Tamaleras

Nothing says welcome home like joining the tamale assembly line on the day before Christmas eve/ Noche Buena. Making tamales for Christmas is a tradition held by many a Mexican/Chicano family here in Wilmas. December 23rd is the day for my family to get together, catch up on the latest family gossip and oh ya, make tamales. Above is my grandma and mom showing off their skills. Below are two steps of tamale assembly: the first is spreading the masa on the corn husk, second is putting in the filling (in this case its carne de puerco/pork).

On Dia de la Virgen, Even the Buses go on a Pilgrimage aka Goodbye for Now!

I conclude my trip to México where I began, the buses. In the city they are known as "peseros", in my first blog entry in México I talked about how confused and intimidated I was by the bus system. But once I got a hang of the peseros, they were my favorite thing about the city and I am going to miss riding around in them. They are privately owned so each pesero has its own unique atmosphere, some have bangin sounds systems and others are adorned with stickers or religious articles. Above and below are pictures of the peseros on dia de la Virgen, December 12. In various neighborhoods though out the city the peseros go on a pilgrimage drive in honor of la Virgen de Guadalupe. Each pesero owner decorates their bus with balloons and pictures or statues of the Virgen. In this particular delgeation, Magdalena Contreras, they drive to the top of a mountain. Each pesero is filled with the family of the owner, like a mobile party. On their drive down the mountain, they throw candy and other treats at the crowd of onlookers. It was a really fun way to spend my last day in the city. Long story short, yesterday I said farewell to the city and it was bitter sweet. I'm happy that I'm going to see my family for the holidays but sad because D.F. has become my new home and I will miss it dearly. It's back to reality but I hope to go on another adventure as soon as financially possible. GOOD BYE MÉXICO! Its been a blast.

My Ultimate Favorite Food and Dessert

Over the past month I have been eating every type of street food fathomable, well at least every type of food that does not include pork or beef. I'm not quite a vegetarian because I still eat chicken but I try to stick to veggie dishes. Some of my favorite things have included arroz con platano (rice with bananas) and Sopa de Pollo, a really yummy chicken soup with garbanzo beans. My ultimate favorite dish is completely veggie and pictured above and below, Tlacoyos! Tlacoyos are made with blue corn masa, they are stuffed with either beans, cheese or greenbeans. They are topped with nopales (cactus), onions, cilantro, cheese and salsa YUMMY! Also equally delicious are the quesadillas de flor de calabaza which include pumpkin flowers and cheese (picutred below on the left).

For dessert let me tell you, in Mexico they don't mess around when it comes to helado (ice cream). Below you can see a beautiful helado cubierto. It has two scoops of ice cream, cookies and cream and cappucino; its dipped in chocolate and covered with chocolate sprinkles. At a price of about 2 US dollars, it beats Cold Stone any day. Heaven on earth!

Petate Session Hip Hop Event

Yesterday I was fortunate to be able to go to a hip hop event by the name of Petate Session. It was mainly a break dancing competition but it also included a performance by local hip hop emcees. The event was hosted by Otherside Crew, on their blog they state "Porque nosotros no somos gringos ni europeos sabor orgullosamente mexicano" (Because we are neither gringos nor Europeans, a flavor that is proudly Mexican). The hip hop culture of Mexico definitely has its own flavor, the break dancing community appears to be very passionate and united. I was happy to see that there were break dancing crews that included bgirls. I also noticed a real community feel, the more experienced bboys help others improve their skills. They also show a lot of love to younger kids who are learning to break. Below I've included a video of one of the battles.

Aerosol Art Culture in Mexico City

This week I had a chance to take a tour of some of the staples of graffiti art culture in Mexico City. I went to this amazing cultural center called El Faro, it is a huge building that houses different art workshops such as sculpting and Nahuatl language courses. Pictured above is an "Alebrige", a type of traditional folk art sculpture, a product of one of El Faro's workshops. The exterior of the building is covered in aerosol murals (Pictured in the second row). I also checked out a marketplace near the Isabel la Catolica Metro station where any budding artist can find all kinds of aerosol paint and markers (pictured below). Across the street from the marketplace is the underground hip hop store called T.T. Caps (click the link to view T.T. Caps' blog or visit gritarap.blogspot.com). T.T. Caps sells graffiti art magazines, clothes, vinyl as well as demos and CDs from local hip hop artists.