonders of Mexico are too many to count, and too many to see in an entire lifetime. If you've been here and want more, the "more" that most tourists never see, Mexico Cooks! will meet your needs. Traveling with Mexico Cooks!, you have the opportunity to tailor-make the tour you want. Nothing is pre-packaged. Each itinerary is designed based on your ideas, your wants.

Colorfully beautiful, whimsical, or elegant, Mexico Cooks! knows where to find the best of Mexico's crafts. Come along…

If you have particular interests (artisan villages and handwork, churches and cathedrals, city and country markets [with or without a cooking class!], traditional Mexican food and ingredients in all their regional varieties, restaurants small and large, special fiestas and religious celebrations, and small regional museums, to list a few), Mexico Cooks! can show you more than you've dreamed of finding.

Who ARE these guys, and why are they smiling? We'll go see!

Most of the Mexico Cooks! tours are focused on Mexico's high-altitude Central Highlands, where the weather is nearly always temperate: balmy and sunny during the day and refreshingly cool during the evening hours. The best times for touring are mid-June through February. March through late May are often uncomfortably warm and dry for daytime touring. Come discover the cool joy of central Mexico in the summer.

Mexico Cooks! can take you right into the bedroom of the all time best-known Mexican artist.

This is the perfect time to start planning a Mexico Cooks! tour. Email me at patalarga@gmail.com and tell me what you might like to do, or ask me for suggestions based on your interests. I'll be happy to quote prices and any other details you need.

What a great staircase! Want to see it in person? We'll take you there.

Buen viaje–Mexico Cooks! te espera! (Have a great trip–Mexico Cooks! is waiting for you!)
17 de May de 2008
Mexico Cooks! in Mexico City!

Como México, no hay dos…there’s no other place like Mexico!

That old saying, ‘Como México, no hay dos’, is so true. It’s used with enormous pride, it’s used ironically, it’s used with colors-flying patriotic fervor. In the photo above, for example, the signs at these Mexico City outdoor fondas (food booths) read (left to right): Soft Drinks, Beer, and Fruit Drinks. Chicken Soup. We Repair Baby Jesuses. Only in Mexico can you find such wonderfully surrealistic juxtapositions. Como México, no hay dos.

This handy key chain with an image of Our Lady of Guadalupe comes complete with a bottle opener. Judy shook her head and rolled her eyes, but ended up buying this memento of the Basílica for her son.

Mexico Cooks! tacked four days in Mexico City onto the end of our February trip to Chiapas. We’d been invited to stay at the home of our dear friend Ruth Alegría (Alegria in Mexico) and didn’t want to pass up the chance to comadrear tantito (to gossip a little bit) about the Distrito Federal food world. Our time with Ruth was a fast-forward speed combination of eating, yakking, and running around the city. Boy, did we have fun!

Frida Kahlo’s bedroom with her death mask.

Among our muchos recorridos (lots of running around), we visited the Museo Frida Kahlo (La Casa Azul) and the central plaza of Colonia Coyoacán.

The coyote fountain in the plaza principal of Colonia Coyoacán.

One of the best times was a pozole outing with Ruth and another couple, Jim Johnston and Nick Gilman. Jim is the author of Mexico City: An Opinionated Guide for the Curious Traveler; Nick wrote Good Food in Mexico City: A Guide to Food Stalls, Fondas, and Fine Dining. (Look over on the left-hand side of this page for Amazon links to those two books–they’re both well worth buying! Mexico Cooks! wouldn’t shill for them…umm…well, or maybe we would!)

Who would know the best pozolería in Mexico City better than a passel of foodies? Ruth drove; she’s intrepid behind the wheel, even in this city of nearly 30,000,000 souls. We voyaged north from our digs in south central Colonia Condesa, heading for Colonia Santa María La Ribera, near Alameda Norte. Mexico Cooks! has spent a lot of time in the Distrito Federal, but this was our first time in Colonia Santa María La Ribera. Nick assured us that we would love the pozolería.

The back of our waiter’s shirt at La Casa de Toño!

Nick was right. La Casa de Toño is sheer heaven, from the salsas to the postres. The restaurant has been a Mexico City stronghold forever. It’s open every day of the year, including Christmas. You can pay a virtual visit to La Casa de Toño here. We had a blast eating our way through a goodly part of the menu. We know we’ll go back again next time we’re in the city.

A night view of one of the patios at La Casa de Toño. The restaurant is housed in a converted mansion.

Of course we ordered pozole, the specialty of the house, but we also tried a quesadilla or two, a tostada de tinga, and some flautas. Four of us ordered pozole con maciza de puerco, the white meat of the pig. Jim ordered the pozole vegetariano, made with squash blossoms, mushrooms, and corn. I’m a confirmed meat-eater, but Jim’s vegetarian pozole was just as delicious as the meat-filled bowl I ate.

Pozole con tostadas, the traditional combo.

Condiments for pozole: minced onion, thinly sliced radishes, shredded lettuce, and a variety of salsas. We also crumbled dried orégano into the bowl, along with powdered chile and sea salt.

We’re waiting for our cena (supper): Judy, Jim, Nick, and Ruth.

The kitchen at La Casa de Toño is a hive of buzzing cooks, waiters, and busboys.

Next week: Let’s Make Pozole.

3 de May de 2008
Master of the Art of Metalwork: Guadalupe Hermosillo Escobar
María Esther Flores Najera and her husband, Guadalupe Hermosillo Escobar, San Cristóbal de las Casas, Chiapas, February 2008.

It's no small thing to have been named one of the "grandes maestros del arte popular en México" by Fomento Cultural Banamex. In the eponymous book, originally published in 1999, Banamex designated Guadalupe Hermosillo Escobar and nearly 100 other fine Mexican popular artists as grand masters of their crafts. The artists come from many Mexican states and work in media ranging from textiles and clay to wood, paper, leather, and metal. Guadalupe Hermosillo Escobar, his wife María Esther Flores Najera, and his children Gerardo, Cristóbal, and Paola have worked exclusively in hand-wrought iron for over 20 years.

Banamex reissued the huge and important book in 2006.

Born in Tapachula, Chiapas on December 12, 1962, Sr. Hermosillo moved to San Cristóbal de las Casas and learned the art of wrought iron. During the many years he has dedicated to his craft, he experimented with fire's intensity to give the metal different shades of color, from intense blue to silvery white, with natural finish flashes of red, green, and gold mixed into a single piece.

Assortment of traditional crosses with the symbols of Christ's passion.

Around 1548, metal smiths in San Cristóbal began making house crosses, padlocks, latches, and door knockers. These earliest examples are either in museums or have disappeared over the course of more than 450 years. Sr. Hermosillo continues the tradition of fine metal work in his own art, following the early designs. His most-requested designs are la cruz de la pasión de Cristo (the cross of Christ's passion), el árbol de la vida (the tree of life), and hardware for the home.

Cruz de la pasión de Cristo (cross of Christ's passion), San Cristóbal de las Casas, Chiapas 2008.

The cruz de la pasión de Cristo is made entirely of symbols of the Crucifixion. In the photo above (click on it to enlarge it), you can see:
- the dove at the top of the cross, which represents peace and the Holy Spirit
- pliers, used to remove the nails from Christ's hands and feet after his death
- the moon, representing the darkness that fell as Christ died
- the sun, representing the passage of the day and its events
- the rooster, which crowed after Peter denied Christ for the third time
- the crown, representing divine light
- the ladder, used to lower Christ's body from the cross
- the butterfly, representing both Eve and the hope of the Resurrection
- the snake, symbol of evil and seduction
- the heart, symbol of Christ's love, pity, and virtue
- the spear used to pierce Christ's body
- palm fronds, remembering Palm Sunday
- the scales of justice, representing the Last Judgment
In 2002, Sr. Hermosillo won the prize "Fray Bartolomé de las Casas", the highest artistic award given by the State of Chiapas. During the years he has worked making fine metal art, he has won nearly every honor given in his field, has taught classes in traditional metalwork, and labors tirelessly to promote the art of traditional wrought iron work.

Sr. Hermosillo made this traditional door latch in the form of human hands.

Detail of hand-hammered iron work in one of the crosses.

If you go to San Cristóbal, a visit to Guadalupe Hermosillo is a must. His museum and workshop are located at:

Avenida de la Jardinera #12
Colonia Jardines del Valle
San Cristóbal de las Casas, Chiapas

You'll find Sr. Hermosillo there from Monday to Saturday, 10:00 AM until 2:00 PM and 4:00 PM until 7:00 PM. He might also be there on Sundays from 10:00 AM until 3:00 PM.
26 de April de 2008