Mexico Cooks!

Mercado de Flores, Guadalajara--Guadalajara's Wholesale Flower Market

When I lived in Guadalajara, it was my great pleasure to wander the city's wholesale flower market, talking with the long-time vendors and taking more pictures of glorious blooms than will fit on these pages.

I confess that on the day I went on my investigative trip to the wholesale flower stalls, I was in a funk and would have preferred to stay at home. I scowled my way through traffic to the Mercado Mezquitán in downtown Guadalajara and barely managed a brief smile when I found a handy parking place near the flower stalls. And then I was on the street, the flower-filled street, and my bad mood vanished in a heartbeat. How could my funk hang on when the sight and fragrances of literally millions of blossoms were all around me?

It was hard to know where to look first. The narrow old market street, clogged with belching pickup trucks, beat-up flower-crammed cars, overloaded handcarts and people carrying enormous bundles of flowers, runs parallel to super-busy, super-modern Calzada Federalismo. I smiled as the blatant contrasts of Mexico once again showed me that I was definitely not north of the border.

A scruffy yellow dog sniffed the greenery in his path as he hunted for something more promising than flower trimmings for his almuerzo (late breakfast). What looked like a moving tower of bright red roses jostled me as I stood in the street. It was a workman, hurrying along with dozens and dozens of paper-wrapped bundles of beautiful blooms on his shoulder.

Mounds of multi-colored statice wait on a hand truck.

For two city blocks, tiny Calle Mezquitán is a sea of blooms. I've often driven along Federalismo and noticed the market building; it's just across from a municipal cemetery.  But the actual flower market, a small enclosed building of perhaps 30 stalls, is insignificant compared to what happens in the street. 

I walked along asking permission to take pictures and marveling at the variety of flowers. My eye was caught first by girasoles (sunflowers), then by leticia (statice), then pompones (pompom chrysanthemums).

The vendors greeted me as I strolled past. "Qué va a llevar, señora? Hay de todo." (What are you buying, lady? Everything's here.) Over and over again I asked permission to take photographs. The quantity of flowers was completely overwhelming, their fragrances perfuming the air.

This basket of at least four dozen roses, asters, and assorted greenery cost 250 pesos, less than $20.00 USD at today's exchange rate.

I stopped to ask one of the vendors about the cultivation of flowers in Mexico. Flowers, he told me, are grown commercially primarily in one area of the small State of Mexico, both for export and for use here in the República. Flower business is big business in that fertile valley not far from Mexico City. Flower-growing land sprawls over more than five thousand hectares. That's well over 12,000 acres.  In addition, the cultivation of flowers provides either direct or indirect employment to more than 225,000 people in that state.

Gerbera daisies and stargazer lilies.

In the State of Mexico, flower growing generates a yearly economic bounty of $2,700,000,000 pesos: two billion seven hundred million, folks. It's not a typo. The brief selling season just prior to the Day of the Dead in November generates $617,000,000 pesos—in only a few days. The profits from just those late-October flower sales represent nearly one-fourth of the economy produced in the State of Mexico's fields.

Here's just one small example of Mexico's Day of the Dead flower power. In 2003, growers planted ninety hectares of roses which were to be harvested in the last week of October. Those roses produced 11.3 million stems, which were bundled 25 to a package. Each package of 25 roses sold at wholesale for 37 pesos. Total earnings for the brief October rose harvest were 17 million pesos.

In addition to roses, the flower growers of the State of Mexico also cultivate huge numbers of chrysanthemums, vast quantities of gladiolas, millions upon millions of carnations, and most of the rest of the flowers that are available in wholesale markets all over this country and the world. Many, many of the flowers that you who live North of the Border will purchase or be given on Valentine's Day and Mother's Day come from the sunny lands South of the Border.

Claveles (carnations) are among the most popular flowers for sale at the market.

Everywhere I looked, I was tempted to buy. Huge bundles of pink, red, candy-striped or white carnations, each bundle containing 60 or more flowers, sell for 40 pesos--less than $3.00 US dollars. Gorgeous, enormous ready-to-sell flower arrangements, perfect for a banquet table centerpiece, sell for 250 pesos--less than $20.00 US dollars. Bundles of 25 roses sell for 70 pesos.

After walking along the market street for an hour and then investigating the market itself, I stopped to ask a young vendor how long the market had been operating on Calle Mezquitán. She admitted that she wasn't sure and encouraged me to ask Dr. Roberto Avila, the owner of the business where she worked. He was busy taking a large wholesale order on the telephone. "Dr. Avila knows everything about the market, from the time it began until today," she assured me. I waited and watched the action on the street as hundreds of thousands of flowers glowed in the morning sun.

Dr. Avila graciously took the time to answer my questions. "This flower market has been here for more than 50 years," he began. "I'm 57 years old and I was born two blocks from here. My grandmother and my father brought me here to work with them when I was seven. I've had this business for 25 or 26 years now.

Long-stemmed roses sell in bundles of 40 for 70 pesos, about $5.00 USD.

"Look across the street, right over there." He pointed to a small house on the corner. "That house is made of adobe--sun-dried bricks made of mud and straw. All the houses along here were made of adobe, that's how old this section of Guadalajara is. Over the years, they've fallen down because of the rains, but people build them right back up again.

"Some years ago, Calzada Federalismo was widened to accommodate all the traffic that comes this way. Before the street was widened, the market building was more than twice the size it is now. The market building back then wasn't just for flowers. There were meat markets, tortillerías, and plenty of stands where you could eat. The government took most of the market to build the street. Now there's no tortillería there at all, the meat markets have mostly moved out, and there are only a couple of food stands left." He shook his head. "There used to be a kindergarten here. And there were frontón (a ball game played with a kind of basket-shaped racquet) courts." He smiled. "There are many other frontón courts in the city, but the ones right here are gone."


Fronton paddles.  Photo courtesy Google Images.

"There are more flower markets in Guadalajara, you know. One is right in front of Parque Agua Azul, on Calzada Independencia near González Gallo. Another is at the corner of Manuel Acuña and Contreras Medellín, just about ten blocks from here. But none of those markets sells the amount of wholesale flowers that we sell here."

I thanked Dr. Avila and walked up and down the street once more. The flower market had lightened my mood and I knew I'd come back on other days just for the lift. Although I was determined to buy a bundle of carnations, my eye suddenly lit on a huge bucket of tight yellow Siberian iris buds. "Cuánto cuestan?" I asked the vendor. "How much do they cost?"  Thirty-five pesos for ten long stems! I bought two bunches and strolled happily to my car.

 

Back home, after I arranged the flowers in a tall vase, I checked my favorite online florist for the price of Siberian iris in the United States. Suffice it to say that I would never have been able to afford them. If you go to Guadalajara, be sure to make a field trip to the wholesale flower market, where you can afford to buy all the flowers you could possibly want.

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

The Tianguis: Mexico's Prehispanic Street Market in Today's World

Fresh red corn at a Pátzcuaro, Michoacán tianguis (street market).

The typical Mexican tianguis (street market) is a multi-layered event. It combines wonderful shopping with catching up on gossip and meeting friends. It's a place to restock your larder and recharge your spirit at the same time.  The tianguis is the perfect spot to buy lovely and inexpensive flowers, delicious field-fresh produce, and succulently sweet tropical fruits. I also buy all of my fresh fish, chicken, cheese, and meat right there at the tianguis.  When I tell them where I shop, many friends from North of the Border exclaim, "What! Aren't you afraid of—afraid of—" and their questions fade into puzzled silence.


Beautiful Mexican papaya, sold year-round at almost every tianguis.  It's beautifully cut to show the ripe, sweet flesh to prospective buyers.

No, I am not afraid. Not of food poisoning, not of communicable diseases, not of spoilage. After years of purchasing nearly all of my produce, meats and dairy products at the tianguis, I believe that it's just as safe and healthy to buy those items from the tianguis vendors as it is to buy them from a supermarket refrigerator case. I've never been sick nor had any sort of problem from any of the foods I buy from the market vendors. The friends I've convinced to try the vendors report the same thing: unequalled satisfaction and never a problem.

It took me some time to figure out not only what I needed but also where at the tianguis I wanted to buy. You can figure it out, too. My main rule of thumb is to buy where the crowds have gathered to shop and to make my purchases where the fresh foods I want are clean and free of flies. I haven't been disappointed. The quality of meat (particularly chicken and pork) is far superior to anything I've bought from a butcher. The cheeses are unbeatable. The fish is inevitably fresh and clean. Not only are the eyes clear but the fish still smell of the ocean.


Seedless red grapes, ready to be weighed at a small tianguis in Morelia, Michoacán.

It's always best to go to the tianguis early to buy products that need refrigeration. During those first hours of the market, the meats, fish, and dairy products are still chilled and the selection is good. Later in the day, some items may not be available and what's left might look a bit tired.

There are usually several fishmongers at any good-sized urban tianguis.  A fishmonger's booth is usually large and filled with a variety of fish.  Dorado (mahi mahi), huachinango (red snapper), lenguado (sole), robalo (sea bass), mackerel, crabs, shrimp, octopus, tilapia, and a full assortment of others fresh from the sea compete for space on a bed of ice.


You can request your fish entero (whole), filete (fillete), or even molido (ground, for ceviche). If the fish is small, expect to pay by weight for the whole fish even if you ask for it filleted. If the fish is very large, like a dorado, you'll be charged only for the fillets. Occasionally it's possible to make an advance order for a special request. I've asked for fresh sea scallops when they're in season. If you're making a request for a party menu, it's always best to have an alternative in mind: sometimes the special item you want isn't available.

All of the fish sold by these vendors in the state of Jalisco comes from the Atlantic or Pacific oceans to the main fish market in Zapopan, a suburb of Guadalajara. The vendors are at the market before dawn to purchase the freshest fish to sell in the tianguis.

 
At some tianguis (but not all) you'll find vendors selling pork and some beef from a tiny table. The table is just big enough for a few large pieces of fresh pork ready to be cut to order, a scale, and a roll of plastic bags.  Some days they also have freshly rendered lard for sale.

The first time I shopped for meat at a tianguis, I requested a kilo (approximately two pounds) of maciza (solid boneless leg of pork) that I could use to prepare carne de puerco con chile verde.  You can also have maciza ground for albóndigas (Mexican meatballs) or to mix with ground beef for a meatloaf or Italian meatballs. While I was waiting for my maciza, I noticed a beautiful bone-in lomo (in this case, pork loin) and made a mental note to add it to my shopping list another week.


Browned cubes of pork in salsa verde (green sauce).  All of the ingredients for this dish (pork, lard, tomate verde [tomatillos], chile serrano, cilantro, and onion) came from my local tianguis.  It's ready to go into the oven.

The butcher told me that he buys only first class hogs and has them butchered at the municipal slaughterhouse. At the tianguis, he and his mother sell either lomo or maciza cut to your specifications. The price for either meat on the day that I talked with Sra. Gómez, his mother, was $60 pesos per kilo. The meat is not refrigerated at the tianguis, but it is meat-locker cold when it is placed in the cooler where it is kept until it's sold out, usually by 10 AM.

A little over a year ago I noticed that a new chicken seller had set up shop at the tianguis where I shop. When I prepared the first skinless, boneless chicken breast that I bought from Jaime Ribera, I was hooked. Brought freshly killed to the tianguis on Wednesday mornings, Mexican chicken is the freshest, pinkest, plumpest, most flavorful chicken I have eaten in my life. This chicken is immaculately clean, as is his booth.


A whole Mexican chicken.  It weighs approximately three kilos (about six and a half pounds).  This one was destined for the soup pot.

The pallid birds of the USA grow even paler in comparison to these glorious creatures. Chicken this good was not available even in the markets I frequented during two months I recently spent in France.

Fresth pata de pollo (chicken feet).

Jaime sells his chicken any way you want it, from a whole bird to just the feet. Breasts can be had with or without skin and bones. If I want the nearly paper-thin breast meat that is used here for preparing milanesa de pollo (breaded chicken), Jaime either has it ready or cuts it for me while I wait. Although the livers are mixed with hearts, I always ask him to sell me just the livers. He carefully picks the hearts out of the mix. When I buy the golden yellow feet—I use them when preparing chicken stock—he always makes sure the toenails are well-trimmed.

Part	Price In Pesos per kilo
Breast (skinless, boneless)	$120
Breast (with skin and bone)	$90
Leg (with thigh, back portion attached)	$40
Leg (with thigh, no back)	$45
Wings	$25
Whole chicken	$40
Chicken livers	$15
Chicken feet	$15

 
The vendors also sell a variety of cheeses, thick crema (Mexican table cream, similar to French creme fraiche), requesón (Mexican-style cottage cheese, similar to Italian ricotta), and corn or flour tortillas. All of the dairy products are kept fresh and cold in coolers during the selling day.

Products	Price in Pesos
Yogurt	$25/liter
Queso Panela (Mexican fresh cheese)	$35/per cheese 650-700 grams
Queso Oaxaca (Oaxaca-style cheese)	$60/kilo
Crema (Mexican thick cream)	$26/kilo
Queso Cotija (Mexican sharp cheese)	$60/kilo
Queso Asadero (Mexican melting cheese)	$25/half kilo
Requesón (Mexican cottage cheese)	$30/kilo
Flour Tortillas	$20/packet

My dairy product buying isn't confined to just one vendor. I usually purchase cheeses from another booth. Santiago and Ana Isabel Valdomillos specialize in cheeses, cream, yogurts, honey, and chicken nuggets, smoked pork chops, and other easy-to-prepare meats. You'll also see small bottles of Yakult, a drinkable live-bacteria yogurt.

I'm particularly fond of Santiago's queso cotija, a cheese named for the town in Michoacán where it originated. It's a sharp and fairly dry cheese which crumbles easily. As it ages, it becomes drier and sharper. It's delicious crumbled over refried beans and enchiladas or stirred into soups as a thickening agent.

Santiago smiled when I asked how long he had been selling at the tianguis. "Altogether, it's been more than 28 years." He gestured with his index finger held straight up near his waist to indicate the height of a small child. "I used to help my Dad when I was no taller than this." The dairy and other products are kept cold in coolers throughout the day. The products kept out for sale on the tables are also covered with cheesecloth to protect them from flies.

I think you'll be wonderfully surprised by the freshness, quality, and prices of the fish, meats, chicken, and dairy products offered for sale by these vendors. There's no reason to shop elsewhere for what you'll find--of better quality and for less money--on your regular outing to the tianguis.    

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

There's Nowhere Else Like Mexico City: Como México, No Hay Dos

Como México, no hay dos...there's nowhere else like Mexico!

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

Mexico Cooks! tacked four days in Mexico City onto the end of our February 2008 trip to Chiapas.  It was Judy's first trip to Mexico's capital city and we packed in a lot.  We'd been invited to stay at the home of a friend, and our time with her was a fast-forward speed combination of eating, yakking, and running around the city.  Boy, did we have fun!

Our first order of business was a trip to the Basílica of Our Lady of Guadalupe, the second most-visited religious shrine in the Western Hemisphere and a must in Mexico City.

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

Frida Kahlo's bedroom with her death mask.

Among our many recorridos (running around), we visited the Museo Frida Kahlo (also known as La Casa Azul), as well as the central plaza of Coyoacán.

The coyote fountain in the plaza principal of Coyoacán. The name means 'place of the coyote' and the fountain commemorates the animal.

One of the best times was a pozole outing with our newest acquaintances, Jim Johnston and Nick Gilman.  Jim is the author of Mexico City: An Opinionated Guide for the Curious Traveler; Nick wrote Good Food in Mexico City: A Guide to Food Stalls, Fondas, and Fine Dining.  

Who would know the best pozolería in Mexico City better than a passel of foodies?  Our friend drove; she's intrepid behind the wheel, even in this city of nearly 25,000,000 souls.  We voyaged north from our digs in south central Colonia Condesa, heading for Colonia Santa María La Ribera, near Alameda Norte.  Mexico Cooks! has spent a lot of time in the Distrito Federal, but this was our first time in Colonia Santa María La Ribera.  Nick assured us that we would love the pozolería.

The back of our waiter's shirt at La Casa de Toño, 'the home of eating well'.

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

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

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

Pozole con tostadas, the traditional combo.

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

Waiting for our cena (supper): Judy, Jim, Nick, and our friend.

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

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

Mexican Traditions from the Day of the Three Kings to Candelaria

Most Mexicans eat traditional rosca de reyes (Three Kings' Bread) on January 6.  Its usual accompaniment is chocolate caliente (hot chocolate) made in the traditional way--with water, not milk.

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

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

Chef Arturo Camacho Domínguez of Tampico, Tamaulipas.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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


Mexico Cooks!' Niño Dios.

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


The Niño Dios Doctor from Puebla.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Ritos del Año Nuevo: Happy New Year, Mexican Style

In Mexico and other Latin American countries, women wear yellow underwear on New Year's Eve to bring good luck and wealth in the year to come.  Red underwear indicates a New Year's wish for an exciting love interest!  Whatever the color, be sure your unmentionables for Año Nuevo are newly purchased--recycling a former year's undies won't do the trick!

Superstition or not, many here in Mexico have the custom of ritos del Año Nuevo (New Year's rituals).  Some rituals include foods, others prescribe certain clothing, and still others warrant attention for religious interest.

 
As the clock strikes midnight, it's common to eat twelve grapes--one at each ding, one at each dong of the bell.  While eating the grapes, you make a personal wish for each one you consume, welcoming the new year that's beginning.  Mexico Cooks! finds that it's helpful to write down the twelve wishes so as not to forget one or choke in the rush to swallow the grapes before the clock finishes striking the hour!

Eating a tablespoonful of cooked lentils on New Year's Eve is said to bring prosperity and fortune.  You can also give raw lentils--just a handful--to family and friends with the same wish.

On a small piece of paper, write down the undesirable habits and customs you'd like to let go of in the New Year that's just starting.  Burn the paper, then follow through with the changes!

Choose three stones that symbolize health, love, and money.  Put them in a place where you will see them every day.

Light candles: blue for peace, yellow for abundance, red for love, green for health, white for spirituality, and orange for intelligence.

Spill clean water on the sidewalk in front of your house as the clock rings in the New Year.  Your house will be purified and all tears will be washed away.

To have money for your needs all year, have some bills in your hand or in your pocket to welcome the arrival of the New Year.  Some people fold up the money and put it in their shoes!

Take your suitcase for a walk.  Legend is that the farther you walk with your suitcase, the farther you'll travel.  Several New Year's Eves ago, Mexico Cooks! and a few friends celebrated by walking our suitcases around the block, and we all traveled far and wide during the new year that followed.

Mexico Cooks! wishes all of you a muy Próspero Año Nuevo--and especially wishes that your red underwear brings you (or keeps you) the love of family, friends, and that special someone.

We'll see you in 2015!

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