Mexico Cooks!

La Feria del Chile (The Chile Fair) in Queréndaro, Michoacán

This article, originally published in September 2008, is current once again.  The Feria del Chile de Queréndaro is happening this weekend, August 9-11, 2013.  If you're in the vicinity of Queréndaro, Michoacán, by all means get there.

We fell in love with these wee ballet folklórico performers, children no more than four years old.

For the last seven years, just around the late July-early August harvest time, the town of Queréndaro, Michoacán, has celebrated the Feria del Chile (chile fair).  The center of town fills with rides for children, booths specializing in all sorts of food, games of chance, a big stage for daily ballet folklórico and nightly music, and all the usual whoopdedoo of fiesta time.  The star of the fiestas is, of course, the chile chilaca.

In Queréndaro, Michoacán, daily work is all about locally grown chiles chilaca.

About 3 thousand acres of chile chilaca are planted in the central Mexican states of Aguascalientes, Jalisco, Guanajuato, Zacatecas and Michoacán.  Many of the residents of Queréndaro, Michoacán commercially cultivate this particular chile. 

All work and no play is no good, though.  This sign on a Queréndaro grocer's door says, "Beer and wine for the road".

These chiles chilaca matured to their ripe, deep-red color before harvest.

The chile chilaca also has other names such as negro (black), prieto (dark), or, particularly here in Michoacán, chile para deshebrar (chile to tear in small strips). High quality chilaca is long, slender and undulated. Each chile can measure a foot long.  Before its fully-ripe state the chilaca is inky blue-green, with color and flavor similar to the chile poblano.  Here in Michoacán, where there are at least two names for every growing thing, the fresh chile chilaca is coloquially known as the cuernillo (little horn).  

Most of the locally grown deep-red chiles chilaca are dried in the sun.  These are spread out along a main street in Queréndaro.  The chiles are drying on petates, mats made of woven lake reed.

The chilaca turns dark reddish-brown when it's allowed to ripen on the bush.  When ripe and then dried in the Queréndaro sun, the chilaca becomes very dark red and is called chile pasilla.  If the seeds are removed from the dried chile, its name is chile capón.  Chiles capones literally means 'castrated' chiles.  This vegetable castration refers to the removal of the seeds prior to cooking.

Some chilacas are sold bottled, either en escabeche (pickled in vinegar) or as chiles capones (dried, seeded, soaked, toasted, and then cooked with onion), to be used as a botana or condimento (appetizer or condiment). 

These are chiles chilaca rellenos--chiles capones stuffed with tomates verdes (tomatillos), onion, and garlic.  The chiles in the photo, prepared for carry-out at the Alberto Gómez family booth , still needed to be topped with shredded Oaxaca cheese.

The Barajas family of Queréndaro offered this variety of freshly harvested chiles at their booth at the Feria del Chile.  Clockwise beginning with the dark green chiles at the bottom of the basket, they are:

• chiles poblano............14 pesos per kilo
• chiles güero...............14 pesos per kilo
• chiles chilaca verde......12 pesos per kilo
• chiles cola de rata........50 pesos per kilo (for dry chiles; the booth was out of fresh)
• chiles poblano rojo.......14 pesos per kilo

Mexico Cooks! bought a kilo of fresh mature (red) chiles chilaca.  We've been preparing them in various dishes.  The flavor they add is deeply sweet and deadly hot.  So far, our favorite recipe is with potatoes, onions, and flor de calabaza (squash blossoms).  Here's what to do:

Papas con Flor de Calabaza y Chile

Ingredients
3 large white potatoes, russets if you can get them
1 medium white onion
2 fresh mature chiles chilaca
1 large clove garlic
2 bunches fresh flor de calabaza (squash blossoms)
Flour
Vegetable oil or freshly rendered lard
Water
Sea salt

Utensils
Large pot
Colander
Griddle
Small plastic bag
Large plastic bag
Large sauté pan
Spatula

Procedure
Peel and cube (approximately 3/4") the potatoes.  Bring salted water to boil in a pot large enough for them.  Boil the potatoes until tender (approximately 15 minutes) and strain.  Allow the potatoes to dry for 30 minutes or more.

Wash and rough-chop the squash blossoms.  Discard their stems.

Dice the onion to approximately 1/2".  Mince the garlic.

Heat the dry griddle and roast the chiles until they are blackened.  Put them in the small plastic bag, twist it closed, and allow the chiles to "sweat" for about 10 minutes.  Peel and seed.  Slice the chiles in 1/2" rounds.

Heat the oil or lard in the sauté pan.  While it heats, put approximately 1/2 cup flour and a teaspoon of sea salt into the large plastic bag.  Add the potatoes to the bag and shake until the potatoes are dredged with flour and salt.

Sauté the onions, garlic, and chiles.  Add the potatoes and continue to sauté until the potatoes are golden brown.  Add the squash blossoms and sauté briefly--the blossoms will wilt.  Add sea salt to taste.

Serves 3 or 4 as a side dish.

¡Provecho!

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A Flaneur in Mexico City: Out and About in the Distrito Federal

Wall art stencil in the Centro Histórico. "México is no country for cowards."

Vihuela player, mariachis along the canals in Xochimilco.  One dictionary defines the vihuela as "an obsolete stringed instrument".  Tell that to Mexico's mariachis--every group has one!


Mexico City's iconic purple glory: jacaranda in full springtime bloom.


Padlocks and ribbons, prayer reminders left at the feet of San Ramón Nonato inside the Catedral Metropolitano (the Metropolitan Cathedral).  San Ramón Nonato is the patron saint of locksmiths and pregnant women.

Mango season is here, sound the trumpets!  In Mexico, this variety is known as Paraíso (Paradise).  It absolutely lives up to its name.

Painted chair, Xochimilco.

Organ grinder, San Ángel 2013. 

Piloncillo (cones of raw brown sugar), large and small, light and dark, for sale at the Mercado de Jamaica.

Concert in the rain, Coyoacán.  With Bola Suriana.

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

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

Nuestra Señora de Dolores (detail).

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.

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.

Hundreds of cofradía members marched in the still of this Good Friday night.  Foreigners, particularly those from the United States, are often shocked by the hoods, which to them are cultural reminders of the Ku Klux Klan.  In Mexico, there is no association between the two.  The procession is penitential and the hoods are a guarantee of anonymity and humility for the cofradía members.  They believe that humility and works of charity are best practiced anonymously.

Roman soldiers.

The majority of Morelia's Procesión del Silencio takes place after dark, by candlelight.  For the first time in 2009 and again in 2010, 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 five 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 Procesión del Silencio.

Candle holders are made of many materials, from crystal to styrofoam to metal.


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-seventh anniversary this year.

Robed and hooded members of another Catholic confraternity carry this image of the Cristo del Entierro (Christ of the Burial), nailed to the cross prior to his elevation.  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.

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Touring with Mexico Cooks! in 2012...and Beyond! Oh, The Places You'll Go...

A November market tour on a chilly morning  in Pátzcuaro, Michoacán: from left, Charlotte Ekland, Donna Barnett, and Mexico Cooks!.  Marvey Chapman, the other member of this tour group, took the picture.  I'm holding two Michoacán-grown chirimoyas (Annona cherimola), known in English as custard apples.

One of the great pleasures of 2012 was the number of tours Mexico Cooks! gave to lots of excited tourists.  Small, specialized tours are a joy to organize: the participants generally have common interests, a thirst for knowledge, and a hunger for--well, for Mexico Cooks!' tour specialty: food and its preparation.  Touring a food destination (a street market in Michoacán, an enclosed market in Guadalajara, a crawl through some Mexico City street stands, or a series of upscale restaurants) is about far more than a brief look at a fruit, a vegetable, or a basket of freshly made tortillas.

A Pátzcuaro street vendor holds out a partially unwrapped tamal de trigo (wheat tamal).  It's sweetened with piloncillo (Mexican raw sugar) and a few plump raisins, wrapped in corn husks, and steamed.  Taste?  It's all but identical to a bran muffin, and every tour participant enjoyed a pinch of it.

A tour planned to your specifications can lead you to places you didn't know you wanted to go, but that you would not have missed for the world.  Here, Donna talks with the man who makes these enormous adobe bricks.  He let her try to pick up the laden wheelbarrow.  She could barely get its legs off the ground!  He laughed, raised the handles, and whizzed away with his load.

Twice in 2012 small groups wanted to tour traditional bakeries in Mexico City.  The photo shows one tiny corner of the enormous Pastelería La Ideal in the Centro Histórico.  Just looking at the photo brings the sweet fragrances back to mind.

Ramon and Annabelle Canova wanted an introduction to how ordinary people live and shop in Guadalajara.  We spent a highly entertaining morning at the Tianguis del Sol, a three-times-a-week outdoor market in Zapopan, a suburb of Guadalajara.  Our first stop was for breakfast, then we shopped for unusual produce, fresh spices, and other goodies that the Canovas don't often see in their home town.  Annabelle said she felt right at home because so much of the style and flavor of this market was similar to what she experienced in the markets near her home town in the Phillipines.

We went to the original location of Guadalajara's Karne Garibaldi for comida (main meal of the day).  The restaurant does one thing--carne en su jugo (meat in its juice)--and does it exceptionally well.  The food is plentiful, delicious, and affordable.  The place is always packed, and usually has a line to get in!

Ramon wanted to try tejuino, a regional specialty in the Guadalajara area.  Mixed when you order it, the refreshing, lightly fermented drink is thickened with masa de maíz (corn dough) and served with a pinch of salt and a small scoop of lemon ice. 

Pillars of nopal cactus paddles, taller than a man, at Mercado de la Merced, Mexico City.   La Merced is the largest retail market in Mexico, if not in all of Latin America.  It's the ultimate market experience and just a partial tour takes the best part of a morning.  Comfortable walking shoes are a necessity--let's go!

A more intimate, up-close-and-personal Mexico City market tour takes us through the Mercado San Juan.  The San Juan is renowned for its gourmet selection of meats, fish and shellfish, cheeses, and wild mushrooms--among a million other things you might not expect to find.

Pepitorias are a sweet specialty of Mexico's capital city.  Crunchy and colorful obleas (wafers) enclose sticky syrup and squash seeds.  Mexico Cooks!' tour groups usually try these at the Bazar Sábado in San Ángel.

Lovely and fascinating people and events are around almost any Mexican corner.  The annual Festival Internacional de Música de Morelia opens every year with several blocks of carpets made of flowers.  Residents of Patamban, Michoacán work all night to create the carpets for the festival.  This piano is made entirely of plant material.  Enlarge any picture for a closer view.

Entire flowers, fuzzy pods, and flower petals are used to create the carpets' ephemeral beauty and design; these carpets last two days at most. 

In November 2012, one of Mexico Cooks!' tours was dazzled by a special Morelia concert given by Tania Libertad.  With Tania is Rosalba Morales Bartolo from San Jerónimo, Michoacán, who presented the artist with various handcrafted items from the state.

No matter where we start our tour and no matter what we plan together for your itinerary, a Mexico Cooks! tour always includes a terrific surprise or two, special memories to take home, and the thirst for more of Mexico.  Marvey Chapman had a wonderful time!  By all means come and enjoy a tour!

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Pastorela in Cuitzeo: Devil Take the Hindmost

This article, originally published at Christmastime 2007, has been extremely popular every Christmas since then.  We think you will enjoy this slightly updated version...

A Seattle Christmas pageant, circa 1953.  Thanks, Sandy in Seattle!

My school put on a Christmas pageant when I was in the third grade, back in the days before the law specified generic holiday greetings.  Remember how Joey and Jimmy, Ralphie and Bobby, were the shepherds in their father's striped terrycloth bathrobes, the sashes tied three or four times around their waists?  Chuck got to be Joseph and that prissy little Amy got to dress in blue and white as the Virgin Mary when everybody KNEW it should have been you up there nuzzling the Baby Jesus.  Here's a sweet little reminder:  

A 19th Century pastorela photograph showing Bartolo, the indolent shepherd who overslept and missed his chance to go to Bethlehem to see the Niño Dios.

In Mexico, a Christmas pageant, like almost everything, is different from Christmas plays North of the Border.  Called a pastorela, the Mexican Christmas play is part very naughty topical comedy, part traditional drama, part Sunday school lesson, and 100% morality play.  Pastorela means pastoral, or a play that takes place in the countryside, and concerns the activities of pastores, or shepherds. First introduced to Mexico by Franciscan missionaries in the 1500's, pastorelas continued to grow in favor here.  Today the plays are one of the most popular Christmastime entertainments.  The theme portrays the eternal conflict between good and evil. The plot revolves around the pilgrimage of the shepherds to Bethlehem to see the newborn Niño Dios (Christ Child).

The devil is not ordinarily associated with Christmas. In Mexico, however, Satanás plays a very solid role in the holiday festivities. He is actually the star!  Lucifer works all his worst wiles to detour the shepherds away from their destination.  Costumed as various alluring personages, Satan and his associate devils do their best to trick the shepherds into abandoning their journey to redemption.  At the end, Satan is trumped, good triumphs, the shepherds meet the Holy Family, and all is well.

Mexico Cooks! recently spent a week or so looking for a pastorela to be presented at a time we could attend.  Last week, Judy noticed an article in the newspaper about a pastorela that was being offered that very night in Cuitzeo, a small town about an hour north of Morelia.  The title of the play (El Ermitaño.com: The Hermit.com) was intriguing, the photo of the performers in costume looked exciting, and the timing was right.  We called our friend Bunny, who jumped at the chance to accompany us to the evening performance, and we were off to Cuitzeo.

Cuitzeo reached the status of Mexican Pueblo Mágico, the third in Michoacán, in 2006.   The requirements for the Pueblo Mágico designation are:

• a town or city rich in tradition
• located in an area of high interest to tourists
• that it have a strong history
• that it have ready access from major highways

You'll see in this video that Cuitzeo easily meets Pueblo Mágico criteria.

Our pastorela took place outside, on the grounds of the Ex-Convento de Santa María Magdalena, a 16th Century Augustinian convent.  Judy, Bunny, and I stopped first in the church to see the Christmas decorations.

Cuitzeo's 17th Century Virgin Mary wears a charming straw sombrero, carries a lace-trimmed basket, and rides a donkey as she and Joseph travel to Bethlehem.

The presentation of El Ermitaño.com was sponsored by Adopt a Work of Art, the Michoacán Secretary of Tourism, the Cuitzeo city government, the National Institute of Anthropology and History, and the newspaper La Voz de Michoacán.  We discovered that this pastorela was not a simple country town's Christmas caprice.  It is a sophisticated, professional play of great good humor.

According to Miguel Sabido, the creator of El Hermitaño.com, "The culture which distinguishes Mexico is both vast and rich, but it's composed of more than our country's admirable buildings.  Mexico has its greatest patrimony in its popular rituals, and its recipes like the pinole cookies that are only made here in this region, and the pastorelas.  These are Mexico's legacies and we must make a commitment to spread her traditions."

The pastorela characters mounted the stage dancing, singing, and rejoicing.

Adam and Eve were the first to take the devil's bait: Adam bit the apple and all hell broke loose.

Still singing, the shepherds, in typical indigenous Purhépecha dress, started their trip to Bethlehem.

El ermitaño (the hermit), portrayed as a post-elderly (think 200 years old) fellow, leads the shepherds (in this case, indigenous Purépecha from Michoacán) on the long trip to Bethlehem.  The Archangel Michael warns them that they'll see the devil in the disguise of famous and fascinating people.  When Satan begins to tempt the simple shepherds, they easily fall into his traps.

El ermitaño (the hermit) co-starred with Satan.

Famously rival Mexican soccer teams, a drunken debauch complete with Caribbean dancers in flounced skirts and turbans, and an angelic choir are all devils in disguise.  In every encounter, Archangel Michael has to intervene to prod the shepherds on their way.  Topical jokes ran wild, references to the famous and the infamous flew, and we loved it all.

Finally, Bethlehem!  The Virgin Mary holds the Niño Dios as St. Joseph and the shepherds look on.

The pastorela story was typically good conquers evil, but what a production!  Acted, danced, and sung by professionals, the morality play kept the crowd (packed into bleachers on two sides of the open stage) laughing, clapping, booing and hissing, and singing along with Mexico's treasured and iconic villancicos (Christmas carols). 

Listen to this lovely version of Los Peces en el Río.  Can you hear the lyric 'la Virgen lava pañales'?  It means 'the Virgin is washing diapers'!

Mexico Cooks! wishes everyone a very joyous New Year, filled with good health, great happiness, and many delights.

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

Fiestas Patrias Mexicanas: Celebrating Mexican Independence Day

Street vendors hawk la bandera nacional (the Mexican flag) in dozens of forms for several weeks during August and right up to September 16, Mexico's Independence Day.

September 16 is Independence Day in Mexico.  Mexico's struggle for freedom from Spanish colonization began sometime between midnight and dawn on September 16, 1810, when Father Miguel Hidalgo gave the Grito de Dolores (Cry of Dolores) from the parish bell tower in the town known today as Dolores Hidalgo, Guanajuato.  Mexico celebrates its Fiestas Patrias (Patriotic Holidays) on September 16 with parades of school children and military batallions, politicians proclaiming speeches, and general festivity. 

Hundreds of books have been written about Mexico's break from Spain, millions of words have been dedicated to exploring the lives of the daring men and women who knew, a bit more than 200 years ago, that the time had come for freedom.  You can read some of the history on the Internet.  Another excellent source for Mexican history is The Life and Times of Mexico, by Earl Shorris.  You'll find that book available on the left-hand side of this page.

But the best-kept secret in Mexico is the Independence Day party.  No, the big deal is not on September 16th.  Held every year on the night of September 15, the Gran Noche Mexicana (the Great Mexican Night), the real celebration of the revolutionary events in 1810, is a combination of New Year's Eve, your birthday, and your country's independence festivities.  Wouldn't you really rather hear about the party?

Jalisco town kiosko (bandstand) decorated for the Fiestas Patrias.

For years I've attended the September 15 celebrations in a variety of towns and cities.  In Mexico City, the country's president leads hundreds of thousands of citizens in late-night celebrations in the zócalo, the enormous square surrounded by government buildings and the Metropolitan Cathedral.  Every Mexican town big enough to have a mayor holds a reenactment of the Grito de Dolores, Hidalgo's cry for independence.  The town square is decorated with flags, bunting, and ribbons.  Cohetes (sky rockets) flare and bang.  Sometime around eleven o'clock at night, the folks, assembled in the town plaza since nine or so, are restless for the celebration to begin.  The mayor's secretary peeks out from the doorway of the government offices, the folkloric dancers file off the stage in the plaza, the band tunes up for the Himno Nacional (the national anthem), the crowd waves its flags and hushes its jostling.  The mayor steps out onto the balcony of the government building or onto the stage built just outside the building's front door to sing the emotional verses. 

Dressed in his finest and backed up by a military or police guard, the mayor clears his throat and loudly begins an Independence Day proclamation.  He pulls a heavy rope to ring the Independence bell, then he waves a huge Mexican flag.  Back and forth, back and forth!  In every Mexican town, the proclamation ends with Hidalgo's 202-year-old exhortations: "Long live religion!  Long live Our Lady of Guadalupe! Long live the Americas and death to the corrupt government!"

Father Hidalgo's 1810 banner.  He carried this banner as his standard as a leader in the fight for Mexico's independence from Spain.

The mayor and the crowd shout as one voice: "Viva México!  Qué viva!  Qué viva!"  The mayor grins and waves as the fireworks begin, bursting huge green, white, and red chrysanthemums over the heads of the attendees.

Later there will be dancing and more music, pozole, tostadas, mezcal, tequila and beer, and, in larger towns and cities, all-night revelry in the plaza, in private homes, and in hotels, restaurants, and events halls.

About five years ago my friend, música ranchera singer Lupita Jiménez from Guadalajara, invited me to a Gran Noche Mexicana where she was performing.  The event was scheduled to start at 9.30, but Mexican custom normally dictates late arrival.  By ten o'clock I was on my way to the party.  At the salón de eventos (events hall) the parking lot was already full, but a man was parking cars on the street just a block away.  As I left my car, he said, "Could you pay me now for watching your car?  It's 20 pesos.  I'll be leaving a little early, probably before the event is over." 

"How long will you be here?" I asked, a bit anxious about leaving the car alone on this night of prodigious revelry.

Lupita Jiménez in performance at a Gran Noche Mexicana in Guadalajara.

"Till six."  My jaw dropped and I handed him the 20 pesos.  Six in the morning!  Surely we wouldn't party quite so long as that! 

The sad truth is that I didn't.  I couldn't.  My stamina flagged at about 3:00 AM, after dinner had been served at 10:30, a city politician had proclaimed the Grito, the Himno Nacional had been sung, and fireworks (I swear to you) had been set off on the indoor stage of the salón de eventos (events hall).  Then the show started, a brief recapitulation in dance of Mexican history starting with concheros (loincloth-clad Aztec dancers) whirling around a belching volcano, and ending with the glorious jarabe tapatía--the Guadalajara regional dance that English-speakers know as the Mexican hat dance.

After innumerable trios, duets, and solo singers, the show paused for intermission at close to two in the morning.  Several of my table-mates slipped away, but I thought I could make it to the end.  The first half of the Gran Noche Mexicana had been invigorating and exciting and I loved it.  During intermission, a wonderful Mexican comedian poked fun at politics, functionaries, and Mexican life in general.  We were all roaring with laughter.  When the comic left the stage, I realized that I was exhausted and needed to go home to bed.  Just as the performers stepped onto the stage to begin the next round of song, I sneaked away. 

When I called Lupita the next afternoon to congratulate her on the success of the event, she asked if I'd stayed for the last few costume changes.  "Mija, I had to go home early.  I lasted till three, but then I just couldn't stay awake.  I'm so sorry I missed the end." 

Lupita laughed.  "I'm glad you lasted that long, but next time you have to stay for the whole night!  You missed the best part!"

The Zócalo (main city plaza) in Mexico City, dressed up for the Fiestas Patrias.

Viva México!  Qué viva!

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And the Band Played On...Mexico and Its Music

Trio Los Panchos, from the 1950s.  They're still playing today (with new members, some related to members of the original trio) and everyone of every age in Mexico knows all the words to all the songs they've sung since their beginning.  You can hear them here:  

A few nights ago some friends and I were having dinner at a local restaurant. A wonderful trio (lead guitar, second guitar, and bass) played a broad selection of Mexico's favorite tunes while we enjoyed our food and conversation. From the table behind us, a woman's voice rang out in English, "Boy, these mariachis are really good."

Her comment, one I've heard over and over again, made me think about the many varieties of Mexican music. Not all Mexican music is mariachi, although many people assume that it is.

It's just as incorrect to classify all Mexican music as mariachi as it is to classify all music from the United States as jazz. Mariachi has its traditions, its place, and its beauties, but there are many other styles of Mexican music to enjoy.

Ranchera, norteña, trio, bolero, banda, huasteco, huapango, trova, danzón, vals, cumbia, jarocho, salsa, son--€”the list could go on and on. While many styles of music are featured in specific areas, others, like norteña, banda, ranchera, and bolero, are heard everywhere in Mexico. Let's take a look at just a few of the most popular styles of music heard in present-day Mexico.

Norteña
Música norteña (northern music) will set your feet a-tapping and will remind you of a jolly polka. Norteña had its beginnings along the Texas-Mexico border. It owes its unique quality to the instrument at its heart, the accordion. The accordion was introduced into either far southeastern Texas or the far north of Mexico by immigrants from Germany, Czechoslovakia, or Poland. No one knows for sure who brought the accordion, but by the 1950s this rollicking music had become one of the far and away favorite music styles of Mexico.

A norteña group of musicians playing a set of trap drums, a stand-up bass, and the accordion produces an instantly recognizable and completely infectious sound. The songs have a clean, spare accordion treble and a staccato effect from the drum, while the bass pounds out the deep bottom line of the music.

Norteña is popular everywhere in Mexico. In many cities and towns, conjuntos norteños (bands) often play as itinerant musicians. These are the musicians who are often hired to play serenades in the wee hours of Mother's Day morning, who play under the window of a romantic young man's girl friend while she peeps from behind the curtain, and who wander through restaurantes campestres (country-style restaurants) all over Mexico to play a song or two for hire at your table.

The undisputed king of música norteña is Ramón Ayala. Over the past 30 years he has recorded an amazing 75 albums. His current group, Los Bravos del Norte, is heard everywhere, €”on every radio station and every jukebox. The group is widely imitated but never superseded. Ayala turns out well-crafted and balanced music, featuring lyrics with universally understood human themes. The songs, like the majority of norteñas, are about tragedy, loneliness, broken relationships, almost unbearable longing and pain, and about experiencing love in all its complicated nuances.  You can listen here to Ramón Ayala y Sus Bravos del Norte:

 

Banda de Viento and Banda
Banda de viento and banda are similar musical styles: both have a military legacy. Each has moved in its own direction to provide different types of entertainment.

In Zacatecas, the state banda de viento plays concerts day and night.

Banda de viento (wind band, or brass band) originated in Mexico in the middle 1800s during the reign of Emperor Maximilian and Empress Carlota. Later, Presidents Benito Juárez and Porfirio Dí­az commissioned the creation of brass bands in their home state, Oaxaca, in imitation of the brass bands that entertained at the Emperor's court.

The huge upsurge of popularity of brass bands in Mexico came in the early 20th Century. After the Mexican revolution, local authorities formed "Sunday bands" made up of military musicians who played in municipalities' plaza bandstands all over Mexico.

The Banda del Estado de Zacatecas (Zacatecas State Band) plays: Marcha de Zacatecas (Zacatecas March)

There are regional differences in banda de viento style, but you can still take a Sunday stroll around many rural Mexican plazas as the tuba oompahs the bass part, the trumpets blare, squeaky clarinets take the lead, and the tamborazo (percussion) keeps the beat. The Sunday municipal band concert no longer exists in some large cities (although you can hear weekly concerts in both Guadalajara and Zapopan), but something new has taken its place: banda.

Banda music, which exploded onto the Mexican music scene in the 1990s, is a direct outgrowth of the municipal bands of Mexico. Banda is one of the most popular styles of dance music among Mexican young people. In small towns, we're often treated to a banda group playing for a weekend dance on the plaza or at a salón de eventos (events pavilion) in the center of the village. The music is inevitably loud, with a strong bass beat. You'll hear any number of rhythms, from traditional to those taken from foreign music. It's almost rock and roll. It's almost--€”well, it's almost a lot of styles, but it's pure banda.

Few expatriates go to these dances and that's a shame, because it's great fun to go and watch the kids dance. You might want to take earplugs; the banks of speakers can be enormous and powerful.

The dancing will amaze you. Children, teenagers, and adults of all ages dance in styles ranging from old fuddy-duddy to la quebradita. La quebradita is a semi-scandalous style of dance which involves the man wrapping his arms completely around the woman while he puts his right leg between her two as they alternate feet and twirl around the dance floor. Complete with lots of dipping and other strenuous moves, la quebradita is a dance that's at once athletic and extremely sexual.

Bolero
In the United States and Canada, it's very common for those of us who are older to swoon over what we know as the 'standards'. Deep Purple, Red Sails in the Sunset, Smoke Gets in Your Eyes, and almost anything by Ol' Blue Eyes can take us right back to our youthful romances. Most of us can dance and sing along with every note and word.

Here in Mexico, it's the same for folks of every age. The romantic songs from the 1940s, 50s, and 60s are known as boleros. The theme of the bolero is love--€”happy love, unhappy love, unrequited love, indifference, €”but always love. I think just about everyone has heard the classic Bésame Mucho, a bolero written by Guadalajara native Consuelo Velásquez. This timeless favorite has been recorded by Frank Sinatra, Nat King Cole, and The Beatles, among countless other interpreters of romance.

Here's Luis Miguel, one of Mexico's modern interpreters of bolero, singing Sabor a Mi:  Luis Miguel 

Armando Manzanero, born in 1935 in Mérida, Mexico, is one of the most famous writers of bolero. His more than 400 songs have been translated into numerous languages. More than 50 of his songs have gained international recognition. Remember Perry Como singing It's Impossible? The original song €”by Armando Manzanero €”is called Somos Novios.

Crowds memorialize Pedro Infante, one of Mexico's greatest stars.

Agustí­n Lara was another of Mexico's prolific songwriters. Before Lara died in 1973, he wrote more than 700 romantic songs. Some of those were translated into English and sung by North of the Border favorites Bing Crosby, Frank Sinatra, and yes, even Elvis Presley. The most famous of his songs to be translated into English included You Belong to My Heart (originally Solamente Una Vez), Be Mine Tonight (originally Noche de Ronda), and The Nearness of You.

Ranchera
The dramatic ranchera (country music), which emerged during the Mexican Revolution, is considered by many to be the country's quintessential popular music genre. Sung to different beats, including the waltz and the bolero, its lyrics traditionally celebrate rural life, talk about unrequited love and tell of the struggles of Mexico's Everyman.

Ana Gabriel is today's reigning queen of música ranchera.  Listen to her sing one of her all-time great songs, Te Amo:

 

Ranchera finds its inspiration in the traditional music that accompanies folkloric dancing in Mexico. Its form is romantic and its lyrics almost always tell a story, the kind of story we're used to in old-time country music in the United States: she stole my heart, she stole my truck, I wish I'd never met her, but I sure do love that gal. Pedro Infante, Mexico's most prolific male film star, is strongly associated with the ranchera style of Mexican music. One of the original singing cowboys, Infante's films continue to be re-issued both on tape and on DVD and his popularity in Mexico is as strong as it was in his heyday, the 1940s. Infante, who died in an airplane accident in 1957 when he was not quite forty, continues to be revered and is an enormous influence on Mexican popular culture.

Ranchera continues to be an overwhelmingly emotional favorite today; at any concert, most fans are able to sing along with every song. This marvelous music is truly the representation of the soul of Mexico, the symbol of a nation.

Ana Gabriel is the queen, but Vicente Fernández is the king of ranchera. Listen to him sing Volver, one of his classics. 

 

Vicente Fernández, whose ranch, huge restaurant, and large charro-goods store are located between the Guadalajara airport and Lake Chapala, is the current reigning king of ranchera--€”indeed, he is considered to be the King of Mexico.

Mariachi
Mariachi really is the music that most folks think of when they think of Mexico's music. Mariachi originated here, it's most famous here, and it's most loved here. The love of mariachi has spread all over the world as non-Mexicans hear its joyous (and sometimes tragic) sounds. At this year's Encuentro Internacional del Mariachi (International Mariachi Festival) in Guadalajara, mariachis from France, Czechoslovakia, Canada, Switzerland and the United States (among others) played along with their Mexican counterparts.

In the complete mariachi group today there are six to eight violins, two or three trumpets and a guitar, all standard European instruments. There is also a higher-pitched, round-backed guitar called the vihuela, which, when strummed in the traditional manner gives the mariachi its typical rhythmic vitality. You'll also see a deep-voiced guitar called the guitarrón which serves as the bass of the ensemble. Sometimes you'll see a Mexican folk harp, which usually doubles the base line but also ornaments the melody. While these three instruments have European origins, in their present form they are strictly Mexican.

Mariachi Vargas de Tecalitlán is the most famous mariachi in the world.  Every year in Guadalajara they honor the city with their presence at the Encuentro Internacional de Mariachi.  If you'll be in Guadalajara between late August and early September, plan to attend one of the nightly Galas de Mariachi at the Teatro Degollado.  It's an unforgettable experience.  

The combined sound of these instruments makes the music unique. Like the serape (a type of long, brightly striped shawl worn mainly by Mexican men) in which widely contrasting colors are woven side by side--€”green and orange, red, yellow and blue--the mariachi use sharply contrasting sounds: the sweet sounds of the violins against the brilliance of the trumpets, and the deep sound of the guitarrón against the crisp, high voice of the vihuela; and the frequent shifting between syncopation and on-beat rhythm. The resulting sound is the heart and soul of Mexico.

Next time you go to your local music store, look on the racks of CDs for some of the artists and styles of Mexican music I've mentioned. You may be quite surprised to see how popular the different styles are in the United States and Canada. As the population of countries North of the Border becomes more Mexican, the many sounds of Mexican music follow the fans. Next thing you know, you'll be dancing la quebradita.    

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Crafts, Food and Mayan Culture in Zinacantán, Chiapas: Part Two

If you have not yet read Part One of Mexico Cooks! visit to San Lorenzo Zinacantán, Chiapas, please see the article dated June 23, 2012.  This three-part series was originally published during March 2008.

One of several Centros de Artesanía (craft stores) in the town of San Lorenzo Zinacantán, Chiapas.

As we drove into Zinacantán, we noticed many large invernaderos (greenhouses) here and there on the mountain slopes.  In addition to the work of artesanía (arts and crafts), there is a large flower-growing industry in the town.  Roses, daisies, chrysanthemums and other flowers grow profusely in the greenhouses that dot the hillsides around this tiny town in a valley.  The flowers are produced for use in the town as well as for export.

When Mexico Cooks! arrived in the town center, the parish church bells were ringing over and over again--Clang! Ca-CLANG! Clang! Clang!  Ca-clang!--in a pattern that was neither the usual call to Mass nor the clamor (the mournful ring that indicates a parishioner has died). Although the Centros de Artesanía (crafts centers) beckoned and we had really come to shop, we decided to answer the call of the bells and visit the church first.  Many villagers crowded the entryway, watching one of the most beautiful processions I've seen in Mexico.  No photographs are permitted in either the church atrium or the church itself, and I wished so deeply that I had the talent to draw what we were watching.

Young men wearing white cotton shorts embroidered along the hems, thickly furry woven wool cotones, beribboned pañuelos and straw hats processed from a shadowy side chapel carrying huge wicker baskets filled to overflowing with every color rose petal.  The procession came slowly, these young zinacantecos scattering thousands and thousands of petals throughout the candlelit main part of the church.  The wooden floor disappeared under a pink, yellow, red, and white carpet.  Other men wearing ritual black or white woolen cotones followed, stepping reverently on the rose petals, releasing their scent into the air along with the scent of copal burning in the clay incensarios (incense burners) they waved high above their heads. 

Then followed twelve highly honored town elders dressed in even more elaborate ritual clothing bearing three life-size statues on their shoulders.  The statues, each dressed in the finest ropa típica zinacanteca, represented the Virgin Mary, Jesus, and San Lorenzo, the patron of Zinacantán.  The tremendous statues processed, crowned with gold and surrounded by candles and artfully arranged flowers of every description.  The three saints gently tipped this way and that on the shoulders of their bearers as they moved through the nave of the church. 

The first young men of the procession rained thousands more rose petals on the statues as they wended their way slowly through the small church and back into the half-light of the side chapel, where the saints were situated in places of honor in front of the communion rail and altar.

This image, taken inside Templo Santo Domingo in San Cristóbal de las Casas, Chiapas, shows candles similar to those lit before the saints in Templo San Lorenzo, Zinacantán.

Beneath swooping banners, strings of brightly colored metal ornaments, and tired-out balloons from prior fiestas, church elders lit hundreds of candles to honor the three saints.   Men clad in garments resembling ribbon-festooned woolly black or white sheep hurried back and forth placing candles in large stands, stopping to kneel and pray aloud in Tzotzil.  Meantime, women elders clad in brilliant blue and teal embroidered chales (shawls) crouched on the church floor.  Ritual white cotton rebozos covered their heads and faces, leaving only their black eyes visible, watching the men.  The men lit candles and more candles.  Young boys left greenery around the statues.  In the dimness, a solemn father pinched his laughing son's ear to remind him to respect the ceremony and the saints.

When we could tell that the ceremony was drawing to a close, I asked one of the elders to tell me its significance.  "This is the first Friday of Lent," he replied.  "We'll have this procession the first Friday of every month from now until All Saints Day in November."  He smiled, bowed briefly, and moved away from me.  My partner and I walked slowly out of the church and back into the brilliant Zinacantán afternoon light.  We felt that we had been centuries and huge distances away from this millennium.  And of course, after that much mystical time and space travel, we were starving.  Lunch!  Where would we have lunch?

View of Zinacantán from the floor of the valley, 8500 feet above sea level.

Next week, read Part Three as Mexico Cooks! continues its visit to San Lorenzo Zinacantán, Chiapas.

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Mexico Cooks! is traveling.  We'll be back to our regularly scheduled programming in mid-July.

TANIA LIBERTAD: 50 Years of Music, A Singular Voice for Peace

Close to ten years ago, I first heard a live concert by Tania Libertad.  She sang as one of the invitados de honor (honored guests) at the Encuentro Internacional de Mariachi (International Mariachi Festival) in Guadalajara.  To say she knocked my socks off is an understatement.  Unless noted, all photos are copyright Mexico Cooks!.

Less than two years after performing as one of the Mariachi Festival's guests of honor, Tania Libertad returned to Guadalajara for a solo concert in the Plaza de los Fundadores (Founders' Square).  My neighbor and I attended that concert and were privileged to meet the artist.  Soon thereafter, Tania invited me to her home in Mexico City for a private conversation. That conversation, published here on September 1, 2007, has been quoted repeatedly in articles by others as source material regarding her long and brilliant career.

Fast forward a few years: in February 2012, Tania Libertad celebrated her 50th anniversary as a professional singer.  Seeing her ageless beauty and hearing her magnificent voice, it is frankly impossible to believe that she has been performing professionally since age nine, when she first made recordings in her native Perú. 

Tania has sung and been celebrated throughout Europe, parts of Africa, and Oceanía.  Of course she has given frequent concerts all over the Americas.  She has recorded 38 CDs, with sales totalling well into the millions of copies.  Today, she is one of the most widely recognized Latin American singers and arguably the most notable singer of what many people call World Music.

Passion and commitment for the values of love of life and the human rights struggle have marked Tania's career from the beginning.  In 1997, UNESCO honored her lifelong work by naming her an Artist for Peace.  In addition, she has been decorated by the governments of Argentina, Brazil, and Spain, as well as having been the recipient of numerous awards and decorations from both her native Perú and her adopted Mexico.  In 2009, she received a special Grammy award for lifetime musical excellence.

Mexico City's Palacio de Bellas Artes (Fine Arts Palace).  Photo courtesy Luis Osorio.  In February 2012, in celebration of her 50th professional anniversary, Tania sang two successive nights of sold-out three-hour concerts in the auditorium of this magnificent building.  Mexico Cooks! was there with a group of friends on the first night, seated second row center.

Tania sang more than 35 songs during the concert we heard, accompanied by her incredibly talented 10-member band of musicians as well as by the Mexico City Orquesta Stravaganza.  Among the passionate songs she chose to present was La Paloma (The Dove) by Rafael Alberti.  When Nobel laureate José Saramago heard her sing this song for the first time, he wrote, in part, "...cada nota acariciaba una cuerda de mi sensibilidad hasta el desalumbramiento..." ('each note caressed a chord in my feelings until I was completely dazzled...')

One of the evening's surprises (although Tania had whispered that he might sing with her) was an appearance by Armando Manzanero, one of Mexico's most prolific and treasured song writers.  He and Tania are old friends and have often sung publicly and recorded together.  They brought the house down as they sang three songs during this concert.

During his long career, Manzanero has written more than 400 songs, including many which are considered to be standards in Mexico's romantic genre.  His most famous songs include Voy a apagar la luz (I'm Going to Turn Off the Lights), Contigo Aprendí ( With you I Learned... ), Adoro (I Adore), No sé tú (I don't know about you...), Por Debajo de la Mesa (Under the Table), Esta Tarde Vi Llover (This Afternoon I Saw It Rain), Somos Novios (English version "It's Impossible"), Felicidad (Happiness) and Como Han Pasado los Años (How the Years Have Passed By).

Listen to Tania Libertad and Armando Manzanero singing a duet of Como Han Pasado los Años, recorded on the DVD titled Manzanero y La Libertad. 

The elegantly dressed crowd gathered and we began to settle into our seats.  We all watched the famous curtain at the Palacio de Bellas Artes, waiting for it to be raised for the start of the concert.

The early 20th century Louis Comfort Tiffany stained glass curtain in the Palacio de Bellas Artes depicts (left) Iztaccíhuatl (the Sleeping Woman), Mexico's third-highest mountain at 17,126 feet; (center) the valley of Mexico, and (right) Popocatépetl, Mexico's second-largest mountain at 17,802 feet and the country's largest active volcano.  The curtain, from designs by Mexican artist Gerardo Murillo (better known as Dr. Atl), is made of nearly one million pieces of stained glass.  It weighs 24 tons and is the only one of its kind in the world.

Detail of the poppies at the lower right corner of the Tiffany curtain.

The pre-concert anticipation in the auditorium for the first night, which sold out several weeks in advance of its date, was a whirling buzz of whispers, eddies of perfume, and flourishes of fancy dress and furs.  Mexico Cooks! had heard that Mexico's president, Felipe Calderón and his wife, Margarita Zavala, would attend and sure enough, shortly before the curtain went up they helicoptered into the theater atrium and were seated without fanfare in the presidential box.  From the next box, Nobel laureate Gabriel García Márquez (One Hundred Years of Solitude, Love in the Time of Cholera) leaned over to chat briefly with the president.  Carlos Slim, businessman extraordinaire (yes, he's the wealthiest man in the world) was present, too, along with a number of Mexico's notable stars, including Silvia Pinal.  Consuelo Sáizar, the president of CONACULTA, the Mexican government's arts council, also attended.

During the concert, Tania sang some of the most important songs she has interpreted.  She sings to touch the heart, to touch the mind, and to touch the soul.  She sings to advance the fight for human rights, both here at home and around the world.  And, after acknowledging the presence of Mexico's president, she sang two of her strongest songs: La Maza (The Mallet), by Cuban trova writer and singer Silvio Rodríguez, which speaks of beauty, hope, song, and the battle for human rights; and D.L.G., by the Argentine artist Fito Páez, which speaks of love, prophecy, change, and apocalypse.

About 40 years ago, Tania began singing Alfonsina y el Mar, which she continues to sing at the close of each of her performances.  She closed her anniversary concert with the song, sung a cappella as always in her crystal-clear voice.  The audience, raptly attentive and steeped in emotion, barely breathed as she sang.

After the concert, Tania greeted Judy and me backstage.  We congratulated her and chatted for a few minutes.  Photo courtesy Celia Marín.

Felicidades en tu aniversario, querida amiga Tania--enhorabuena! (Congratulations on your anniversary, dear friend Tania--all best wishes!)

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Mexico Cooks! Turns Five: Thanks to You, We're Celebrating Our Fifth Anniversary

This is the very first photo published by Mexico Cooks! on February 2, 2007: multicolor sonajas (rattles) for sale at a Michoacán artisans' fair.  Wouldn't you love to work a jigsaw puzzle made from this picture?

The first week of February 2012, Mexico Cooks! joyfully celebrated its fifth birthday.  In March, 2007, only weeks after our first publication, one of our articles was titled, 'From That Little Beginning', quoting the owner of the original producer of Salsa Cholula in speaking of his own business.  Today, we echo his thoughts: who would have thought that after Mexico Cooks!' initial article on Candlemas Day 2007--that 'little beginning' article read out of the goodness of their hearts by an audience of 2 or 3 friends--that our current readership would number nearly one million faithful followers?  Who would have thought that the London Times would name Mexico Cooks! the number one food blog in the world?  And who would have thought that at ten o'clock every Saturday morning for five years, a new Mexico Cooks! article would be ready for you to read?  Trust me, not us!

In February and March 2008, Mexico Cooks! published several articles about our travels to the southern Mexican state of Chiapas.  Many of our readers asked if this photo, taken at the San Cristóbal de las Casas indigenous market, were for sale or if it would be part of a calendar. 

September 2009 featured Ana Pellicer and James Metcalf, internationally-known copper artists from Santa Clara del Cobre, Michoacán.  This large and utilitarian French-style tinned copper pot with hand-forged iron handle, although not representative of the artists' fine sculptural works, is part of a popular baterie de cuisine--a set of kitchen pots designed and sold by the couple.  Mexico Cooks! featured Ana Pellicer again in November 2010 when she received the illustrious Michoacán Premio Estatal de las Artes Eréndira (Eréndira State Arts Prize of Michoacán).  She is the first woman ever to receive the award.

Tortita de calabacita (little squash fritter) from the sorely missed Restaurante Los Comensales in Morelia, Michoacán.  Mexico Cooks! featured the restaurant (the name means 'The Diners') in October 2009.  Less than a year from the date of our interview with her, Señora Catalina Aguirre Camacho, the owner of Los Comensales since 1980, became too elderly and incapacitated to continue to operate her wonderful restaurant.

And of course there was always food at Mexico Cooks!: recipes, history, and mouth-watering photographs have filled our pages since the beginning.  If these few memorable articles leave you hungry for more, our archives contain nearly 300 articles, each with six--or eight--or ten--or more photos. In January 2009, we featured the first retrospective of the prior year's highlights of some of your favorite articles about Mexican food. 

Over the last five years, we have frequently featured Mexican ingredients and how to use them in your home kitchen.  Some of the most popular articles showcased fresh and dried chiles, and some of Mexico's exotic fruits.  This fruit, the wild ilama (Annona diversifolia) from Michoacán's Tierra Caliente (hot lands), is all but unknown outside its home territory.  Its skin color is ashy green with tinges of pink on the outside.  The flesh is rosy pink; the flavor is a little like a cross between a peach and a pineapple.

If you had to guess, which of Mexico Cooks!' nearly 300 articles do you think would be the most searched for on Google?  Think of the ultimate comfort food.  Yes: it's caldo de pollo, Mexican-style chicken soup.  The article is so popular that once a year, we publish it again!

Another enormously popular article features the preparation of Mexico Cooks!-style frijolitos refritos (refried beans).  Prepare them this way once and you may never eat them any other way.

It's almost always a party here at Mexico Cooks!, and you are always invited.  Join us at ten o'clock every Saturday morning.  Look at the right-hand side of the page to click on "Subscribe to this blog's feed' and receive each new week's Mexico Cooks! article and photos via email.

And what might be Mexico Cooks!' favorite part of this five-year-long party?  It's not the food, nor the travels, nor the fascinating cultural insights to this marvelous country that I can share with you, the country for which I fell hook, line, and sinker in 1981.  Nope.  The best part of all is you. 

Mexico Cooks! met a number of fellow food writers in Mexico City in 2010.  What did we do?  Oh please!  We met for lunch, of course.

Many of you have written to me to talk about your joy at discovering Mexico's traditions, including its traditional foods.  Many of you have written to me for advice about travel, restaurants, and the use of various Mexican ingredients.  Many of you have written to me, like this person, to share a memory: "Thanks. I cried and remember my family.  They always ate corundas with pork and chile.  It has been many, many years since I visited my family's town in Mexico.  Your articles always take me home to my beloved Mexico."  Be assured that knowing that you are there--wherever you are in the world--you are the reason that Mexico Cooks! continues.  Thank you for five years of support, trust, and confidence.

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