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Posts Tagged ‘tejate’

Missing July 2019

Posted in Beverages, Celebrations, Creativity, Culture, Travel & Tourism, tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , on July 27, 2020| 9 Comments »

July 2020, living in the time of Covid-19, is almost in the rear view mirror. Oh, how I have been missing July 2019!

July 9, 2019 – Teotitlán de Valle, Patronal festival in honor of La Preciosa Sangre de Cristo.

July 10, 2019 – Teotitlán del Valle, Grupo de la Danza de la Pluma 2019-2021 dancing in honor of La Preciosa Sangre de Cristo.

July 12, 2019 – Teotitlán del Valle, Convite inviting everyone to the fiesta celebrating La Preciosa Sangre de Cristo.

July 13, 2019 – Teotitlán del Valle, Grupo de la Danza de la Pluma 2019-2021 dancing in honor of La Preciosa Sangre de Cristo.

July 14, 2019 – Tlacolula de Matamoros Sunday market, Kalisa Wells at the stall of doll maker, Armando Sosa.

July 16, 2019 – Santa Catarina Minas at the mezcal palenque of Félix Ángeles Arellanes, Mezcal El Minerito.

July 18, 2019 – Oaxaca de Juárez, Carina Santiago at a cocinera tradicional (traditional cook) demonstration.

July 19, 2019 – Oaxaca de Juárez, Mole Festival at the Jardín Etnobotánico (Ethnobotanic Garden).

July 20, 2019 – Oaxaca de Juárez, Guelaguetza parade of delegations.

July 21, 2019 – San Antonio Cuajimoloyas, Feria Regional de Hongos Silvestres (Regional Wild Mushroom Fair).

July 22, 2019 – Las Peñitas Reyes Etla, Guelaguetza.

July 25, 2019 – Oaxaca de Juárez, procession announcing the Guelaguetza Muy Especial by the Down’s Syndrome folkloric dance troupe.

July 26, 2019 – Oaxaca de Juárez, procession by the Asoc. de Juchitecos radicados en Oaxaca.

July 27, 2019 – Oaxaca de Juárez, young participants in the second Guelaguetza parade of delegations.

July 31, 2019 – Oaxaca de Juárez, making tejate at the Feria del Tejate y el Tamal in the Plaza de la Danza.

A reminder that we need to appreciate and be present to the present; it will never come this way again.

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Promoting Oaxaca’s indigenous peoples

Posted in Celebrations, Creativity, Culture, Economics, Exhibitions, Food, Travel & Tourism, tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , on August 31, 2019| 4 Comments »

In commemoration of International Day of the World’s Indigenous Peoples, Mexico’s Instituto Nacional de los Pueblos Indígenas (INPI) is hosting a Fiesta de la Diversidad Indígena de Oaxaca.

It is a four-day festival honoring and promoting the state of Oaxaca’s indigenous peoples and their communities with artesania, textiles and other products for sale, cultural performances and workshops, food booths, and even healing treatments — and it’s happening a block from Casita Colibrí in the Plaza de la Danza!

Yawi Naka – Triqui – La Laguna Guadalupe, Putla Villa de Guerrero

INPI has an excellent online atlas of the indigenous peoples of Mexico and it, along with the statistics I previously posted regarding poverty, discrimination, and the results thereof affecting Mexico’s indigenous and Afro-Mexican peoples are abysmal.

Na Jacinta Charis – Zapoteco – Juchitán de Zaragoza

According to this article (in Spanish), the charge of the INPI is to advocate for indigenous and Afro-Mexican rights and to recognize that in order for these peoples and their communities to survive, institutional efforts must be taken to guarantee their full exercise of social, political, cultural, and economic rights.

Productores de Maguey y Mezcal Lucas 2010 SPR de Ri – Zapoteco – San Isidro Guishe, San Luis Amatlán

The INPI is also attempting to advance an understanding that the family/community economy of these communities has a different production logic than the commercial market economy and that their economic model must be respected.

Organización de Medicos Indigenas Tradicionales de laCañada – Cuicateco – San Juan Bautista Cuicatlán

This festival provides a space to promote the various community projects and to showcase the artistic and cultural expressions in the city.

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Chenteñas Hazme Si Puedes – Zapoteco – San Vicente Coatlán

I’ve aready been twice to the event — talking with various vendors, buying the blouse above (along with cheese, sal de chicatanas, and olive oil with fresh organic herbs), and sitting at one of the long tables enjoying a tamal, empanada, and a jícara of tejate

The Fiesta de la Diversidad Indígena runs through late afternoon tomorrow (Sept. 1, 2019). If you are in Oaxaca city, be sure to check it out (schedule below).

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Prehispanic riches of tejate and tamales

Posted in Beverages, Celebrations, Culture, Food, Travel & Tourism, tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , on August 2, 2019| 2 Comments »

The marathon that was La Guelaguetza 2019 has been run and not a day too soon for most residents. It was an exhausting and at times grueling two weeks — so much to do and so little time — streets choked with traffic and sidewalks clogged with people. According to state government figures, at its height, hotel occupancy reached 97%, which I’m guessing doesn’t include the growing Airbnb presence.

Woman pouring tejate

My participation ended as it began with food and drink — at the 13th annual Feria del Tejate y el Tamal. Fortunately (for me), it’s held at the Plaza de la Danza, only a block away from Casita Colibrí. On July 30 and 31, seventy five women of the Unión de Mujeres Productoras de Tejate de San Andrés Huayapam came to my neighborhood to prepare and pour this prehispanic drink for the thirsty and curious.

Tejate with rosita de cacao blossoms

Tejate is a labor-intensive frothy, refreshing, nutritious, and (supposedly) aphrodisiacal non-alcoholic beverage made from corn mixed with tree ash, cacao beans, mamey seeds, rosita de cacao (Quararibea funebris) flowers, and peanuts or pecans (depending on the season).

Preparation takes at least twelve hours, as the beans, seeds, flowers, and nuts must be toasted on a comal and corn must be nixtamalized.  Ingredients are taken to a molino to be milled, then kneaded together, left to cool, eventually being hand-ground on a metate to make a thick paste — which is then thinned with water and (literally) mixed by hand.

jícaras

Tejate is traditionally served in brightly painted gourds (jícaras) which fits right in with this year’s effort by the feria organizers to eliminate the use of plastic, in keeping with recent legislation in Oaxaca to prohibit the sale and use of most single use plastic and styrofoam containers. Known as the beverage of the gods, as it was once reserved solely for Zapotec royalty, today tejate is for everybody and is also being made into cookies, ice cream, and nicuatole (traditional Oaxacan corn-based molded dessert).

nicuatole de tejate

However, this food fest wasn’t just about tejate. The other headliner of this event was the versatile tamal. Numerous varieties in steaming pots sitting on anafres (portable cooktops) sat behind rows of banquet tables filled with giant serving baskets covered in colorfully embroidered tea towels. Proud cocineras (cooks) listed their offerings and provided free samples to taste-test.

embroidered tea towel

Where to begin? There was a mind-boggling selection of tamales — at least a dozen kinds to choose from. Many are readily available daily at local mercados (of course, each family puts their own unique spin on the basic recipes). However, here in the city, tichinda (fresh water mussel) tamales are rarely seen. I tasted and they were yummy.

list of tamales

My primary goal, when it came to tamales, was “para llevar” (to go) and I came prepared with my own containers. On day 1, I wanted to bring home tamales for the staff who works at my apartment complex and a couple of carpenters who were onsite building door and window screens for a friend’s apartment. I made several rounds of the numerous vendors, studying their offerings (along with their lovely tea towels) and then just dove in! Besides buying a tamal de camaron (shrimp) for myself, I bought a mole verde (chicken with green sauce) and a mole negro (black mole sauce with chicken) for each the crew back home, along with tejate cookies for their dessert!

On day 2, I was in search of tamal de chichilo, made from chilhuacle negro, mulatto, and pasilla chiles; blackened tortillas and seeds of the chiles; and avocado leaves — the latter imparting a subtle anise flavor. It’s one of my favorites and isn’t usually seen in the mercados, as it is usually reserved for special occasions such as weddings and baptisms or when the crops have been harvested.

tamal de chichilo

Besides eating a tamal de chichilo as soon as I returned home and another for dinner last night, six more currently reside in the freezer compartment of my refrigerator. Ahhh, preserving and celebrating the prehispanic riches of tejate and tamales — a couple of reasons why Oaxaca is a food lovers’ paradise.

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The not so humble jícara

Posted in Celebrations, Creativity, Culture, Flora, Travel & Tourism, tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , on June 6, 2019| 6 Comments »

As previously mentioned, I am currently in el norte.  Visiting my family and friends has taken me from Oaxaca to New York, across the country to California, followed by Colorado, and then back to California.  I have been on multiple airplanes, traversed through multiple airports, and been complimented multiple times on my earrings.  We are not talking gold or silver filigree, we are talking about earrings made from jícara — the fruit of the Crescentia cujete (aka, Calabash tree).  [Click on images to enlarge.]

 

Earrings are not the only things made from the dried fruit of these humble trees that grow in less-than-ideal environments.  The Tacuate women of Santa María Zacatepec (Oaxaca) use them as hats.

The gourds are cut in half, washed, and with seeds removed, set out in the sun.  Once dry, throughout southern Mexico, they frequently are lacquered, decoratively painted, and used as cups for tejate and other traditional beverages.

 

As youi can see, in Villa de Zaachila, in the valley of Oaxaca, this use is even celebrated in a Día de Muertos mural.

Larger jícaras, known as jicalpextles, are a specialty of Chiapa de Corzo (Chiapas).  However, they have assumed a special role in the Zapotec village of Teotitlán del Valle (Oaxaca), where they are filled with handmade sugar flowers and carried during weddings, religious celebrations, and other important fiestas.

 

And, recently there was an exhibition of carved jícaras by Salomón Huerta and José Cruz Sánchez from Pinotepa de Don Luis (Oaxaca) at the Museo Estatal de Arte Popular Oaxaca (MEAPO).  At last, the talent of the artisans who create these pieces is being given the recognition it deserves and their creations are being appreciated as works of art.

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IMG_2285So, hurray for the not-so-humble jícara and the ingenuity and creativity of the indigenous peoples of the world whose traditions teach them to honor and not waste the gifts of planet earth.

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Tejate, “Drink of the Gods”

Posted in Beverages, Celebrations, Culture, Food, Travel & Tourism, tagged , , , , , , , , , , on July 26, 2017| 2 Comments »

This morning, the Feria del Tejate y el Tamal opened at the Plaza de la Danza — with live music, speeches, scores of tejate and tamal vendors, and hundreds of happy, hungry people.  In the event you are unfamiliar with tejate (which is probably the case if you have never been to Oaxaca), it is a very popular frothy, refreshing, nutritious, and (supposedly) aphrodisiacal non-alcoholic prehispanic beverage.  It is made from corn mixed with tree ash, cacao beans, mamey seeds, rosita de cacao (Quararibea funebris) flowers, and peanuts or pecans (depending on the season).

 

 

The preparation takes at least twelve hours, as the beans, seeds, flowers, and nuts must be toasted on a comal and corn must be nixtamalized.  Ingredients are taken to a molino to be milled, then kneaded together, left to cool, eventually being hand-ground on a metate to make a thick paste — which is what one sees in the mercados being thinned with water and (literally) mixed by hand.  For a blow-by-blow photo essay of the process, check out Making Tejate for the Market.

 

 

In days gone by, this exquisite beverage was reserved solely for Zapotec royalty.  However, today tejate is for the masses, with tejateras and their massive clay ollas set up at almost every mercado and festival you run across.  One frequently sees tejate poured into colorfully painted gourds and, of course, it tastes even better when served that way!

 

 

The sale of tejate is the main economic activitity in San Andrés Huayapam, located about 7 miles northeast of Oaxaca city.  It is prepared and served by the tejateras of the Unión de Mujeres Productoras del Tejate.  At the Feria, many of the tejateras were young — it is good to see the ancestral recipes and skills being passed down to the next generation.

 

 

The Feria del Tejate y el Tamal runs through tomorrow (July 26, 2017).  If you are in town, don’t miss it!  Oh yes, there were tamales, so stay tuned…

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Gastronomy, Oaxaca style

Posted in Celebrations, Culture, Food, Travel & Tourism, tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , on July 22, 2015| 8 Comments »

Oaxacan cuisine, with its pre-Columbian roots, is a major attraction and the state’s tourism board and restaurant association continue to do their utmost to promote this cultural heritage during the Guelaguetza festivities.  Last Friday, set amidst the beauty and tranquility of the Jardín Etnobotánico, it was the opening degustación (sampling) for the Festival de los Moles.       P1110341This was my fourth time attending this buffet luncheon celebrating the 7 moles of Oaxaca.  And, like the previous years, my plate was swimming in moles and I came away sated and smiling!

P1110337 The Expo Feria del Queso y Quesillo in Reyes Etla beckoned on Saturday.  When we arrived, students from the Universidad Tecnológica de los Valles Centrales de Oaxaca were giving a demonstration on the cheese making process.

P1110422Despite how tempting the various cheeses looked, I only managed tiny tastes of a couple; Alas, I was just too full from the previous day’s feast to fully appreciate them.

P1110426However, by Sunday, my mouth was watering for wild mushroom empanadas, but we were foiled in our attempt to head up into the mountains for the Feria Regional de los Hongos Silvestres in San Antonio Cuajimoloyas.  A bike race had closed the highway and several of the major streets getting into and out of my part of town and, as you can imagine, alternate routes were gridlocked.  Grrrr…  I think the Guelaguetza events committee needs to rethink the schedule and transportation logistics!

Lucky for me, the Plaza de la Danza is only a block and a half from Casita Colibrí and so, late this morning, there were no impediments to walking over to the 10th Annual Feria del Tejate y el Tamal.  The women from the municipality of San Andrés Huayapam (about 7 kilometers northeast of the city), were ready and waiting to welcome visitors with their ancient drink and variety of tamales.

P1120599 The leis the women (above) are wearing are made from Rosita de Cacao flowers, one of the ingredients in tejate.  For the uninitiated, tejate is a foamy, quite refreshing, and nutritious non-alcoholic pre-Columbian beverage made from nixtamal corn, mixed with tree ash, toasted cacao beans, mamey seeds, and Rosita de Cacao flowers and is called, “la bebida de los Dioses” (the drink of the Gods).

P1120562The tejateras of the Unión de Mujeres Productoras del Tejate prepared and served their tejate to inquiring novices and aficionados, alike.  The sale of tejate is the main economic activity in San Andrés Huayapam.

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And then there were the tamales… Pots and baskets, covered with hand embroidered and crocheted tea towels, were filled with steaming tamales nestled in corn husks — verde, chapulin, amarillo, frijol, dulce, rajas, chepil, and chichilo.  If you’ve never tasted tamales in Oaxaca, you are missing something!

P1120551Huayapam’s chichilo tamales are well-known and loved.  Chichilo is one of the seven moles of Oaxaca and it is only served on special occasions, such as weddings and christenings or when the crops have been harvested.  It is made from chilhuacle negro, mulatto, and pasilla chiles; blackened tortillas and seeds of the chiles; and avocado leaves, the latter imparting a subtle anise flavor.  Of course, no tamal festival would be complete without mole tamales wrapped in banana leaves…

P1120557Today and tomorrow (July 22 & 23), if you are in Oaxaca, the Plaza de la Danza is THE happening place for tasting some delicious local specialties between 10:00 AM and 8:00 PM.  ¡Buen provecho!

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Embarrassment of riches

Posted in Celebrations, Culture, Food, Travel & Tourism, tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , on July 24, 2013| 4 Comments »

There is SO much going on in Oaxaca right now that the doing isn’t leaving much time for the writing!

However, I’ll give it a try with today’s Feria del Tejate y el Tamal.  The festival is part of an effort to preserve the food culture of the Zapotec.

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What, you may ask, is tejate?  It’s a frothy, refreshing, and nutritious non-alcoholic pre-Columbian beverage made from Nixtamal corn mixed with tree ash, toasted cacao beans, mamey seeds, and Rosita de Cacao flowers.  The sale of tejate is the main economic activitity in San Andrés Huayapam, located about 7 miles north of the city, and it is prepared and served by the tejateras of the Unión de Mujeres Productoras del Tejate.

Then, of course, there were the tamales — in tin buckets and giant pots covered in layers of tea towels, many colorfully embroidered.  So many vendors anxious to reach into the steaming buckets and so many varieties to choose from.  Where does one start?

Blogger buddy Chris recommended the Rajas and Verde from the gal “down at that end,” a taste of a friend’s Flor de Calabaza added that to the list, Mole is a given, and I had to find Chichilo.  The latter is one of the seven moles of Oaxaca, it is only served on special occasions, such as weddings and christenings, or when the crops have been harvested.  Chilhuacle negro, mulatto, and pasilla chiles; blackened tortillas and seeds of the chiles; and avocado leaves (the latter imparting a subtle anise flavor) give it its distinctive flavor.  After three unsuccessful attempts, eureka, I found it!  And so I returned home with five mouth-watering tamales.

Platter with 5 tamales

Speaking of ingredients like corn, cacao, chiles, and calabaza, for a graphic of foods Mexico gave to the world, click HERE.

¡Buen provecho!

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Food porn: tejate & tamales

Posted in Beverages, Celebrations, Culture, Food, Travel & Tourism, tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , on July 25, 2012| 2 Comments »

Oaxaca is a foodie paradise, in major part, because much of its cuisine draws on and honors its pre-Hispanic roots.  And, right now, during this time of Guelaguetza, various food and beverage ferias and festivals are also happening throughout the city and central valleys of Oaxaca.  Today, on the Plaza de la Danza, the Feria del Tejate y el Tamal, celebrating these specialties of San Andrés Huayapam, opened with the usual fanfare — music, monos, a marmota, and speeches.

Mono and marmota with "Huayapam" printed around it.

Present were a number of local dignitaries, including Evelyn Acosta López, the recently elected corn goddess, la Diosa Centéotl 2012, who presides over the Guelaguetza.

Evelin Acosta López seated.

Tejate is a foamy, refreshing, and nutritious non-alcoholic pre-Columbian beverage made from Nixtamal corn, mixed with tree ash, and toasted cacao beans, mamey seeds, and Rosita de Cacao flowers.

Rosita de Cacao blossoms.

One frequently sees tejate, served in these colorfully painted gourds, in the mercados of Oaxaca, at festivals, and street side stands.

Dried and hollowed-out gourds painted red with blue, yellow, and green decoration.

And, yes, it is safe to drink.  The water and ice that are added…

Woman with surgical mask pouring water from bucket into large pot of tejate

come from garrafons of “pure” water.

Stack of garafons (jugs) of pure water.

And, please, don’t be put off by the women, up to their elbows, mixing the ingredients.  Just think about it…  Chefs often use their hands when preparing food and arms are generally much cleaner than hands!  Believe me, these women take great pride in their expertise and product.

Hand and lower arm mixing tejate as water is added

Oh, right, there were also tamales!  Once I finished taking photos and drinking a tall cup of tejate, I made my day’s tamal purchase; chepil, chichilo, and mole.  Tomorrow, I will be returning for more.

Large galvanized aluminum bucket filled with a variety of tamales wrapped in corn husks and banana leaves.s

The Feria del Tejate y el Tamal runs today and tomorrow at the Plaza de la Danza, then moves up to San Andrés Huayapam for Saturday and Sunday.  You can find a little more information about the feria in last year’s blog post, Tejate and tamales.

And, sheesh, I still haven’t blogged about the cheese feria, mushroom feria, not to mention, the Feria Nacional del Mezcal — all of which I’ve attended during the past several days!

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Tejate and tamales

Posted in Beverages, Celebrations, Food, Parks & Plazas, tagged , , , , , , , , on July 27, 2011| 1 Comment »

And now we have the sixth annual Festival del Tejate y el Tamal de San Andrés Huayapam!  A large tent covers half of the Plaza de la Danza and over 100 “tejateras” who belong to the Unión de Mujeres Productoras del Tejate set up shop early this morning to sell refreshing cups of this pre-Hispanic beverage made from corn and cacao.

The festival is part of an effort to preserve the food culture of the Zapotec.  San Andrés Huayapam (aka, San Andrés Huayapan) is about 7 miles north of the city and its main economic activity is the sale of tejate.

Packages of tejate lined up on a table

The festival also features empanadas, hot off the comal…

Empanada being cooked on a comal

and six kinds of tamales:  Salsa verde, Amarillo, Rajas, Verde, Chichilo, and Tamal de mole.A variety of tamales in a metal bucket

I wanted them all!  However, for today’s comida, I opted for chichilo from this gal…

Woman serving tamales

Why chichilo?  The answer is, because I’ve never had that kind before!  Chichilo is one of the seven moles of Oaxaca and is only served on special occasions, such as weddings and christenings, or when the crops have been harvested.  Chilhuacle negro, mulatto, and pasilla chiles; blackened tortillas and seeds of the chiles; and avocado leaves, the latter imparting a subtle anise flavor, give it its distinctive flavor.

Woman reaching into steaming hot cauldron of tamales

She picked out a good one… it was delicious!

People sitting and eating at long tables.

¡Buen provecho!

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