Dia de los Muertos, part 1

So what happens on el Dia de Muertos? On this day, us Mexicans, have a belief that the souls of our loved ones who have passed away and are in a better place, will come back and be with us so we can all celebrate as a community the day of the death. On this day we celebrate the death as a natural part of human existence; death for us represents the path that the death lived while they were alive: birth, childhood, and adolescence all the way to the day you die. This belief we obtain it from our ancestors because we have been doing this tradition for as long as I can remember and until this day it still remains present in Mexico. On the day of the death, some people dress up as calaveras (skeletons) , women wear mostly white dresses and will paint a skull on their face, they are known as “catrinas”; men normally wear a black and white suit and as well as women they paint a skull on their face to represent death and they are known as “catrines”. A day or two before the actual day of the day death, which is in November second, people gather together to put several stands in a plaza and each stand sells different things, such as: sugar skulls, the most known flower for el dia de los muetos: cempasuchil, and the most important factor of the night; a variety of foods like: tostadas, tortas, tacos ect. They put up this stands to make people get in the day of the death spirit and be able to bond as a community.

Pan de Muerto

              Some of the most known bread that is made for El Dia de Muerto is called pan de muerto and you may ask why is called pan the muerto? Well, it is called pan the muerto no just because it is made especially for El Dia de los Muertos, but also because when the bakers are making it, they make it seem like it’s a dead person. The pan de muerto bread is a delicious bread that has a flavor of orange and it is covered in sugar. People tend to buy this bread to put it on the altars when they create them, but people also buy this type of bread any other day. The reason people like putting this type of bread on their altars is because it is into a form of a dead person and since we celebrate the day of the death, it goes with the theme. The pan de muerto is not only made in the form of a dead person but is also made like a tombstone with a dead body on top. Just because this bread is made for the day of the death it doesn’t mean that the people who are alive can’t eat it, most of us do anyway. What is common to do is to make hot chocolate so the bread can be eaten with it. It is also important to know that the people who put this type of bread on their altar bake it themselves most of the time and don’t just buy it. If you ever decided to visit our beautiful Mexico during El Dia de los Muertos, don’t forget to eat a piece of this delicious bread.

Dia de los Muertos 1

Since the Day of the Death or as we call it, el Dia de los Muertos, is approaching Mexicans are starting to do what we traditionally do. First of all we start by setting an altar somewhere in the house, we make sure that is well decorated according to what every family likes.  We start off by buying the most commonly known, cempasúchil, which is a beautiful round like orange flower. This flower is the most known to use for El Dia de Muertos. Once we have the flowers and a place to set the altar, we begin to form the altar. What we first do is get the pedals from some of the flowers and once that is done we form a cross in the middle of the altar with the pedals (keep in mind that not everyone does the same thing with the cempasúchi). After those steps are done we get pictures of our loved ones that have passed away and set them somewhere on the altar. We also make sure to get all their favorite food or the food they used to eat when they were alive, put them in a beautiful plate and set it all over the altar. Of course we can’t forget to set fruit and several cups of water. We do this because we believe that since the death have been buried for a long period of time, they will come back hungry as well as thirsty. Also, we tend to put several of the traditional Mexican candy especially made for the day of the death like: sugar skulls, the most popular ones. Once we have set food and water form them, we light up several candles and set around the altar so the death can feel illuminated and loved. All of this is called ofrendas, ofrenda for offering, because we offer all of this food to the death. Lastly we can’t forget to put lots of flowers around the altar. One of the most important things when former an altar for El Dia de los Muertos is to get creative.

 Altars

 sugar skulls

   cempasúchi

Las Rocas de San Juan

The people that used to live near the volcano left and created a new town called San Juan Nuevo (Nuevo for new) since the town they used to in live was called San Juan they just decided to add the Nuevo because it was a new place for them. Remember the church that I mention before? Well that church is now called Las Rocas De San Juan because when the volcano erupted lots of rocks where flying everywhere and half the church was completely covered in them. For the same reason that the church is covered in rocks is why it’s called Las Rocas de San Juan (rocas meaning rocks). When you go there you have to be very careful because you have to walk on rocks in order to get to where the church is at. The first time I went there, I didn’t see why so many people visited this place or why it was completely covered in rocks, but as my grandfather told me the story behind it I fell in love with Las Rocas de San Juan and the volcano Parícutin. My grandfather told me the story behind the volcano Parícutin and I thought it was interesting. He said that when the volcano started forming it was forming in a piece of land that belonged to a man, when the man saw what was happening he went and told the priest. The priest and the man were going to look at the volcano they were scared because they didn’t know what it was yet. If you ever go to Mexico, visit these two amazing places I promise they’ll take your breath away.

Volcan Paricutin part 1

Have you guys ever visited a volcano? No? Well if you ever travel to Mexico and desire to visit one, go to Michoacán and visit the youngest volcano, El Paricutin.  The volcano Paricutin is one of the youngest volcanoes is Mexico,and is located in Angahuan Michoacán, near Uruapan Michoacán.  Most people don’t know the town where is located but if you tell them the name of the volcano, they will guide you immediately because everyone there knows where it’s at. Luckily enough, I got the chance to visit this volcano once and it was the best experience ever. At first I thought it was going to explode again because as you travel up and get where the whole is at, you’re allowed to go in, you can feel its warmth still. It was such a beautiful view from up there, you would have to experience it yourself to understand what I’m talking about. As I was claiming up there I would remember all the stores my grandpa used to tell my cousins and I, how the first time the volcano erupted a whole bunch of rocks were flying everywhere. He recalled that he was scared because he would see the rocks landing everywhere and destroying homes. As you get to the place where the volcano is you see stands of people selling handmade food, which is delicious. There are also horses that you can rent and they’ll take you for a tour so you can see everything there is there. As I was recalling the stories my grandfather told me, he mention that there used to be a small town there near the volcano, but once the volcano erupted the town that was there was complete covered with rocks and everyone went their different ways and that’s how all the little towns formed. Like every small town in Mexico there was a church made of rocks like the old churches used to be made.  

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kSevliR92So---- WATCH :)

My favorite place to visit in Mexico.

Growing up in a state that is surrounded by nature you learned to love and appreciate every single gesture that Mother Nature contributes with. Today I’m sharing with you the place I love to visit the most when I go to Mexico. You may ask why this place is one of my favorite places to visit, well there are several reasons why I like to visit the Nation Park in Uruapan Michoacán. Michoacán is the state where I grew up and I was always surrendered by nature that is the main reason why I love siting this place every time I have a chance to go to Mexico. This place is full of nature, beautiful flowers, with beautiful trees and also small little fishes swimming all over the water. When you enter the gates there are many ways you can go. On either way you will see trees all over the place and fresh water running through trails. There is a big water fall where all the trails meet, it is the most beautiful of them all. Of course it is Mexico and like always food could not be forgotten. There are a few stands of food in the park, every stand that is there sells handmade Mexican food.  You can see with your own eyes how they prepare your food and all the ingredients that are in it; I am truly amazed of how fast those cooks prepare a delicious meal. There are also food stands where they sell the delicious “gaspachos”, gaspachos are a combination of diced fruit accompanied with chile, orange juice, salt and lemon; they are truly amazing! The food stands are not the only stands there, there are also stands where you can buy crats made by hand. If you ever travel to Michoacán, visit the National Park in Uruapan Michoacán.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KIG9jJbPQb4----- Watch :)

Halloween turned into Noche the Brujas?

Since Halloween is approaching I will share with you guys something interesting about the Mexican culture. The Mexican culture has adopted many days celebrated by other cultures that were never celebrated within the Mexican culture. One of the days we never used to celebrate is Halloween. We were not used to celebrating this kind of event, instead we celebrate El Dia de los Muertos; at least that was the tradition. Now, since there is a lot of Mexican American families living in the United States that travel to Mexico, the tradition of Halloween has spread all around Mexico.  At first, when Halloween wasn’t recognized nor celebrated in Mexico nobody would talk about it. This was a very pointless topic to Mexicans since we didn’t tend to celebrate it. Not that long ago some families decided to start celebrating it and instead of calling it by its original name, Halloween they call it “Noche de Brujas.” Since the tradition has spread around Mexico, many teenagers, families etc. now celebrate this day by doing what originally most American families started doing: dressing up as a sort of animal, super hero etc. having a small party or a get-together with family and friends. Since Mexicans started celebrating thing this day in Mexico they also buy costumes, dress up and have a get together with their family and friends; the only difference between the Halloween celebrated by Americans and Noche de Brujas celebrated by Mexicans is that Mexicans don’t go trunk or treating like Americans tend to do. I just thought I’d shared this with you guys so you can evaluate how the American culture has influenced the Mexican culture.

How to make white rice

Since I love cooking so much today I will be showing you guys another recipe. This recipe is not really meant to be eaten by itself but you can. Today we will be making white rice or as Mexicans call it arroz blanco. I know this is a simple recipe and many people might know how to make white rice but for those who don’t here’s the recipe. The ingredients you will need are: rice, salt, butter, water, a measuring cup or any cup and sauce pan. The first thing you have to do is measure your rice, remember that for every cup or of rice you have to use the double of water and just a bit more (measure your water with the same cup you measured your rice). When I took cooking classes in High School, my professor told me that for every cup of rice you had to use double the water, but by the time the rice was done it was burnt from the bottom and that’s one thing you don’t want. Once you have your rice and water measure, get your sauce pan set it at medium-low heat, add your water and a tablespoon of butter and wait until the water starts boiling. Once the water is boiling add your rice, salt and turn the heat to low. At this point it’s important that you don’t touch tour rice just leave it there until there is no water left in the sauce pan. When you see that there’s no more water turn off your heat and let the rice sit there and cool down. Now your rice is all ready to be served, enjoy !

Pambazos

Today I will teach you guys how to make another delicious Mexican dish, we will be making pambazos. Pambazos are like tortas but not quite the same. The pambazos unlike the tortas don’t have ham or meat. The pambazos are composed of stew that most Mexicans know as papas con chorizo, in other words potatoes with chorizo. The ingredients you will need are: pambazo bread (not the same as torta bread but you can use torta bread if you are not able to get pambazo bread), potatoes, chorizo, lettuce, sour cream, cheese, salt, oil, water, chile de arbol (found in Mexican markets), a clove of garlic and a little piece of onion. The first thing you have to do if boil the chiles de arbol, the clove of garlic and the piece of onion, let them boil until they are soft. You also have to boil the potatoes until they are soft. When the chiles, the clove of garlic and the piece of onion are done boiling put them in the blender, add a little bit of water and a pinch of salt. Blend everything until it’s well incorporated and once everything is well incorporated put the chile sauce in a bowl. By now, the potatoes should be soft and ready to peel, get them out of the boiling water and peel them. Now put a pan with a little drop of oil and put your chorizo right there, leave the chorizo there until you see it change color and once it’s done incorporate the potatoes with the chorizo. Now that you have your stew of papas with chorizo, it’s time to get your chile and your pambazo bread. Put a pan with a little bit of oil at low-medium heat once your pan is hot, dip the pambazo bread in the chile and put the bread in the pan just until the bread gets a little bit crispy. Once you’re done with that add your papas with chorizo to you panbazo bread, also add the lettuce, cheese, and sour cream. You’re all done, enjoy your pambazo!

Jarabe Tapatio

Let’s talk about one of the most folkloric dances of the Mexican culture, called Jarabe Tapatio, also known as “The Mexican Hat Dance.” The jarabe tapatio is a popular dance that has symbolized Mexico. This dance consists of two dancers, a men and a woman like most typical dances but there is something that distinguishes this dance from the rest, and is the fact that that dancers don’t touch each other. This dance has become one of the most traditional dances in the Mexican culture. When practicing this dance, the dancers wear apparel not worn on an everyday basis. For this particular dance men wear a charro suit that is decorated with silver or gold buttons and they also wear a charro hat. Men also wear special silky boots that are either black of white. This type of apparel is the one that the maricahis wear. Women tend to wear a two piece dress called china poblana. This apparel consists of a white blouse, which is typically embroidered with roses or any other type of flower. These flowers tend to be really colorful which attracts the attention of the people. Women also wear a skirt that is embroidered with different figures but each and one of figures are colorful. They also wear satin shoes that are typically black. Women also have to have their hair braided, either one braid on each side of the head or one braid made into a bun. When both of the dancers are dancing they go in apposite direction and move their feet in such a way that their shoes make a wonderful noise when they hit the ground. When dancing to this folkloric dance, the dancers dance to the sound of a mariachi.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v= -- Watch a video of this amazing dance!

Enchiladas Suizas

I know last time I showed shared a recipe of enchiladas but those were the red enchiladas. Today I will share a recipe of how to make Enchiladas Suizas or green enchiladas. For this recipe you will need similar ingredients as the recipe for the red enchiladas. For this recipe you will need: corn tortillas, green tomatoes (known as tomatillos in Spanish), green chiles, some type of filling for you enchiladas (remember that it can be whatever you desire) sour cream, water, cheese, a glove of garlic, oil and a little piece of onion. The first thing you have to do is boil your green tomatoes with the clove of garlic, the green chiles and the piece of onion, leave them there until you see that the green tomatoes are changing to a darker green color. Once they’re done boiling, put them in a blender and blend everything together, don’t forget to add a pinch of salt. Meanwhile, get your tortillas and in a pan at low medium heat put the oil, make sure the oil in hot and once it’s hot put your tortilla in the pan and then flip it; the point of this is for the tortilla to soften up a little bit. Once you’re done with all of the tortillas put your stuffing on the tortilla and roll them as they were tacos; repeat the same process with every single tortilla. After you’re done putting the stuffing in and rolling the tortillas place some rolled tortillas in a plate and cover them with green sauce, put some cheese on top and then put them in the microwave until the cheese is completely melted then get them out and put some sour cream on top. Now you have some enchiladas suizas ready for you to eat. Enjoy!

  Chiles verdes Tomatillos

 Enchiladas Suizas