Mexico Cooks!

A Fresh Look at Mexico's Tianguis (Street Markets)

Fresh from the fields, these gorgeous pimientos morrón rojo y amarillo (red and yellow sweet peppers) sell for about 60 pesos the kilo ($2.25 USD the pound) at the tianguis where Mexico Cooks! shops.

Nearly two years ago, in August 2007, Mexico Cooks! featured every sort of produce, dairy product, and meat sold at a local tianguis (street market) near Guadalajara, Jalisco.  For the entire month of August 2008, you read about seasonal availability of fruits and vegetables at the dozens of regularly scheduled tianguis (it's the same word in singular and plural) in Morelia, Michoacán.  Mexico Cooks! would rather shop at a hot, crowded, and sometimes smelly tianguis than at an air conditioned supermarket, rather shop for supremely fresh foods at a tianguis than give a second glance to anything frozen, boxed, or canned that's offered for sale elsewhere.

A signmaker with a sense of humor stuck this tag on his fresh Roma tomatoes: "Like you saw it on TV".  These were offered at 14 pesos the kilo (about 50 cents US the pound).

The tianguis, wherever in Mexico it's held, is a basic part of the culture of modern Mexico.   Its name comes from the Nauhatl word tianquiztli, market.  Although Nahuatl markets are centuries old, the present-day form of the tianguis is fairly recent, originating during the 1970-76 Mexican presidency of Luis Echeverría Alvarez.  The author of the tianguis project in Mexico was José Iturriaga, Echeverría's former finance minister.

Cooked in a sweet syrup, whole calabaza de castilla (squash, left), camote (sweet potato, right), and higos (figs, rear) are available at the tianguis by the kilo or portion of a kilo.  They're to be eaten for breakfast or supper.

Although Iturriaga was himself a wealthy, educated, and cultured man, he worried about the ability of Mexico's poor to feed their families.  He was especially concerned about the availability of nutritious fresh foods sold at reasonable prices.  The tianguis, otherwise known as a mercado sobre ruedas (market on wheels), was his idea.  The government took charge of giving Mexico's working-class housewives and other food shoppers stupendous quality at the lowest possible prices.

Beautiful cebollitas de cambray (knob onions), ready for serving with carne asada (grilled meat, usually accompanied by grilled whole onions like these.

Still operated by local government, today's tianguis only sometimes reaches Iturriaga's ideal.  Often the produce can be second-rate, the meats and seafood far less than fresh, and the market's hygeine questionable--while prices are often as high or higher than the días de plaza (sale days) in upscale supermarkets.

Higos--figs, at the peak of maturity and ripeness--enjoy a relatively long season here in Mexico.  We recently paid 100 pesos for two kilos of beautifully ripe figs and prepared half a dozen jars of you-don't-want-to-know-how-good fig conserve.  Later this winter, spread on a toasted and buttered bolillo (small loaf of fresh-baked bread) from our tianguis, served over ice cream, or licked off the finger, the conserve will be an intense memory of summer.

Mexico Cooks! is a regular customer at one of the better tianguis in Morelia.  Our tianguis, set up early Wednesday mornings, is quite near our house.  Our normal purchases include tortillas, bread, seafood, excellent pork ranging from maciza (fresh pork leg) to tocino (bacon), all of our fruits and vegetables, cheeses and cream, grains, and flowers for the house.  We don't eat much beef and prefer to buy raw chicken at a supermarket.

Tiny plátanos dominico (finger bananas, about 2.5 inches long) are just one of the banana varieties we usually see at the tianguis.

Prices at the Wednesday tianguis in our neighborhood, while not substantially lower than those at the supermarket, are still not higher than we care to pay.  We usually budget 400 pesos (about $30 USD) to buy what we need at the tianguis for a week's meals, including pork and sometimes shrimp.  We budget another 400 pesos for purchases at the supermarket. 

On a recent Wednesday--when the refrigerator was bare of produce, as we had been out of the country for more than a week--these were our purchases:

6 large fresh white onions
1 huge cantaloupe
4 big mangoes
6 red-ripe tomatoes
1/2 lb mushrooms
1 big avocado
2 large bananas
1 large papaya
1.5 lb fresh green beans
8 hot-out-of-the-oven bolillos
Total cost: 150 pesos--the equivalent of about $11.00 USD.

Stands offering prepared foods are always popular at any tianguis.  This woman at the Tianguis del Sol in Guadalajara is preparing hand made huaraches (a long, thick oval of corn masa (dough), similar to a tortilla, served with various toppings).

Times and needs change.  Urban Mexico views the tianguis as both a terrible bother (who would want one on their street, with its attendant noise and mess) and a joy (but where else can we get produce this fresh!).  Mexico Cooks! knows people who will not shop at a tianguis, and we know people who will not shop anywhere else.  Come with us some Wednesday and see what you think.

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Violin Shop Querétaro: Laudero (Luthier) Alejandro Díaz Martínez

Irene Adriana Carrasco (Judy's cello teacher, foreground) and Judy, rehearsing in our garden, just before the guests arrived for Judy's mini-recital in April.  It was a delightful evening spent among friends.

Living with a cello is lovely when its deep-voiced, sweet music pours out of the rehearsal room.  Occasionally the tone is so beautiful that tears spring to my eyes.  Living with a cello is not so lovely when the cello suddenly changes its tune, as Judy's did about six months ago.  After a number of attempts to give the instrument a quick fix, she decided it needed more radical treatment.  Her cello teacher, Irene Adriana Carrasco, recommended Maestro Alejandro Díaz Martínez of Violin Shop Querétaro, in the state of Querétaro, and offered to take Judy's cello to him for a consultation.  A few days later, Judy and I visited Maestro Alejandro in his taller (workshop).

Maestro Alejandro Díaz with Judy's cello.  Maestro Alejandro is a Morelia native with deep family roots here in the city. 

With a twinkle in his eye, Maestro Alejandro recounted a bit of his history.  "I liked the idea of studying architecture, of designing a building and watching it come to life.  But I also liked studying music, especially the violin.  When I was almost finished with my architectural studies, after three years at the Universidad de Michoacán de San Nicolás de Hidalgo, I had to switch.  Some people thought I was crazy to quit my architectural studies when I was so close to finishing my degree, but it was something inside me that I could no longer deny: I had to study violin.  It was a passion.

Clamps and other tools of the luthier's trade hang at the ready.

"I dropped my architectural courses and went to study violin at the Conservatorio de México in Mexico City.  Fortunately my parents, the rest of my family, and my friends supported my idea.  Four years of hard work were all worthwhile.  I was honored to study with Arón Bitrán, one of the founders of the Cuarteto Latinoamericano.  My grades were good and I loved to play, but something new was happening to me.  I discovered another path, that of the laudero (luthier): building and repairing stringed instruments.  It was risky to take yet another direction, but it was so fascinating!  And in some ways, laudería combined my love of architecture with my love of music.  It made sense to me, and once again, with the help of some friends, I made a new decision.

One of Maestro Alejandro's several work benches.  It may look disorganized, but he knows exactly where to find what he needs.

"In 1985, I was studying violin for six hours a day, then studying for six hours a day at the taller de laudero (luthier's workshop) with Maestro Luthfi Becker, who specializes in Baroque instruments.  I built my first violin during that same year, and I graduated in 1987 with six others, the first generación de lauderos (luthiers' graduating class) in Mexico City.

A violin in process of repair.

"In 1992, I came to Querétaro, where the Instituto de Bellas Artes in Mexico City founded the Escuela de Laudería in the mid-1950s.  In 1993, I started teaching at the school, and I've been giving classes here for 16 years.  I have nine students right now.  They're studying the full course that leads to licenciatura (similar to a bachelor's degree) in laudería.

Various tools for cutting, piercing, and sanding new parts for stringed instruments.

Maestro Alejandro removed the top of the cello, made and replaced the bass bar, and re-glued the top.  He kept the top clamped until the glue was thoroughly dry.  Photo courtesy Alejandro Díaz.

"Learning laudería requires tremendous discipline.  It's not just about patching up an instrument that needs repair, using any wood you happen to have on hand.  The course consists of ten semesters and includes studies in everything from the biology of wood to the history of instrument building.  For example, when I looked inside Judy's cello, I could tell the age of the trees used in its construction--by the rings of the wood.  I could see the type tree the wood came from, and I can tell you exactly where those trees grow.  I could also approximate the age of the wood itself, when it was used to build the cello.

Erick Iván Díaz Garcia polishes Judy's cello.  Erick has studied with Maestro Alejandro for two years.  The long program of studies for luthiers at the Universidad Autónoma de Querétaro is unique in Mexico.

"One of the joys of laudería is receiving an instrument, whether an ancient violin or a late-20th Century cello like Judy's, and bringing it to its fullest expression of tone, resonance, and beauty.  The instrument that still gives me chills when I think of its restoration is an 18th Century violin that came to me in dire condition.  The 'stomach' of the violin was sunken, the bridge feet were dug into the top of the violin.  Little by little I used my skills--traditonal skills as well as inventions that I thought up to overcome the obstacles of the violin's condition--and slowly brought the instrument back to life.   The violin's owner, Cathy Meng Robinson of the Miami String Quartet, insists that the quality of the instrument since I repaired it is better than a Stradivarius violin that she owns.

Maestro Alejandro explains a fine point of cello repair.

"Lauderos in other parts of the world--in the United States, for example--would like me to go work in their talleres, even take ownership of their workshops.  But how could I?  Here in Mexico, there are so few of us, maybe 100 fully trained lauderos.  I have the responsibility and the joy to teach the lauderos of the future, and to rescue the instruments of the past.  Here in Mexico, I have such a full life: my family, my work, my students.  Compared to the fullness of my life right now, what could more money, the money people in other countries promise me for my work, give me?  My son is 15; he studies violin and will soon study with me to follow in my footsteps.  My daughter is only nine; her future is yet to be told.  Laudería gives me the chance to know the world, from the United States to Canada to Cremona.  And look--I've just begun, and already happiness fills my life."

Contact
Alejandro Díaz Martínez
Violin Shop Querétaro
Calle Ángela Peralta#19
Centro Histórico
Santiago de Querétaro, Guanajuato
Tel. 01.442.243.1488
Cel. 044.442.136.9128

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Santuario de Jesús el Nazareno, Atotonilco, Guanajuato

 

The facade of the mid-18th Century Jesuit church in Atotonilco is simple.  The interior of the church is astonishing.  Built between 1740 and 1776, the Santuario is still visited and revered by religious pilgrims.

Several weeks ago, while Mexico Cooks! visited San Miguel de Allende, we took advantage of some free time to go to Atotonilco to visit the Santuario de Jesús el Nazareno (Sanctuary of Jesus the Nazarene), one of the best-kept secrets of central Mexico.  In 1996, the church was added to the World Monuments Fund, and in July of 2008, UNESCO named the Santuario to its list of World Heritage sites.

The main altar in the Calvary Chapel, the largest in the church.  Sculptural figures important to Christ's Passion give visual impact to the  meditations of the faithful. A relicuary rests on the red cloth.

The Santuario is a mixture of European Baroque and New World Mexican decoration.  It consists of a large church, and several smaller chapels, all decorated with oil paintings by Rodríguez Juárez and mural paintings by Miguel Antonio Martínez de Pocasangre.  Inspired by the doctrine of St. Ignacio de Loyola, the founder of the Companía de Jesús (the Company of Jesus, otherwise known as the Jesuits), the glowing paintings and murals in the church served in the evangelization of Nueva España, where the indigenous spoke their own languages but could neither read nor write, and where the Spanish conquistadores knew little if any of the languages they heard in the new land. 

St. John the Baptist pours baptismal waters over Jesus as a dove, symbol of the Holy Spirt, hovers above them.  In the 18th Century, the Santuario also served as a retreat house for the Jesuits.  Pilgrims still make week-long retreats at this church, praying in a chapel reserved just for their needs.

Judas Iscariot betrays Jesus with a kiss.  Note the demon monkey on Judas's back.  Every inch of the Santuario walls is covered with paintings of the many details, Biblical and apocryphal, of Jesus's life.  Nearly all (or perhaps all--stories vary) of the murals  were painted by Miguel Antonio Martínez de Pocasangre, a native of the area.  He worked for thirty years painting the murals.

St. Cristopher carries the infant Jesus on his shoulder.  Captain Ignacio Allende, for whom San Miguel de Allende is named, married María de la Luz Agustina y Fuentes in this church.  It was here, on September 16, 1810, that Miguel Hidalgo took up the standard of Our Lady of Guadalupe and bore it into battle during the Mexican Revolution.

This side chapel, one of several at Atotonilco, is dedicated to Nuestra Señora del Rosario (Our Lady of the Rosary).  The mirrors that surround the figure of Our Lady are painted with oils, probably by Rodríguez Juárez.

Detail of the chapel window.

Detail of the Marian litany in the Lady Chapel.

The Santuario has been in the process of restoration since 1997.  Scaffolding still fills the church but detracts very little from the amazing paintings.

Mexico Cooks! will return to the Santuario de Jesús el Nazareno in mid-July and will bring you updates on the restoration plus information about el Señor de la Columna (the Lord of the Column), the Santuario's santo patrón (patron saint).

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Rancho Casa Luna and the Rib-O-Rama

Nuestra Señora del Rancho Casa Luna (Our Lady of Rancho Casa Luna) watched over all the proceedings at the Rib-O-Rama.

Remember last March, when Mexico Cooks! and a cast of thousands prepared five rabbit recipes at Dianne Kushner's Rancho Casa Luna?  A few weeks ago, we all gathered again at the Rancho, this time to cook pork ribs--yes, in spite of the H1N1 (aka swine) flu scare in Mexico.  We'd planned this event long before the so-called pandemic that started in late April.  Knowledgeable experts agreed that the consumption of pork meat was not a health danger.  So: several kinds of ribs, along with huge numbers of botanas (appetizers), guarniciones (side dishes), and postres (desserts) were on the menu for both Friday and Saturday!

On Friday, Ben brought a botana (appetizer) of incredibly delicious home-made pot-stickers and their sauce.  Twenty or so dinner guests demolished two platters of pot-stickers in a split second.  Several more appetizers prepared by others at the party were gone as fast as a chocolate Easter bunny's ears.

Ben knelt on the floor to baste and turn his magnificent ribs.  His recipe (below) includes oyster sauce, lemon grass, and a surprise ingredient: 7-Up.  With a little advance preparation, this recipe is a sure winner.  Everyone at the Rib-O-Rama loved these ribs.

Far East Spareribs
2 or more kilos baby back ribs
3 tsp fresh garlic, minced fine
1 tsp ground white pepper
4 tbsp freshly ground lemon grass
2 chiles jalapeño (or more, depending on your heat tolerance)
1/2 cup honey
2 large pieces fresh ginger, peeled
2 tsp sugar
3 cans 7-Up or Sprite
1/3 cup soy sauce

In food processor, purée the garlic, ginger, lemon grass, and chiles jalapeño.  Mix with all ingredients except the ribs. 

Wash the ribs and marinate in the puréed mixture for two to three days.

Preheat oven to 350°F.

Put the ribs in a large oven-proof pan and brush liberally with the sauce.  Baste and turn the ribs frequently, adding more sauce as they bake.  When the ribs are dark golden brown and tender, plate and serve with more sauce on the side.

Jewel-like watermelon and papaya aguas frescas (fresh fruit waters) graced the tables at the Rancho on both Friday and Saturday.

JohnRoy smoked Texas-style ribs, another big hit on Friday.  That little pitcher in the background holds more of his secret sauce.

On Saturday, Mexico Cooks! prepared costillas de cerdo en mole estilo Uruapan: pork ribs in mole, Uruapan style, arroz a la mexicana (Mexican rice), and frijolitos refritos estilo Cristina (Cristina's style refried beans)--four and a half kilos of ribs, a kilo of rice, and another kilo of beans went into the preparation, along with countless chiles serrano.  The bowls in the photograph are huge.

Henri's enormous platter of Vietnamese pork ribs vanished in no time at Saturday's comida (main meal of the day).

Henri oven-roasted a huge platter of mixed vegetables: carrots, zucchini, onions, beets, and more.

Anado helps himself to ribs on Friday.  That's Russi, reflected in the mirror, and that's her pasta salad in the bowl nearest Anado's right hand.  Russi added heavenly smoked bacon, along with a slew of other ingredients, to the pasta salad.

Ben baked a sachertorte as one of Friday's desserts.

Billie Mercer wore Betsy's diadema (tiara) and reluctantly consented to have her picture taken.  Those huge leaves behind her are penca de maguey--the leaf of a cactus similar to a century plant.

The last dish served on Friday, but certainly not the least, was Billie's marvelously authentic key lime pie!  Ever inventive, she made the crust from Marías cookies instead of graham crackers.  As one of our San Miguel de Allende friends insisted, "There's always room for dessert--it goes to a special place in your stomach."

Betsy McNair and Ben get down after comida on Saturday.  Betsy has to be the world's best get-'em-up-to-dance girl.  We had a blast!

The very best dish at the party: our beloved friend Dianne Kushner, owner of the two Casa Luna B&Bs in San Miguel de Allende.  Dianne is definitely the hostess with the mostest!  Photo courtesy of Henri Moyal.

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Viernes Santo Procesión del Silencio::Good Friday Procession of Silence, Morelia 2009

Hooded drummers marked the beat of Morelia's penitential Procesión del Silencio: Good Friday's silent procession commemorating both the crucifixion of Christ and his Mother's grief.  Only the drumbeat broke the silence along the route.

Nuestra Señora de Dolores (Our Lady of Sorrows).  Hooded members of various Catholic confraternities (religious organizations founded in Europe in the 15th Century) carry these life-size statues on their wooden platforms approximately three kilometers through Morelia's Centro Histórico.

Jesus during la Oración en el Huerto (praying in the Garden of Gethsemane), just prior to his arrest on Holy Thursday night.  Boy Scouts (the young man in red at the right of the photo) hold the protective rope all along the route of the procession.

El Señor del Pilar (the Lord of the Column) depicts Jesus, bound to a column, and whipped by Roman soldiers after his conviction.

Roman soldiers.

The majority of Morelia's Procesión del Silencio takes place after dark, by candlelight.  For the first time this year (2009), city street lamps were left on due to security issues.

The Legion of Christ carry their banner and their lamps.  The Procesión del Silencio lasts about four hours.  During that time, all of Morelia's Centro Histórico is closed to vehicular traffic.

Jesus carries the cross a cuestas (on his back) to Calvary.  More than 50,000 spectators stood along the entire route of Morelia's 2009 Procesión del Silencio.

Penitents from one of Morelia's confraternities carry their crosses the length of the procession.  Many march barefoot through the city streets.  The procession celebrated its thirty-third anniversary this year.

Robed and hooded members of another Catholic confraternity carry a small image of the crucified Christ.  Hoods cover the faces of those who march as a sign of penitence.

Clothed in gold and black, these marching penitents carry huge metal torches.

Six men of all ages carry Cristo Muerto (the dead Christ), while six others follow as relief when the burden of the image, the platform, the lights, and the flowers becomes too heavy.  The man at the far right of the photo carries one of two saw horses used to support the platform during occasional pauses in the procession.

At the end of the Procesión del Silencio, la Virgen de la Soledad (Our Lady of Solitude) follows the body of her crucified Son.  The platform bearing her image holds burning candles, a purple and gold velvet canopy, and banks of fresh flowers.

Semana Santa (Holy Week), Part Two: La Feria de Artesanía (The Artisans' Fair), Pátzcuaro, Michoacán

Paper maché marionettes from Michoacán dance merrily during Semana Santa (Holy Week)in Pátzcuaro.

Mexico Cooks!, as you've probably guessed, rarely turns down an opportunity to visit an artisans' fair.  Although we had traveled to Uruapan for the mother of all artisans' fairs just a week before, out-of-town company meant a trip to nearby Pátzcuaro to shop at the fair set up in its Plaza Don Vasco de Quiroga.

The Pátzcuaro fair is smaller than the Domingo de Ramos Tianguis de Artesanía in Uruapan, but navigating through its booths is no less fun.  The Michoacán arts and crafts in Pátzcuaro are similar to those in Uruapan, but many are more commercial and less expensive.

Small laca (lacquerware) boxes in the Pátzcuaro style, made with substantial gold leaf.

Catrines (fancy-dress skeleton figures of men and women) parade through a booth at the fair in Pátzcuaro.  Several pirates maraud across the center of the photo, two chef figures in their tall white toques bring up the rear, and a woman models an 1890s-period dress at the far left.

The monarch butterfly is a brilliant natural symbol of Michoacán.  These are worked in copper and enamel.

These handmade wooden flowers move when you push a button under the flowerpot.

Wooden toys are everywhere, and all are made by hand in Michoacán.  The chickens peck their seed on the paddles in the foreground when you move their string-operated mechanism.

During Semana Santa, Pátzcuaro honored Nuestra Señora de los Dolores (La Dolorosa)--Our Lady of Sorrows--with numerous altars set up around town.  Monseñor Diego Monroy, rector of the Basílica of Our Lady of Guadalupe in Mexico City and a native of the Pátzcuaro region, designed this immense altar on Pátzcuaro's Plaza Don Vasco de Quiroga.

Altar detail.  The Virgin Mary mourns for her son.

The heart aflame is set high on the altar. It represents the Sacred Heart of Jesus, borne aloft by doves and surrounded by spectacular cut paper.

Mexico is a land of contrasts and contradictions.  Semana Santa, which includes revelry and ritual, the Virgin and vacations, is simple evidence of Mexico's complexity.

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Semana Santa (Holy Week), Part One: Feria de las Flores (Flower Fair), Erongarícuaro, Michoacán

In Erongarícuaro, a golden calla lily and a pot of deep purple Martha Washington geraniums made us smile.

Sometimes the simplest things turn out to be the best: the most fun, the most beautiful, the most memorable.  When Mexico Cooks! slipped into Erongarícuaro to see the annual flower show during Semana Santa (Holy Week), we had no idea what to expect or what a lovely hour we would enjoy.  

At the flower show opening, Eleazar Aparicio Tercero (Erongarícuaro's mayor, who served as master of ceremonies) presented each of the organizing committee members with a certificate of appreciation.  

Erongarícuaro's Parroquia de la Asunción de la Señora (Parish of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin) hosted this year's flower show.  This small-town Feria de las Flores (Flower Fair) began in 1974 but was discontinued after a few years.  In 2002, various ladies of the town re-initiated the fair and it's been popular among local home gardeners ever since.

Lovingly cultivated pink malvas were a popular exhibit.

We were amazed by the size and variety of home-grown azucenas (amaryllis).

We thought we'd see professionally arranged displays of flower arrangements at the flower show. We were thrilled to realize that all of these flowers were thriving potted plants grown by home gardeners.  The seasonal blooms were sensational.

These tiny orange orchids are known locally as Espíritu Santo (Holy Spirit).  

The variety of flowers presented at the show included bougainvilleas (known in this region as camelinas), orchids, geraniums, roses, cactus, and others. 

An exhibit of miniature succulents and other greenery, planted in colorful 2" high yoghurt containers and egg shells, won a first prize and created quite a buzz of conversation among fairgoers.

More amaryllis, this variety sported huge cream and pink blossoms.

The proceeds from the 2009 Feria de las Flores will be added to funds set aside for building a commercial greenhouse for gladiolas in Erongarícuaro and an orquidarium in nearby Uricho.

Alstromeria (Peruvian lily).

The 2010 Feria de las Flores in Erongarícuaro will include flowers, products made from local fruit--including wines--and regional culinary exhibits.  Commercial flower growers in the area will once again benefit from the fair.

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Concurso de Artesanos :: Artisans' Competition, Uruapan 2009

Fábrica San Pedro, a textile factory built in Uruapan in the late 19th century, still operates along the banks of the Río Cupatitzio, just a few blocks from the Uruapan's downtown Plaza Morelos. One of the largest water-powered mills in the region, this factory produced as many as 40,000 blankets during its heyday.

American expatriates Walter and Bundy Illsley, residents of Mexico since 1954, bought the mill in the late 1980s.  Their company, Telares Uruapan, still produces hand-loomed natural fibers in traditional local colors and designs, as well as in the custom designs that the Fábrica exports all over the world.  Walter Illsley died in late March 2009, but his wife and their son, Rewi, continue to carry on the traditions of the Fábrica.

Hand-woven tableclothes are made and sold at the Fábrica San Pedro in Uruapan.

The Illsleys'  restoration of the Fábrica San Pedro is a joy to behold.  From the entrance to the back reaches of the buildings, enormous care has been taken to maintain its beauty.  A portion of the mill is devoted to a well-designed convention center, an upscale gallery and a shop overlooking well-manicured gardens fronting the Río Cupatitzio.  Old mill wheels, converted to metal art, separate rooms and galleries from one another.  One hundred-year-old wooden floors creak, mile-high ceilings allow for light and air, and jewel-tone bolts of fabrics glow in the muted light of the Fábrica.

Hand-lacquered wooden bateas (shallow trays) are a specialty of the Pátzcuaro/Uruapan region.  The maque (lacquer) technique is intricate and time-consuming; the tray is carved from pine, cured, and then decorated using centuries-old craftsmanship and dyemaking knowledge.  This batea measures approximately 50cm in diameter (1.5 feet). 

The artisans' competition, an important part of the annual Uruapan Tianguis Artesanal de Domingo de Ramos (Palm Sunday Artisans' Festival), occupies the Fábrica de San Pedro during the fair's opening days.  Any of the  artisans who exhibit at the fair can enter the competition; they show the best of their best work. 

Clay spheres and their tray are made in Zinapécuaro, Michoacán.

These cocuchas (clay pots from Cocucho, Michoacán) can be as tall as an adult person.  Cocuchas are wall-built, not made on a wheel.  The black spots on the clay are kiln burns characteristic of the work.  Once the pots are fired, they are burnished with stones to create the shine. 

A guaje (hard-shell squash), hollowed out, cured, and decorated with hand-prepared maque (lacquer).  The artisan applies the base color lacquer and allows it to cure.  After preparing vegetable dye lacquers, the artist incises a design into the dry base lacquer and removes the individual color sections, leaf by leaf and stem by stem, petal by petal.  The artist inlays all of one lacquer color and allows it to cure.  He or she then removes the design elements of the next color and repeats the inlay process.  Finishing a guaje as detailed as this one requires many weeks of work.

Another batea, this one made of extremely heavy hand-hammered copper from Santa Clara del Cobre.  The copper is hammered from an ingot and then engraved and finished.  The value of a copper piece such as this depends on two variables: weight and artistry.

Guanengos (regional blouses) are hand-cross stitched in many Purhépecha towns in Michoacán.

Mexico Cooks! tried to purchase this clay tray filled with 14 calabacitas de barro (little clay squashes).  We were so disappointed to find that it had already been sold to the Michoacán State Museum.  It would have looked quite charming on our dining room sideboard.

Try to come to the Tianguis Artesanal de Domingo de Ramos with us next year.  There's nothing like it back home.

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Feria de Domingo de Ramos :: Palm Sunday Fair, Uruapan, Michoacán

Waving papel picado dance sticks and elegantly dressed in red velvet aprons trimmed with lace , these Purhépecha women danced their way through the opening day parade at the annual statewide Feria de Artesanías.

Mexico Cooks! has attended the Feria de Artesanía de Domingo de Ramos (Palm Sunday Artisans' Fair) in Uruapan, Michoacán, every year for nearly 15 years.  The two-week-long fair is always the same and yet never boring, a remarkable combination.  This largest artisans' fair in Mexico draws vendors and contestants for the best-of-the-best from all over the state of Michoacán.  It attracts international tourism: we've heard languages from all over the globe as we walk the vendors' aisles.

Purhépecha women's festive ropa típica (native dress) includes a knife-pleated skirt, a hand-embroidered guanengo (blouse), a cross-stitch apron, and the long, rectangular blue, black, and white striped rebozo (shawl) that is typical to the region.

This woman marched while carrying an enormous huarache (shoe made of woven leather strips) representing the goods that her region of the state produces.  She's also carrying a bag of souvenir key chains that she tossed to individuals in the crowd.  Look closely and you'll see the tiny huarache key chains that decorate her sombrero de paja (straw hat). 

Clarinets, trumpets, trombones, and a pink tuba--what a great band!

Artisans hawk thousands of traditional low-fired clay pots and pitchers.  These are from Tzintzuntzan, Michoacán.

Michoacán is famous world-wide for its traditional arts and crafts.  For hundreds of years, artisans in this state have produced highly decorated articles made from locally found materials: clay, wood, lacquer, textiles, copper, reedwork, and paper maché, among others.

Ollas para frijoles (clay pots for cooking beans) from Capula, Michoacán.

Molinillos (little mills) are used for whipping chocolate caliente (hot chocolate) to a thick froth.
For more about hand-made Mexican chocolate, look here: chocolate Joaquinita.

These blue jarras y platones (pitchers and platters) with their finely painted, intricate white designs come from one family workshop in Capula.  Mexico Cooks! does not...DOES NOT...have room in the house for more pottery.  Well, maybe just one more piece!  These glorious jarras were all but impossible to resist.

Clay sculptures from Ocumicho, Michoacán, are full of whimsy and bright colors.  Did you notice Our Lady of Guadalupe, in the upper right corner?

Hand-embroidered traditional cotton guanengos (blouses) are so important and finely made that they have their own concurso (competition) at the Feria de Artesanía (Artisans' Fair).


Next year will be the 50th anniversary of the Artisans' Fair in Uruapan.  Come see it with us!

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

Influenza Porcina::Swine Flu in Mexico--We Interrupt Our Regularly Scheduled Programming...

Mexico City residents currently ride the Metro, the Metrobus, and all other public transportation in surgical masks. (Photo courtesy Reuters.)

Mexico Cooks! was in Mexico City from Thursday morning April 23 until Sunday night the 26th. I saw firsthand the start of the developing outbreak of a health emergency.  The reality of what is essentially a government-mandated quarantine from the outbreak of la influenza porcina (swine flu) here in Mexico has been disastrous. On the one hand, people are sick and some have died of this flu.  On the other hand, business closures have created economic havoc.  And on the other hand (if you still have another hand free), tourists are staying away by the thousands. 

In Mexico City, all museums are closed, all cultural events are canceled, major religious celebrations are prohibited, big sporting events are canceled or played behind locked doors with no public in attendance. Movie theaters are dark. Bars and nightclubs are closed. All restaurants are forbidden to offer table service--it's take-out only until further notice.

On Friday afternoon at Superama in Morelia, only a few bags of frijol bayo remained on the shelves.  Frijol negro (black beans), less commonly cooked here, were more plentiful.

Supermarket shelves are emptying fast; people are stockpiling food with no knowledge when or even if it will be replenished. The government has ordered that pregnant women and nursing mothers be allowed to stay home from work with full pay and no penalty.

This block of Calle Sánchez Tapia, in Morelia's Centro Histórico, runs in front of the Conservatorio de las Rosas (the building to the left in the photo), the oldest music conservatory in the New World.  Normally the street and sidewalks are clogged to the point of gridlock with cars and pedestrians.  Mid-afternoon on Friday, the street was deserted save for a few parked cars and one young man walking in the shade.

Mexico City's streets are also empty. Last Sunday morning, I strolled (STROLLED!) across Avenida de la Reforma, one of Mexico City's broadest and busiest (and most beautiful) streets--no cars were out at all.  All events and parades for May 1 (Labor Day) were canceled, as were all events for Thursday's Día del Niño (Children's Day).

Just a few packages of imported spaghetti remained on Superama's shelves, although some national brands are still plentiful.  News sources report that spaghetti, bread, and milk are scarce in most supermarkets.

Friday afternoon even this elephant looked downhearted.  Morelia's zoo, ordinarily crowded with children and adults, is closed until the flu situation passes.  Mexico Cooks! snapped the photo from the sidewalk outside the zoo.  Zoo employees were busy feeding animals and making small repairs.

Everywhere in the country, tourism is over, at least for the foreseeable future. All archeological sites in the entire country are closed. Tour companies are canceling bookings for anywhere in Mexico and redirecting the tours to other countries. Some airlines have refused to land flights in the country. Friends who own B&Bs in various locations are panicked--not for their own sakes, but for the sake of their employees. One friend says that the last of her current B&B guests depart Mexico today (Saturday, May 2); after that, she will be forced to close her two B&Bs until this crisis passes, as every client who was to arrive during the coming weeks has canceled.  She's devised a highly creative way to keep her employees working at least part-time, but their partial salaries will come out of her pocket, not out of B&B revenues.

Morelia-based Cinépolis is the largest movie theater chain in Mexico.  All Cinépolis theaters in Mexico, as well as all of Mexico's other movie theaters, are closed by government mandate until May 6.

In the State of Jalisco, cruise ships have canceled several arrivals in Puerto Vallarta and Guadalajara has canceled all Masses for this Sunday. Restaurants are closed, tourist landmarks are closed, cultural events are canceled. Businesses are losing hundreds of thousands of pesos every day of this ongoing health crisis.

Everywhere in Mexico, all schools at all levels have been closed since Tuesday, April 28.  The sign on this Morelia school gate reads, "Classes are suspended until May 6."  Daycare centers are also closed.

In Morelia, where I live and where no cases of influenza porcina have been reported (not that none exist; none have been reported), the streets are silent. Where impossible daily traffic normally exists, few cars travel. Schools are shuttered here, along with those in the entire country, until at least May 6. Restaurants are closed; not all, but quite a few. Local tourist destinations are closed. No Mass will be celebrated at local churches this Sunday--people are invited to hear Mass via television or radio.

Normally illuminated by fireworks on Saturday nights and thronged with believers for all Sunday Masses, Morelia's Cathedral will be shuttered this Sunday (May 3).  Mass will be celebrated a puerta cerrada (behind closed doors) and broadcast via television and radio.  The stupendous photo is courtesy of my friend, Steven Miller.  For a joyous look at his travels, see his photos on Flickr.

It seems to me that Mexican officials are reacting to the flu situation with considerable calm and with well-reasoned actions--given the information that is actually being disseminated to the public. Many informed sources (principally physicians) are saying that the information in the media is deliberately cloudy and inaccurate. They say that the death toll is actually enormously higher than that which is in the news. Mexico Cooks! thinks that it is highly unlikely that the government reaction (government and private business closures, prohibition of large cultural and sports gatherings, suspension of Mass all over the country) is an over-reaction. The societal and economic toll is too high to take these measures were there no actual cause for doing so.

"By official disposition of the Secretary of Health, all work has been suspended, to begin again on May 6."  This sign, tacked up on the door of the Conservatorio de las Rosas in Morelia, is repeated on business after business and school after school.

This is a holiday weekend in Mexico: Thursday was el Día del Niño, Children's Day, a day of great festivity here. All concerts, festivals, and other celebrations of the date were canceled. May 1 was el Día del Trabajo, Labor Day, which is much more than the USA-style last-day-of-summer holiday here. ALL public demonstrations were canceled: none of the usual parades, speeches, and congregating of masses of people took place.

The butcher at Superama in Morelia said that although sales of pork meat have dropped a bit, he's glad it's selling at all.  Many people erroneously think that la influenza porcina can be contracted through eating pork.  It isn't true.

Wednesday night (April 29), Pres. Calderón spoke to the nation via television. He informed us that all non-essential government business is canceled until May 6, that all bars, nightclubs, spas, restaurants, etc, are ordered to close--it was in essence a recap of all that has been closed or canceled up until now, with some important additions. The nation is encouraged wherever possible to stay at home for the next week. In his 10-minute or so speech, Calderón encouraged people to be stoic until there is resolution to the flu situation. He assured the country that Mexico has plenty of doctors and nurses, the most sophisticated testing possible for this flu, and enough antiviral medicine to meet the heaviest need. He reiterated the symptoms of the flu and the instructions for coughing into the elbow, not greeting friends with a kiss, etc. At the end of the talk, said, "Enjoy the company of your families, in your homes. Your home is the safest place to be during this health situation." He actually sounded like a primary school teacher--calm, cool, and matter-of-fact.

Economic recovery will be slow for many and impossible for many. Small businesses, tour companies, hotels, restaurants may well not recover, even after the flu is long gone.

So: the bottom line is, no one knows the truth. Today I choose to believe that Mexico is correct to follow the World Health Organization's rules, but being the skeptic and cynic that I am, there is a big niggle of doubt that moves from the back of my mind to the front of my mind and again to the back of my mind. As I always say, more will be revealed to you and to us...and I pray that WHO is wrong. 

Mexico's sense of black humor will prevail.  This just in:

This week--and this week only--Mexico Cooks! leaves its normal tour advertisement for another day.