The piñata tradition in Mexico

In Mexico the breaking of a piñata accompanies almost every festive occasion. I loved making and breaking piñatas before ever traveling to Mexico Experiences there brought home the fact that I was a latecomer to this wonderful and unique tradition.

The original, traditional shape of the piñata is the six pointed star although today countless forms are in use: animals, plants, flowers, devils etc. The clay pot or olla de barro that goes inside contains the fruit and candies or small toys. At a fiesta, the piñata suspends from above while blindfolded children try hitting it with a stick. Around the piñata the children sing:

Dale, dale, dale,
No perdas el tino
Porque so lo perdes
pierdes el camino.

Hit it, hit it, hit it,
Don’t loose your aim.
’cause if you lose it
you’ll loose your way!

One piñata tradition says : you go around life with your eyes covered, trying to find the good things and working hard to get them. Another one says the piñata symbolizes the devil: you have to hit him hard to make him let go of all of the good things that he has stolen.

As I incorporated this tradition into our life, the magic and the fun of the piñata instantly adapted from Mexico culture to mine. The inclusion of a piñata into any children’s party turns the event into a fiesta! Ollas being unavailable in Canada, paper maché over a balloon performs the trick. Several days later, after the maché dries, the piñata is either painted or decorated with colorful strips of crepe paper. At first my piñatas used the round shape of the balloon to create eggs, heads, pumpkins etc. Gradually bits of cardboard added to the basic shape for ears, legs and wings to flying pigs or fins and tails for tropical fish. A piñata is easily customized for every child. Around this time, our family took a second road trip from Canada to Mexico.

Every place had piñatas of every size and shape imaginable!

The imagination and creativity of the Mexicans knew no limits! Eagerly we entered our first piñata store. What a fantasyland! Piñatas hung from everywhere and colorful bags of candy bulged from the floor to ceiling shelves. The kid’s eyes bugged with amazement!

Three months of travelling exposed us to the many wonders of Mexico. But I had yet to catch anyone actually making a piñata. One day, while camping on the beach at Zipolite, Oaxaca, I watched the family who ran a nearby palapa restaurant, create their piñata. First they hung large pieces of card-board from the ceiling. Several people started cutting and pasting the card-board. Slowly “she” emerged over the afternoon: a lovely life-size Mexican mermaid. Soon the mermaid met the intended destiny of all piñatas: to be filled with goodies and smashed to bits! During Santa Semana (Easter) paper maché Judases are loaded with fireworks and blown up amid shouts of delight. All piñatas have their fulfillment at the moment of their destruction.

I continue to make piñatas resembling long necked swans and calico cats with top hats and tails, wicked witches or jolly santas…or what ever the occasion suggests. They make a unique and welcome birthday gift especially if made in the shape of a child’s favorite animal. I look forward to visiting Mexico again, sharing with those kind and generous people, their piñata tradition. Bring a piñata with you and turn a party into a fiesta!

Piñata Images Copyright © 1999 Maria Elena. All Rights Reserved Worldwide.
Published or Updated on: December 1, 1997 by Wendy Devlin © 1997

The post The piñata tradition in Mexico appeared first on MexConnect.

For Mexico, the Easter holidays are a combination of Semana Santa (Holy Week — Palm Sunday to Easter Saturday) and Pascua (Resurrection Sunday until the following Saturday).

For most Mexicans, this 2 week period is the time of year for holiday vacations (good time to not be on the highways — just stay put and enjoy the community of your choice during this holiday season).

Holy Week celebrates the last days of the Christ’s life. Easter is the celebration of the Christ’s Resurrection. It is also the release from the sacrifices of Lent.

In many communities, the full Passion Play is enacted from the Last Supper, the Betrayal, the Judgement, the Procession of the 12 Stations of the Cross, the Crucifixion and, finally, the Resurrection. In some communities, flagellation and/or real crucifixion is included. The enactments are often wondrously staged, costumed and acted, with participants preparing for their roles for nearly the full year leading up to Semana Santa.

Picture Galleries

• San Miguel de Allende Good Friday procession in the 1960s
• Easter in Jaltemba Bay, Mexico: Semana Santa is a family affair
• The Passion – Ajijic, Jalisco
• Easter Week – San Miguel de Allende
• The Passion of Christ – Ixtapalapa
• Silver, Saints, and Sinners: Semana Santa in Taxco, Mexico
• Our Lady of Sorrows: Viernes de Dolores in Oaxaca
• Tears from the Crown of Thorns. Easter Passion Play in San Miguel de Allende
• Night of the altars in San Miguel de Allende
• Easter in San Miguel de Allende: Our Lord of the Column
• Good Friday in Tuxpan, Jalisco by Luis Dumois

Articles

• The Food of Semana Santa: A Seasonal Celebration of Popular Cuisine by Karen Hursh Graber
• Our Lady of Sorrows: Viernes de Dolores in Oaxaca
• Easter in Jaltemba Bay, Mexico: Semana Santa is a family affair by Christina Stobbs
• Good Friday in San Miguel de Allende by Carol Wheeler
• Good Friday in Tuxpan, Jalisco by Luis Dumois
• Viernes Santo en Tuxpan, Jalisco (español) by Luis Dumois
• The Passion of Christ – Ixtapalapa by John Neubauer
• Silver, Saints, & Sinners – Semana Santa in Taxco, by Jim Allen and Jan McHargue
• Semana Santa – San Miguel de Allende, by Geri Anderson
• Night of the altars in San Miguel de Allende by Edythe Anstey Hanen
• Easter in San Miguel de Allende: Our Lord of the Column by Edythe Anstey Hanen
• Pascua/Semana Santa – Passion Play in San Miguel, by Alan Cogan, Photos by Charlotte Bell
• Palm Sunday in Ajijic by Karen Blue
• Pascua/Semana Santa – Easter Holy Week in Mexico by Dale Hoyt Palfrey
• Holy Week & Easter by Manuel España Ramos
• Semana Santa y Pascua (español) by Manuel España Ramos
• Our Lady of the Sorrows, Nuestra Señora de los Dolores by Judy King
• Semana Santa – Personal Views, 2002 (Discussion Forum Thread)
• Top 10 Carnivals in Mexico

Published or Updated on: March 15, 2021 by Index Page © 2010, 2021

The post Easter in Mexico, Semana Santa and Pascua: a Mexican holiday resource page appeared first on MexConnect.

Mexico’s Christmas Traditions and Customs

Few North Americans recognize that the roots of these treasured “Christmas” traditions were active long before the birth of Christ. In fact, most evolved from pagan winter solstice rituals of the Celts, Druids, Scandinavians and indigenous groups, and the much older Jewish Festival of Lights. While the most beloved Mexican Christmas traditions are firmly based on the birth of Christ, the timing of the celebration coincides with Mexico’s ancient worship of the sun. During the nine darkest days of winter, the Aztecs celebrated the God of the Sun, pleading for his return and praising both the Sun and his virgin mother goddess.

• Mexican Posadas and a Famous Christmas Carol by Jenny McGill
• Las Posadas: the nine days of Christmas by Maggie Van Ostrand
• A Christmas Tree in Mexico by Phyllis Rauch
• Christmas Holidays in Mexico: Festivals of Love, Light and Peace by Judy King
• Posadas, Pastorelas and Nacimientos by Luis Dumois
•  
• Las Posadas by Maggie Van Ostrand
• Mexico’s Christmas Tradition – El Nacimiento by Judy King
• Las Posadas by Mexican Consulate, Austin, Texas
• Pidiendo Posada – The verses, en Español & English by Dale Hoyt Palfrey
• Pidiendo Posada- Printable Music Sheet by Dale Hoyt Palfrey
• Feliz Navidad – Making Merry in Mexico by Dale Hoyt Palfrey
• Cascarones: Egging on Mexican fiestas by Dale Hoyt Palfrey
• “Noche Buena” The Poinsettia & Mexico 
• Piñatas boast deep historical roots by Dale Hoyt Palfrey
• Las Piñatas – History by Wendy Devlin
• El Cohetero by Dale Hoyt Palfrey
• The poinsettia, Mexico’s Christmas gift to the world by Diodora Bucur
• Season of the Sacred: Rediscovering Christmas in Mexico by Sylvia Brenner

Regional Christmas Stories:

• Suspicious stranger visits a rural taco stand by Allyn Hunt
• Christmas in the Sierra Madre Mountains by Jenny McGill
• December in Oaxaca by Maria Diaz
• Christmas magic in Oaxaca: A multi-faceted experience of culture & tradition by Alvin Starkman
• Surface Tension. A story based on Oaxaca’s celebration La Noche de los Rábanos, December 23 by Mary Ellen Sanger
• Radiant radishes: La Noche de Rabanos in Oaxaca by Tara Lowry
• Jalapeña Christmas – A Holiday in Xalapa by Roy Dudley
• Christmas in Mexico City by Edythe Anstey Hanen

Viewers’ Christmas Stories:

• A Mexico Christmas Story
• Las Piñatas – A Tradition

Food and menu ideas

• Mexican Christmas menu ideas: Posadas, Noche Buena, Navidad
• La Cocina de Navidad – A Christmas Kitchen in Mexico En Español
• A Mexican Christmas dinner: tamales, turkey, tejocotes, by Karen Hursh Graber
• Mexican Oven Recipes for Turkey by Karen Hursh Graber
• Mexican Stove-Top Recipes for Turkey by Karen Hursh Graber
• Mexican Christmas Cookies: Galletas de Navidad by Karen Hursh Graber
• Mexican stuffing for Christmas turkey: Relleno para totol de nochebuena
• Christmas Chicken Breasts with Squash Blossoms: Pechugas Navideñas

Images of Christmas in Mexico

• History of the Piñata
• Huellas… del Cohetero
• Jalapeña Christmas – A Holiday in Xalapa
• Radiant radishes: La Noche de Rabanos in Oaxaca by Tara Lowry
• Mexico City Christmas Lights by Daniel Wheeler

Published or Updated on: December 1, 2011 by Index Page © 2010

The post Christmas in Mexico: Navidad en Mexico, a Mexican holiday resource page appeared first on MexConnect.

Rural charm and guavas in Calvillo, Aguascalientes

When I first saw guava fruit I mistook it for lemon.

It happened on my first trip to Aguascalientes during the summer rainy season when a tree — its branches loaded with tiny round yellow fruit in the backyard of a house — caught my eye.

I soon learned the popular exotic fruit known as “the apple of the tropic” is native to this central region of Mexico and the main economic engine for Calvillo, a small town of guava growers about 50 kilometers southwest of the state capital of Aguascalientes.

Every December, Calvillo’s farmers wrap up their hard-earned year with a two-week fiesta, La Feria de la Guayaba, during which guava liqueurs and other fruit confectionery products are sampled. Rich in vitamins A and C, guava is used to make desserts, candy, jam, juices and, of course, Mexico’s thirst-quenching agua fresco.

The traditional fair, which runs through December 13, promises to keep the expected 20,000 festival-goers busy with fun-filled activities, including bullfighting, livestock exhibits as well as gastronomy as well as artisan and art shows.

In addition, a solemn procession to the Santuario de la Virgen de Guadalupe, a neo-Gothic church towering over Calvillo, is set to take place on December 12, the Feast Day of Our Lady of Guadalupe, adding a religious touch to the fair that was first held in 1953.

The fair is aimed at boosting Calvillo’s image as Mexico’s biggest producer of guava.

“The fair helps guava producers market themselves and promote the consumption of guava products while making the public familiar with the various products elaborated from the fruit,” said Mara Magdalena Gallegos Alvarado´, in charge of tourism in Calvillo.

About 100,000 tons of guava are produced annually in Calvillo, mainly for distribution on the Mexican market, with only a fraction shipped to the U.S. and Canada.

However, this year’s economic woes, coupled with very little precipitation, have hit Calvillo hard and put a dent in the local production of guava.

“Everybody’s affected. What hit us the hardest are the growing costs of production,” said Ruben Martinez Diaz of the Comité Sistema Producto Guayaba de Aguascalientes, a government agency regrouping guava production industries. About 2,150 farmers and their families live in Calvillo. “The higher the costs, the lower the profit margin.”

Martinez Diaz said the guava output shrank by anywhere between five and seven percent in 2009. He added the rising costs and significant water shortages in the last years have also put Calvillo on the path of losing its orchards.

Still, Calvillo continues to hold the title of the world’s capital of guava.

Taking a stroll in the Plaza Principal on the first Sunday of the fair, I can see why locals call this singular event la feria del pueblo. The “small town” feel to it is undeniable.

On festive days, like the day I was there, people gather in the main square to chat, listen to country band music or simply kick back in the shade of leafy tropical trees, their excited children in tow. Street vendors, retailers and craftsmen set up their stands here, practically turning the town square into an outdoor market. The palm-tree dotted plaza is built around a bandstand and, as with most colonial towns in Mexico, it lies in the heart of the historic centre. On the east side of the square, rises the majestic Parroquia del Señor del Salitre, a neoclassical cathedral whose dome is thought to be Latin America’s second largest.

Founded in 1848 by wealthy landowner Don Jose Calvillo, this little-known town stretches across a mountain valley, its unique scenery complete with dams, waterfalls, haciendas and even ancestral cave painting, sure to lure nature lovers and outdoors adventurers.

For more information on restaurants, hotel accommodations and Calvillo’s popular lodges overlooking dams, go to www.aguascalientes.gob.mx/turismo

The post December guava fair in Calvillo, Aguascalientes appeared first on MexConnect.

The transition from childhood to womanhood is a significant passage for adolescent girls in almost all cultures. In Mexico, it is marked with the celebration of the Quinceañera, or 15th Birthday. From a north-of-the-border viewpoint, it may be seen as a cross between Sweet Sixteen and a debutante’s coming out party. The celebration is a way to acknowledge that a young woman has reached sexual maturity and is thus of a marriageable age.

Quinceañera birthday mass: Misa de acción de gracias

The most important component of the celebration is invariably a Misa de acción de gracias (thanksgiving Mass). The birthday girl arrives decked out in a fancy full-length dress – frills, pastel tones and matching hats or headdresses prevail. Flanked by her parents and padrinos (godparents), she is specially seated at the foot of the altar throughout the service. She may be accompanied by up to seven damas (maids of honor) and as many chambelanes (chamberlains), selected from among close family and friends.

At the end of the mass younger sisters, cousins and friends pass out bolos (commemorative favors) to those in attendance, while the quinceañera deposits her bouquet on the altar or in a niche honoring the Virgin Mary, most often that of the ubiquitous Virgen de Guadalupe.

15th birthday trip or party?

The quinceañera traditionally has the option of further celebrating the occasion with either a viaje (journey) or a fiesta (birthday bash). While a trip to Paris and other European destinations was once the rage among the well-heeled, nowadays young women of all social strata generally opt for the party, complete with live band music. The degree of opulence of the event is directly related to the economic means of the girl’s parents and godparents.

Urbanites frequently lease banquet halls for the dance, while village folks are more inclined to set up rented folding tables and chairs in a freshly cleared and swept huerta (orchard) or corral. To cover the multiple expenses, a host of padrinos and madrinas may be invited to sponsor, respectively, the dress, the music, the locale, the bar, the cake and the table favors.

While raucous banda, cumbia and salsa tunes tend dominate throughout the event, the culminating moment comes when the festejada (celebrant) and her number-one chambelán (escort) dance to a traditional waltz. Other indispensable highlights include a customary toast and the cutting of a multi-tiered birthday cake. Dripping in meringue frosting and decorated in hues to match the quinceañera’s dress, the cake may be of such monumental proportions that the door leading into the party locale must be removed from it hinges.to accommodate it!

The origins of Mexico’s quinceañera celebrations

The origins of Mexico’s quinceañera celebrations remain obscure, although the roots may well lie in the era of the Aztecs. According to Bernardino de Sahagun, in his chronicle Historia de Nueva España, it was traditional for the parents of a young Aztec maiden to formally acknowledge her passage into womanhood. This included a stern but tender exhortation to observe acceptable modes of behavior. For a full English translation of the passage “Advice of an Aztec Mother to her Daughter” see William H. Prescott’s The Conquest of Mexico.

Regardless of how the tradition originated, regardless of the relentless onslaught of gringo culture prevalent today, the celebration of the quinceañera remains as one of the rites of passage that keeps the bonds of the Mexican family firmly cemented. Its fancy frills and frosting abide as rich ingredients for a niña’s sweet dreams.

Other customs:

Weddings:

• Romantic Weddings South Of The Border
• Charro Wedding in a Small Mexican Town
• A wedding and christening in rural Oaxaca: The mandate of tradition
• Mexican Wedding Feasts: La Comida de la Boda
• The wedding – an excerpt from the book: Agave Marias

Parties / Fiestas:

• A Piñata tradition
• History of the piñata
• Faith: the heart of Mexican fiestas

Dates of fiestas, festivals and holidays:

• A series of calendars for fiestas, festivals and holidays

Miscellaneous popular beliefs:

• Cats have seven lives, Tuesday 13th and other beliefs

The post La Quinceañera: a celebration of budding womanhood appeared first on MexConnect.

Mexican Kitchen

We’d always thought it would be fun to see the lucha libre, or “free fight,” that colorful form of professional wrestling wildly popular in Mexico. After many years in the country, my husband and I had bought countless wrestling dolls, wrestling masks, wrestling themed tee shirts, purses and refrigerator magnets for eager friends and family members up north, not all of them children. We’d even gone to see Nacho Libre, the Jack Black movie about a Mexican luchador filmed in the Central Valley region of Oaxaca. But, somehow, we’d never gone to see lucha libre, despite the fact that Puebla, just a few miles away, has one of the most important venues and passionately dedicated aficionados.

The arrival of a friend and fellow foodie from the U.S. meant a solid week of marketing, cooking, and grazing on Puebla-style street food, but we never figured on the lucha libre arena as a dining venue. Having a visitor is always a fine reason to see a local attraction that has been ignored (a native New Yorker, I’d never been to the Statue of Liberty until the arrival of a college friend’s mother from England) and such was the case with Mexican wrestling.

Getting out of the cab a couple of blocks from the Consejo Mundial de Lucha Libre arena, we were swallowed up by a sea of fans, streets packed with vendors of wrestling paraphernalia, and an army of food carts selling everything from tacos to the Mexican version of corn on the cob, slathered with mayonnaise and dusted with parmesan cheese. No gourmet stuff here, please. Imported parmesano reggiano need not apply. Just a good, liberal shake of the familiar green Kraft cylinder, along with a sprinkling of powdered chile. One of my favorite street snacks but, alas, no room to eat without smearing mayo all over myself or others. Mexicans are brilliant at maneuvering gracefully in small spaces, something I’ve always admired, but this skill was about to become awe-inspiring.

Once inside the arena, we make our way to our seats in the nosebleed section, tiers of concrete benches with steep drops to the rows below and seemingly steeper climbs to those above. Packed in at our feet in the row in front of us is a young couple with several children, all dressed in their Sunday best, with grand amounts of hair gel setting off their neatly combed coifs. Even more astounding is the amount of food these small fans are putting away, everything from chile and tamarind lollypops to bright orange chips to… wait a minute — are those shrimp cocktails those kids are eating?!? Yes, indeed, in the usual glass parfait dishes, with lime wedges and liberal garnishes of chopped avocado, cilantro and onion.

It’s not that I don’t consider this to be kid food, because I’ve been eating clams on the half shell since I was four, but the question was, “Where did you get those?” We ask, only to get sympathetic smiles from the parents and a gesture at one of the white coated waiters who are, improbably, making their ways up and down these precipitous bleachers balancing trays of seafood. Why haven’t we seen them before this? Possibly because we were busy climbing our way to our row, squeezing into our “seats,” and maybe even suffering from altitude sickness. And here comes a waiter now, to retrieve the cocktail glasses and bring the parents’ order of fried shrimp, with a fluffy batter coating. So, elbow room be damned, we put in our own orders for shrimp in both forms. Now we see that others in the packed arena are eating fried fish and mixed seafood platters, all the while cheering on their favorite wrestlers. The white jacketed waiters have the logo of a popular local seafood restaurant on their jackets, and the only things missing are white linen napkins draped over their arms.

Our order arrives, and we do manage to spill food and beer on ourselves and each other, while carefully avoiding the party dresses and pressed pants on the kiddies below. The shrimp cocktails are everything good Mexican shrimp cocktails should be — tangy and somehow sweet, loaded with fresh shrimp, and lavishly garnished. The camarones rebozados, or batter fried shrimp, are crunchy and light textured, served with fat, juicy lime wedges, and heavenly with beer.

I couldn’t tell you whether Super Porky beat Misterioso or if Shockercito thrashed Pequeño Olimpico, but I can recommend the seafood at the Puebla lucha libre. I know what you’re thinking, and it’s true that I’ve lost any semblance of germ phobia that I might have ever had, but all of us felt terrific afterwards. Shrimp cocktails may be the cure for altitude sickness.

• Mexican shrimp cocktail: Coctel de camarón
• Batter fried shrimp: Camarones rebozados

The post Dining at the lucha libre: An unlikely seafood feast appeared first on MexConnect.

Mexican Kitchen

To the north and west of Mexico City lies the region known as El Bajío, often called “Mexico’s breadbasket.” This rugged, high plateau bears a distinct resemblance to central Spain, home of its original settlers. Religious and hard working, they preserved many of the Spanish cultural and culinary traditions, and this part of Mexico is often referred to as being “the most European.”

Perhaps because of this strong European background, the people of the region have long excelled in the production of cheese, beginning in the 16th century, when the Spaniards introduced milk-producing animals. Dairy products were not consumed in pre-Hispanic Mexico, but the settlers of the Bajío were particularly successful in establishing a dairy industry that would make cheese an important a part of the Mexican diet.

So it is not surprising that a colonial Bajío town — Tequisquiapan, Querétaro — would be the site of Mexico’s national cheese and wine festival. This year, the town will host the 27th annual Feria Nacional del Queso y de Vino, an event that draws local, national and international participants eager to showcase their products and provide samples to fairgoers.

Beginning in late May, and lasting into the first week in June, Parque La Pila, in the center of town, is transformed into a venue for tasting some of the best that Mexican gastronomy has to offer. Besides the cheese and wine producers, twenty local restaurants participate in the festival, where offerings include paella, grilled beef, salads, crepes and dishes made with the nopal cactus found in abundance throughout the region.

The festival offers not only typical Mexican cheeses, such as ranchero, panela and manchego, but locally produced versions of French and Middle Eastern cheeses. The French reblochon, with its soft texture and beige color, is a rich cheese made from the second milking of the day, when the cow’s milk has a higher fat content. Sante Maure, also French in origin, is an aged goat’s milk cheese, or chevre, with a nutty flavor and aroma and a thin, smooth, blue-gray molding.

The festival also features locally produced Syrian and Lebanese cheeses. Jocoque, which is translated as buttermilk, is actually much thicker, has the texture of sour cream or Greek yogurt, and is used as a spread for botanas, or snacks. Also Middle Eastern in origin is shanklish (sometimes spelled shanclish) made with either cow’s or sheep’s milk, formed into balls about 2 ½ inches in diameter and covered with zatar seasoning made with crushed sesame seeds, thyme and sumac berries.

None of the French or Middle Eastern cheeses have yet upstaged the Mexican cheeses, which continue to be the most popular and widely available for tasting. The fresh white cheeses, such as queso fresco flavored with either jalapeño, chipotle, arbol chiles or epazote, are outstanding. A fragrant queso ahumado has the buttery consistency of Chihuahua-style queso menonita, with a flavor and aroma reminiscent of smoked provolone.

Another specialty introduced by the Spaniards and featured at the festival is wine. The local wine has come a long way since colonial times, when grapes were planted to make the wine considered necessary for the Catholic Mass. Nowadays, St. Emilion, chenin, macabeau, gamay, sauvignon blanc, pinot noir, pinot gris and cabernet are among the vines planted.

The festival offers opportunities to taste local sparkling wines made using the champagne method, as well as Querétaro’s chardonnay, sauvignon blanc, merlot, pinot noir and cabernet. There are also wines from other regions of Mexico and from Spain, Italy, France, Australia, Chile, Argentina, South Africa and Uruguay.

When it comes to food, visitors to the festival will have a hard time deciding between the regional specialties. Traditional foods include carnitas, chicken with fruit and nut sauces, tamales, jocoque enchiladas, and mamanxa — corn gorditas with local cheese incorporated into the dough, baked in a banana leaf on a comal.

The region is also famous for its sweet potatoes, either made into the candy called camotes, or incorporated into soups and stews. Both sopa queretana, with purple sweet potatoes, chicken breast and egg yolks, and garbanzos en amarillo, with chickpeas, orange sweet potatoes and saffron, are evocative of the hearty peasant dishes of central Spain. The latter is a traditional food for the Día de La Santa Cruz, celebrated throughout Mexico, and with particular fervor in Queretaro, on May 3.

Still hungry? Don’t forget the sweets, many of them made with the cactus fruits, biznaga and xoconoxtle, abundant in the Bajío, as are the nopal paddles incorporated into a wide variety of dishes from soup to tacos. And as if the traditional food weren’t enough, local restaurants offer such gourmet dishes as rack of lamb in mint and rosemary sauce, chicken in cilantro cream, beef filet in marrow sauce, and shrimp and nopal tacos.

Besides the cheese, wine and food, visitors to the festival will undoubtedly appreciate the well-planned musical program, which includes jazz, flamenco and trova, among others. There is also a children’s area, with games and handcraft activities, and a vendors’ area with local textiles and embroidery.

Tequisquiapan is also famous for its thermal spas. (See Tony Burton’s “Tequisquiapan, Querétaro, a delightful spa town“) and very close by are other places of interest. The La Redonda and Freixenet wineries both give tours and tastings. The nearby town of Bernal, named a Pueblo Mágico by the Mexican government, is a 16th century colonial village with artesania, restaurants, and a view of the Peña de Bernal monolith, third largest in the world. Opals from local mines are also sold in Bernal. (For more about Bernal, see “The Magic of Bernal, Querétaro: Wine, Opals and Historic Charm” by Jane Ammeson.)

Information on the festival, including maps, driving directions, winery and opal mine tours, can be found at the website or by calling the town’s tourism office at (01) (414) 273-0295 or 273-0841. This year’s festival will be held from May 29-June 7. If you can’t get there, try some of these local recipes.

• Garbanzo soup with saffron: Garbanzos en amarillo
• Shrimp and nopal tacos: Tacos de camaron y nopalitos
• Enchiladas with buttermilk sauce: Enchiladas de jocoque

The post Making merry in May: Mexico’s National Cheese and Wine Festival appeared first on MexConnect.

Photo Gallery: Journey to Patamban, Michoacan

As thousands prepare for the trek to Patzcuaro, and the famous Day of the Dead Celebration, others head for the regional celebration in Patamban known as the “Fiesta de Cristo Rey”. Held on the last Sunday in October, the entire village turns out to “paint their streets with flowers,” the celebration is to honor the day Christ was embraced as the Son of God.

We first heard of the festival from a friend. Curious, we went to the Internet to find out more about it. Lo and behold, there was no mention of Patamban, nor the festival. After finally locating Patamban on the map, we discovered it was southeast of Guadalajara. We also saw that the city of Zamora was only about an hour’s drive from Patamban, and went back to the Internet for names of hotels. We only found one, Hotel Meson Del Zalle, but the accommodations sounded good, so we emailed them for a reservation. Our map indicated that the distance from Guadalajara to the turnoff of the Autopista (Mexico 15) was 143 kilometers, with Zamora another 16 kilometers south from that point.

We drove by car, leaving Ajijic after breakfast. We arrived in Zamora about three hours later. Our hotel was located just out of the city, in a little town named Jacona, so it took a few stops to get directions. However, when we arrived we were pleasantly surprised. Very nice rooms with TV and telephone, a large lounge area and pool on the grounds, and a very nice restaurant. A double room rate was 485 pesos.

We had lunch at the hotel, and decided to take an advance look at Patamban. The festival was not due to be held until Sunday, October 31st. We had friends with us and they were anxious to check out the village of San José de Gracias, which is known as the village of “Green Pineapples and Pigs.” Although very a very small village, the natives had displays of their pottery along the main road. The pineapples and pigs came in all different sizes, and in colors other than green. As we stopped to look, several small children came up asking us to come to their casa to see their family’s pottery.

Approximately thirty minutes later, we came to the village of Ocumicho. This village is famous for their well-known devil figures and masks. We walked into an area where several of the village huts were close together, the natives sitting outside patiently painting the famous devil masks. Each mask seemed to be one-of-a-kind. Although there were probably only a handful of village houses, the children were eager for us to see the wares made by their family.

After a few purchases, we headed for Patamban, about 15 minutes away. As we came loser to our destination, the fields of wild flowers become so prolific that you could see them in the distance as acres of colors of the rainbow. Each mile revealed more and more fields covered with the wildflowers, and on both sides of the road. We began imagining all the residents hurriedly picking the flowers for the next day’s festival, and “painting their streets with flowers.”

When we arrived in the village, there was no activity, other than several men working on the fireworks displays. There was a market, so we wandered through it, ending up in the age-old courtyard of the church. The ancient church had finally given up, due to age, and rotting wood. The huge cast-iron bell now hung from a nearby tree, trussed up, with a wire running to the old church, so it could be rung from there.

The village itself is quite small, six streets wide, and eight streets long, all made of cobblestones. I would guess the population at about 200. The streets lead up to the Plaza, and the very ancient church next to it. A few merchants had set out their wares around the gazebo in the plaza, but a 15 or 20 minute walk around the village allowed you to see it in its entirety.

The Purepecha natives have very distinct facial features that differentiate them from the Mexican people in areas such as Guadalajara, only three hours away. They appear to be quite shy, and many seemed not to understand Spanish. However, we found them extremely friendly and courteous. We always asked if they objected to having their picture taken, mostly by hand language pointing at them, and then at the camera. That usually produced a nod, and a very shy smile.

As we headed back to our hotel in Zamora, I think we were all wondering if it would be worth the trip back the next day. We had dinner in the hotel, and left about 9 a.m. the following day. We jokingly decided that the villagers were probably out all night picking the wild flowers for the next day decorations.

Our first surprise was as we approached San José de Gracias again. The amount of merchandise that was on display alongside the road had greatly increased, from the previous day. As we began to approach Pantamban, we could see a road block ahead, with traffic being diverted for parking. The reason became clear, the main road was lined with tour buses, all angled off the road. We estimated 800 or more. Parking for private automobiles was diverted to vacant land on each side of the road, while the main road was a sea of humans, all walking into the village.

Expecting to walk on a carpet of flowers on each street, we were surprised to see the villagers hard at work. On four or five of the main streets, they had placed long wooden forms the length of the street, approximately two feet wide and a few inches deep. These had been filled with sawdust, and patted down to compact it. Cardboard templates had been constructed with cutouts in various designs. These were placed on top of the sawdust, and then the design was made by placing brightly colored sawdust in each of the cutout sections. Buckets of colored sawdust were scattered along the form, allowing them to choose a particular color for a certain cutout. Once the design was finished, the template was carefully lifted up, leaving a beautiful design. There were also buckets containing small wild flowers, or wildflower pieces, in every color imaginable. The villagers carefully selected the flowers and worked them into the sides of the form, and outlined the various designs with them.

The children were as busy as the adults, everyone working furiously to complete their “painting with flowers” prior to the beginning of the festival. We later learned that residents of each street were responsible for the design, construction of templates, mixing color into the sawdust, and the final placement in the form. While strewing the streets with wildflowers would have been a simple task, the planning and artistic ability required to construct the forms and designs, was a labor of love. This obviously was an effort on the part of the villagers that probably required a year’s planning, to vary the designs from year to year. We also learned that there would be competitive judging of the “painted streets” the next day.

As the crowd began to form in the church courtyard, we joined them. The crowd began to sing and holding their hands up in air, swayed from side to side, a joyous tribute to Christ. An altar had been erected outside, where it was obvious communion had been offered that morning. A table for collections stood next to an architectural drawing for what would obviously be their new church. Those who donated were presented with a very tiny pottery jar attached to a safety pin, to wear on their clothing.

Since we were returning straight to Ajijic that day, we left in the afternoon. Walking to our car, and on the main road, we encountered a solid string of cars and pedestrians heading for the village. This stream of visitors did not lessen until we were on the other side of San José de Gracias. I am certain there were as many visitors on the way to the festival, as there were already in the village.

Our biggest surprise was the fact there were not over 30 Anglos there, the rest of the crowd was Mexican. While our choice of the festival was over our choice of the Day of the Dead ceremony the next day, it was an excellent one. It is a festival that will be ever-changing, with new designs for the flowers each year, and one I would go back to year after year.

The post Patamban – The Fiesta De Cristo Rey appeared first on MexConnect.

The Calendario de las Ferias y Festividades Religiosas de Mexico is a guide to enjoying what is uniquely Mexican — Folk Catholicism which evolved in the last four centuries. Fairs are included in the same calendar because during longer religious festivities, artisans and vendors from other pueblos set up puestos to sell their wares. Fairs of a secular nature, such as the Peach Fair, appear in the Festivals & National Holidays for Mexico.

During the Colonial Period, Franciscan and Jesuit friars charged with indoctrinating indigenous people encouraged dances, pageants and the wearing of costumes and masks as a way of dramatizing Biblical stories.

The 16th century version of Spanish Roman Catholicism embraced many rituals, as did the old religions of the Maya, the Purépecha and the Aztec tribes. So the adaptation was less painful for the Indians of Mexico than in other countries in the same hemisphere, where conversion was accompanied with much bloodshed.

The visitor to Mexico has only to observe what happens in any pueblo: women scurrying to Mass at dawn, wrapped in rebozos and sweaters, or the special Sunday celebration of First Communion in which small Daughters of Christ, aged 9 or 10, wear long satin dresses. Or one may note that the Virgin of Guadalupe protects the bus passengers, her decal or picture on the window. Or oddest of all, a tattoo of the Virgin on the brawny arm of a soldier. Observing these things we know, yes, undoubtedly Mexico is Catholic.

Faith is at the heart of most fiestas.

Firecrackers, fireworks and gunpowder explosions are an integral part of Mexican fiestas. They announce and enhance events of the celebration, often beginning before dawn. Gun powder explodes inside a metal tube firmly placed in the ground, and the sound reverberates like heavy artillery. Some care is taken to avoid accidents, but Mexico City is the only area where gun powder and firecrackers are prohibited. As fiesta aficionados well know, the crowning fireworks are torched on the last day of the fiesta and often on the weekends as well. Castillos are towers of fireworks intricately fashioned so that they turn, shoot into the air and create designs one portion at a time. Usually they are shot at 10:00 or 11:00 at night and daring muchachos stand close enough to prove their valor and singe their clothes with sparks.

El Torito de Luz may run through the plaza taunting the crowd and creating another opportunity for the young to show their bravery (or foolishness.) He is a person wearing a bull’s head of papier mache or mimbre (a kind of plant fiber) from which little sparkling fireworks are shot off. He often precedes the performance of ritual dances.

These, the danzas are a uniquely Mexcican aspect of some fiestas and they are listed in the calendar as danzas, not bailes, which are social dances. Ritual dances are distinct from folkloric dances which are called balet folklorico. It is always a good idea to inquire in the neighboring pueblo or to make a visit to the small pueblo where the danzantes have performed before in order to verify that it will indeed occur again. Like all ancient customs in the Republic, these are variable.

Perhaps the most frequently filmed spectacle is the Dance of the Voladores, well known in Papantla, Vera Cruz and performed at the fiesta of Corpus Cristi. Not only in Vera Cruz, but north through Tlaxcala, Hidalgo and on to San Luis Potosi, the flyers perform a death defying rite, diving from a pole, their feet held by ropes. Shortly after the Conquest the dance was performed by men dressed as bright birds, macaws and eagles, so we learn from the writings of an Indian scribe writing in Spanish.The voladores dressed as eagles and macaws and flew from a pole so tall it was possible to make 13 revolutions before they landed. This represented eras of 52 years, divided into epochs of 13 years each

Among the Otomís, Huastecas, Totonacas and descendants of the Aztecs, the number of fliers and type of costume is variable. Some carry musical instruments as do the Otomí of Pahuantlán, Vera Cruz. The young man who takes the part of la Malinche not only dresses as a woman and dances on a 24 inch platform, but leans forward to embrace the other dancers with a large bandana.

In each place the choice of the tree is an important task and it is cut to form the pole from which the dancers will fly and given offerings of wine, bread, and incense to insure a safe performance.

Another group of dancers, the Concheros are a large and dedicated group numbering perhaps 30,000 to 40, 000 members They live in the Federal District, Tlaxcala, Hidalgo, Guanajuato and sometimes in Jalisco. Their name, the people of the shell, comes from the mandolin which accompanies them, fashioned from the shell of an armadillo. They consider themselves soldiers of the Conquest, and may call themselves Apaches or more accurately, Chichimecas, the name of the tribe which invented the dance shortly after the fall of Tenochititlán. These Indians wore their hair long, and the male dancers of today do so as well.

All dancers, men and women, wear elaborate feathered head dresses, some with tall ostrich plumes. Their costumes are opulent, trimmed with gold braid and glass beads. The men may elect to wear simply a satin cape, and head dress and a loin cloth. On the cape is embroidered some part of the design which is on the banner, immortalizing the date of founding of the group and its patron saint. The banner is held by two standard bearers at every dance and during processions. Standard bearers care for the banner when the group travels.

The organization of the group centers around a mesa or table which serves as an altar dedicated to a saint who protects the group. The second captain in the group is charged with caring for the altar; The captain makes strict rules regarding the conduct of the initiated and those who would like to join. The initiation ritual includes offerings of flowers, candles and the indispensable copal incense, gathered from trees by the faithful. Candles, especially large tapers, may be rented from the mayordomo of the pueblo who charges the people for the quantity burned.

Members of the mesa make a vow to help one another in family emergencies and during illnesses and must make up before a trip if they have quarreled. Sometimes trips take up to two weeks and unity among the members is vital. Worshiping the four winds or the four cardinal points, the Concheros consider that the most important shrines are those located north, south, east and west of Mexico City. These are La Villa de Guadalupe, Chalma, Los Remedios and Amecameca.

An old custom which is falling out of use is setting up a white cross, symbolizing the four winds and singing the songs known as albanzas all night before the day of the dances. The dance itself is usually performed in the atrium, not in the church proper. The movements consist of leaping and contracting the legs, of jumping into the air with both feet and landing on the toes. Afterwards dancers enter the church to bid adios to the saint being honored with a fiesta, singing albanzas and then dancing backward out of the church to avoid turning their backs on the altar.

Not all dances have a direct link to Christian saints and symbols. Yaqui pascolas or deer dances are performed at religious festivals, accompanied by musicians who play music with an irregular beat .The fiesta may or may not be dedicated to a saint. Three or four pascolas dance games (juegos) with the deer pretending to be coyotes who will kill him. The music becomes erratic, nervous. Finally they succeed, and shoulder his “carcass”, bringing it to the person who is in charge of the fiesta. This patron must purchase it with bottles of brandy or pulque for the dancers.

The pascolas may imitate tigers or buzzards or play a game of bewitching the deer, in which the deer is mesmerized but not killed. The dancer who portrays the deer wears a stuffed cloth deer head, sometimes with real antlers, and dried cocoons filled with gravel (ténabari) around his ankles. His torso is bare and deer claws hang from a belt around the waist. The Pascolas also dance bare chested , with tenabari around their ankles and they wear a small wooden mask on top of the head so their vision is not impaired.

Wherever one finds them, the danzas are an unforgettable vision of Mexico’s past. I am grateful for the information on ritual dances contained in Frances Toor’s book, “A Treasury of Mexican Folklore,” now out of print.

The post Faith: The heart of Mexican fiestas appeared first on MexConnect.

Like any other day weekday, I took the train to work. Like any other day at the office, I made myself a cup of hot tea before settling in at my desk. But — unlike any other day — there was a cardboard FedEx box sitting on my desk.

The package came from San Diego, originating from the offices of a company called MexGrocer.com. Wrapped inside was a beautifully decorated pastry, circular in shape and about 10 inches in diameter. Delighted by what I saw, I took off the plastic packaging and a sweet aroma filled the room.

A few days ago, I was told I’d be receiving a little surprise from MexGrocer.com, so I did a little research into the company.

I discovered that MexGrocer.com is the largest on-line grocery store for authentic Mexican food and food-related items, and also one of the oldest, dating to 2000. They carry items ranging from cooking ingredients to candy to household products. They even offer authentic Mexican cooking utensils such as the molcajete, a traditional mortar and pestle carved from volcanic stone and hard to find outside Mexico. A newsletter provides authentic Mexican recipes with ingredients they will ship to your door via UPS, USPS and FedEx. To date, MexGrocer.com has served customers in more than 15,000 cities in all 50 states of the U.S.

The yeast bread wreath was decorated with a colorful assortment of sugar-dried papaya, apples, and cherries. Layered on top were deep red strips of candied fruit, followed by a good helping of brown sugar. After perusing some of MexGrocer’s most interesting products, I decided to eat the pastry while reading about it, as a pastry this elaborate must have some history associated with it.

It does.

Rosca de Reyes and The Three Kings

This particular delicacy is called the Rosca de Reyes, or “King’s Cake.” It celebrates the Epiphany, or Three Kings Day when the Three Kings or Wise Men visited Baby Jesus and brought gifts of precious gold, frankincense and myrrh.

In Mexican homes, the bread is a traditional treat on Epiphany when it is enjoyed with friends and family over a frothy cup of hot chocolate. Because Mexico is overwhelmingly Catholic, the holiday and the bread are steeped in Biblical symbolism.

The circular shape represents the round-about route the Holy Family took to escape King Herod’s men, who sought to kill the Christ child. Even the colorful candied fruit has a meaning, for baked inside the bread is a tiny plastic baby doll that represents little Jesus. The fruit symbolizes the sweet pleasures of the world that distract us from the Savior. The person who finds the little doll in his or her helping of rosca becomes a godparent to the baby and must host a party on el día de la candelaria or Candlemas, February 2nd, for all those who shared the bread on Epiphany.

I bit into the tender, flaky pastry and found myself in sugar heaven. The aroma wafted over to everyone else in the office and they quickly began taking slices of it for themselves.

I was very impressed with the quality and freshness of the bread, especially since it was a perishable food sent across the country.

From now on, when I want authentic Mexican products, I’ll go first to Mexgrocer.com.

The post Authentic Mexican foods delivered to your door appeared first on MexConnect.