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esperanza

Nov 17, 2010, 6:20 PM

Post #1 of 14 (10498 views)

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UNESCO Cultural Heritage Award to Mexico's Traditional Food

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UNESCO has officially given Mexico's traditional cuisine--and particularly the cuisine of the state of Michoacán--the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity award. The news came from UNESCO yesterday, November 16, 2010. Here's the text of the award statement: http://www.unesco.org/...g=00011&RL=00400 Be sure to watch the wonderful video.

We are all beside ourselves with joy over this extremely welcome news. Celebrate with us!

http://www.mexicocooks.typepad.com

La Isla

Nov 17, 2010, 7:22 PM

Post #2 of 14 (10476 views)

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Re: [esperanza] UNESCO Cultural Heritage Award to Mexico's Traditional Food

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Esperanza, thanks for posting news about this well-deserved award. I watched the video and was pleased to see that towards the end the need to preserve this quintessential part of Mexican culture was emphasized.

TigerTonio

Nov 18, 2010, 10:08 AM

Post #3 of 14 (10442 views)

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Re: [esperanza] UNESCO Cultural Heritage Award to Mexico's Traditional Food

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BRAVO! Well deserved!

esperanza

Nov 20, 2010, 9:45 AM

Post #4 of 14 (10363 views)

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Re: [esperanza] UNESCO Cultural Heritage Award to Mexico's Traditional Food

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Here's the why and how of UNESCO's decision to name Mexican cuisine (with particular emphasis on Michoacán) an Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity.

http://mexicocooks.typepad.com/...mexicos-cuisine.html

http://www.mexicocooks.typepad.com

Hound Dog

Nov 20, 2010, 5:12 PM

Post #5 of 14 (10350 views)

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Re: [esperanza] UNESCO Cultural Heritage Award to Mexico's Traditional Food

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I have decided to delete this post. No reason really other than I have subsequently posted again on this subject further down the thread and that´s enough.

A lot of people worked on this inclusion in the UNESCO thing so I respect their efforts. It is unfair for me to take out my feelings regarding UNESCO´s award criteria on those who worked so hard to achieve that goal. Mexican food is certainly worth flagging as of worthy note as is the cuisine of Southern India. Thay can co-exist.

(This post was edited by Hound Dog on Nov 21, 2010, 3:16 PM)

tashby

Nov 20, 2010, 5:47 PM

Post #6 of 14 (10331 views)

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Re: [esperanza] UNESCO Cultural Heritage Award to Mexico's Traditional Food

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Quote

I am disgusted.

And pop goes the weasel....

That video is spectacular. UNESCO-speak aside, I'm sure the designation was hard-earned and well-deserved. Kudos!

mazbook1

Nov 20, 2010, 7:31 PM

Post #7 of 14 (10313 views)

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Re: [tashby] UNESCO Cultural Heritage Award to Mexico's Traditional Food

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tashby, I agree wholeheartedly. Hound Dog is completely off-base.

The indigenous cuisine of México probably uses more (and more varied) indigenous ingredients than any other indigenous cuisine in the world. Not only the staple, corn, but corn treated with lime so as to avoid the debilitating niacin deficiency disease pellagra; something not discovered by the "superior" NOB culture until the 1920s (and not admitted by the government until the 1930s) even though the indigenous Mexicans had been doing it for thousands of years.

Beans, chiles (all types of capsicum peppers—with the sole exception of the habenero pepper and its Caribbean relatives—from the lowly bell pepper to the hottest used in India), avocados, chocolate, sweet potatoes and yams, amaranth, nopal (prickly pear cactus), tunas (prickly pear cactus fruits of various types), huitlacoche—a corn fungus—agua miel from the agave plant (the base for pulque and later tequila), vanilla, guava and then the others including achiote, tomatoes, chayotes, guanabana (soursop), mamey, anonna (sugar apple) and various squashes that probably didn't originate in México (most likely in Central or South America) but were spread to the world by the Spaniards' Manila Galleons from Veracruz and Acapulco.

It would be nearly impossible to name any country today whose cuisine doesn't include ingredients originally from México.

The foods of México – definitely a Cultural Heritage!

(This post was edited by mazbook1 on Nov 20, 2010, 7:52 PM)

Peter

Nov 20, 2010, 9:59 PM

Post #8 of 14 (10297 views)

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Re: [Hound Dog] UNESCO Cultural Heritage Award to Mexico's Traditional Food

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I wasn't sure before if you had not pulled your own post as an afterthought but I see that was not the case. Having read the articles linked to this event I am still not sure what specifically brought about the award as those specifics were glossed-over with broad categorization. I have to agree with Mazbook1 and share his cited examples as what I find compelling about Mexican traditional foods, many of those are used regularly throughout the world - chocolate and chiles alone are worth celebrating.

I hope your dissenting opinions are left standing, however. It seems a fair comment. While Mexican fare has not been taken to the snotty nose-bleed heights of Haughty Cuisine, I have always been a fan of popular foods. Dressing for dinner has never been a requisite for enjoying Mexican food. Nudists, however, should exercise caution as fallout from chili-laden tacos falling in the lap could be a real eye-opening experience.

No matter how low one's station might be nor how high and snotty, Mexican food can be enjoyed by all.

Anonimo

Nov 21, 2010, 5:23 AM

Post #9 of 14 (10282 views)

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Re: [Peter] UNESCO Cultural Heritage Award to Mexico's Traditional Food

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Another viewpoint heard from: Food Historian Rachel Laudan.
http://www.zesterdaily.com/...co-culinary-heritage

Her points are subtle and complex, and the text requires close reading for comprehension, at least it did for me.

Saludos,
Anonimo

(This post was edited by Anonimo on Nov 21, 2010, 5:37 AM)

Peter

Nov 21, 2010, 6:07 AM

Post #10 of 14 (10274 views)

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Re: [Anonimo] UNESCO Cultural Heritage Award to Mexico's Traditional Food

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Good article, thanks for the link.

"Indeed at first blush, the UNESCO project for culinary heritage seems so self-evidently a good thing that only a grinch could grumble. On closer examination, though, it's plagued with problems, not the least of which is the very possibility of preserving cuisines."

Score one for Dawg, others share his view. Let his comments stand.

DavidMcL / Moderator

Nov 22, 2010, 4:13 PM

Post #11 of 14 (10174 views)

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Re: [esperanza] Deleted posts

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While dissenting opinions are expected and welcomed on Mexconnect, there is no room here for deliberately negative, overbearing and generally hostile postings.
I have deleted two of Hound dogs postings for those reasons

David
David McL
WebJefe

Hound Dog

Nov 25, 2010, 4:56 PM

Post #12 of 14 (10041 views)

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Re: [mazbook1] UNESCO Cultural Heritage Award to Mexico's Traditional Food

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The indigenous cuisine of México probably uses more (and more varied) indigenous ingredients than any other indigenous cuisine in the world.

You simply cannot be serious. Is there a serious discourse in which to be engaged here? If you really believe this then you need to rethink all sorts of things. In a narrower sense, are arbitrary editings by administrators meant to move discussions in specific directions to be taken for elucidation? Make your own case and stop leaning on others exercising disproportionate power by virtue of assumed propriety because they own or manage the damn thing.

The important thing is the discussion; not the assertive opinions constituting quicksand that grab and hold your feet and, perhaps, eventually, suck you under to suffocate in muck.

Dawg did not just arrive on the turnip truck.

(This post was edited by Hound Dog on Nov 25, 2010, 5:06 PM)

Hound Dog

Nov 26, 2010, 10:00 AM

Post #13 of 14 (9992 views)

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Re: [Hound Dog] UNESCO Cultural Heritage Award to Mexico's Traditional Food

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In all humility, I ask the readers to please review the criteria as published by UNESCO and summarize what they found unique about any of the intangible treasures they awarded as mankind´s essential heritage and then, after you have done that, we can have an intelligent discussion on this subject. It appears to me, at least, that the criteria are so broad and all-encompassing that one could award similar star status to the cuisine of Upper Volta or New Orleans without the blink of an eye.

The criteria are so broad and so general that one could award heritage status to anyone opening a can of pork and beans
to enhance the flavor of their Vienna Sausages in suburban Memphis.

Despite what the Huicholes may say, corn is not life throughout the world and humans do not exist simply because the god of corn or capsicum exists. Or, if one is in Peru, the god of potatoes or if in France the god of wheat or if in Japan the god of rice and on and on ad nauseum. It´s OK to worship the foods of one´s heritage as do we Alabamians (where our food was an amalgam of English, French and African cuisines among others) but, wait, which group constitutes the clique that encouraged UNESCO to issue this award to the isolated and insular state of Michoacan in Mexico?

There must be some out there interested in bursting what I think of as this hot air balloon or am I totally off base?

Is this not a legitimate inquiry?

(This post was edited by Hound Dog on Nov 26, 2010, 10:27 AM)

chinagringo

Nov 26, 2010, 10:06 AM

Post #14 of 14 (9985 views)

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Re: [Hound Dog] UNESCO Cultural Heritage Award to Mexico's Traditional Food

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Dawg: There is a hot air balloon fiesta outside of Guadalajara next weekend, I believe. You could save the balloonists some propane by volunteering to inflate their balloons!
Regards,
Neil
Albuquerque, NM