Jan

The Corn Tortilla: A Mexican Superhero

by Eva Boynton on January 11, 2016

A mural of a maize plant used to make corn tortillas illustrates the connection of corn to Mexico's cultural heritage and traditions. (Image © Eva Boynton)

A kernel of corn at the heart of a Mexican corn plant; the corn plant at the heart
of the corn tortilla; the corn tortilla at the heart of Mexican culture
photo © Eva Boynton

The Delicious Taste of Cultural Heritage

I’ll be the first to admit, I’m a corn tortilla addict. At first I was skeptical.

My travel companions from Mexico would let loose disappointed sighs when a beautiful meal lacked their favorite flying saucers made of corn. I would think to myself, “What’s the hubbub over tortillas?” After my first weeks in Mexico, though, I was hooked.

Corn tortillas are the superheroes of a Mexican meal. They can magically expand a few morsels of food into a full meal. They add flavor and richness to daily life. And the process of making delicious tortillas connects people to Mexico’s cultural heritage and traditions as well as to each other.

Born in a Tortillería

The life of this Mexican superhero begins in the tortillería (tortilla shop). Found in every neighborhood, the bustling shops spice up the streets with sound, smell, and flavor. They are a place of congregation, a daily interaction between neighbors.

Tortilla shop in a small Mexican town, showing how the daily practice of making corn tortillas connects to Mexico's cultural heritage and traditions. (Image © Eva Boynton)

It is impossible to walk through the streets of a town in Mexico without running into a tortilla shop.
© Eva Boynton

If the tortillas are made by machine, the crunch and whine of turning gears can be heard from several blocks away. If they are made by hand, the rhythmic pat-patting of hands flattening the dough fills the street. Each method douses the air with a corn perfume.

City or small town, life in Mexico is life with tortillas.

A Family Affair

One such tortillería is Tortijocha in Huatulco, a city in the Mexican state of Oaxaca. José Alfredo Lavariega Canseco (or Jocha, for short) began the business in his home, selling tortillas handmade by his wife.

Jocha and his family standing in front of their tortilla shop, illustrating the connection between corn tortillas and Mexico's cultural heritage and traditions. (Image © Eva Boynton).

Jocha (second from the left) stands proudly in front of his tortilla shop
with his workers and family.
© Eva Boynton

The more they sold, the more Jocha recognized the possibility of a larger enterprise. The front of his house transformed into Tortijocha.

Jocha’s tortilla machine carries the name of
Fausto Celorio, who mechanized the
tortilla-making process in the late 1940’s.
© Eva Boynton

But selling handmade tortillas is not always profitable since they cannot be mass produced.

Jocha explains, “They are very tasty, handmade tortillas, but I was interested in doing business.”

Consequently, someone else was introduced into the family business. Her name—Máquina Celorio.

The early days of using the machine were pure experimentation. Jocha’s first tortillas were a tad crispy, but that did not spoil the family’s excitement. They celebrated around the dinner table with a stack of charred, machine-made tortillas and a home-cooked meal.

A man working the tortilla machine, showing the daily practice of making corn tortillas that connects to Mexico's cultural heritage and traditions. (Image © Eva Boynton)

Man and machine at work.
The dough—a mixture of ground-up corn kernels soaked in limewater—is pushed
through a funnel, sliced into tortillas, and moved along three griddles to cook.
© Eva Boynton

Once again, the tortilla showed its superpowers, bringing a family together in a common enterprise. Tortijocha quickly began producing and selling stacks of identically cut and cooked tortillas that brought other families together in communal feasts.

The Cultural Connection

“Is there a difference between your tortillas and those from other tortilla shops?” I asked.

Jocha replied, “Our tortillas are the best because we make tortillas with real corn. . . .We try to have flavor and texture in the tortillas. We want to have quality.”

The real corn Jocha is talking about comes from using maíz (corn) purchased from local farmers in Huatulco. Tortijocha soaks and grinds the corn instead of buying a pre-made mixture from a store.

Spread out on the floor, a pile of corn is ready for use in making corn tortillas, a food connected to Mexico's cultural heritage and traditions. (Image © Gabriela Díaz Cortez)

Ears of corn, soon to become tasty tortillas
© Gabriela Díaz Cortez

Jocha claims that the taste of “100% pure maíz” (found on their store sign) creates stronger connections among land, plant, farmer, and city customer. The connections date back to the ancestors of Mexico’s modern culture who grew some 59 types of indigenous corn.

Mountains with corn plant growing in the foreground, showing an ingredient for making corn tortillas, a food still connected today to Mexico's cultural heritage and traditions. (Image © Gabriela Díaz Cortez)

Maíz grows throughout the mountains and valleys of Mexico.
© Gabriela Díaz Cortez

Corn tortillas are ingrained in Mexico’s identity for reasons beyond the ingredients—the patting together of dough is part of Mexico’s cultural heritage that has been passed down across centuries.

A Mexican woman making corn tortillas by hand, showing an ongoing connection to Mexico's cultural heritage and traditions (Image © Frank Kolvachek)

Many families and tortillerías make tortillas by hand today.
© Frank Kolvachek

Why does this traditional way of making tortillas continue? Perhaps because it is tradition, or perhaps it is because handmade tortillas are more delicious, crafted and cooked on a different kind of grill—crafted by a person rather than sliced and delivered by a machine.

Whether made by machine or by hand, however, the corn tortilla maintains its superhero status, connecting a modern-day culture to its roots.

Oh, I See the Superpowers of the Corn Tortilla

Maintaining traditions across centuries. Bringing people together. As if these superpowers weren’t sufficient, I discover the daily power of tortillas. They go with almost every meal in Mexico, serving as the main ingredient, utensil, or sponge to soak up the rich flavors of a dish.

Dinner plate filled with tasty tortillas topped with queso fresco and avocado, illustrating the ongoing connection between tortillas eaten today and Mexico's cultural heritage and traditions. (Image © Eva Boynton)

Dig in!
© Eva Boynton

I imagine myself traveling with a utility belt full of tortillas for every occasion. Need silverware? Pull out a tortilla. Missing a napkin, tablecloth, meal extender, flavor enhancer, or community builder? Look to the little tortilla.

As Jocha told me, “The corn tortilla is the most important thing on the table.” That’s because it’s a Mexican superhero, full of good taste and cultural heritage, connected to Mexico’s rich history and ancestral cuisine.

Thank you, Jocha, for the interview and the delicious tortillas.

Comment on this post below.

Eva Boynton 1 Comment

Cultural Heritage & Traditions/Mexico

Dec

The Seasonal Sparkle of Cultural Differences

by Meredith Mullins on December 21, 2015

The always-surprising tree at the Galeries Lafayette department store in Paris
© Meredith Mullins

Holiday Traditions Around the World

The streets are strung with lights. The store windows are full of color, sparkle, and animated figures made to mesmerize the young and the young at heart. There are scents of evergreens, mulled wine, and cinnamon in the air.

Whether you’re celebrating Christmas, Hanukkah, or Epiphany. Whether you’re commemorating Père Noêl, Santa Claus, Saint Nicholas, the Three Wisemen, Sinterklaas, Befana, or the miracle of light. ‘Tis the season to be festive.

Meredith Mullins 2 Comments

Cultural Heritage & Traditions/Worldwide Sites

Dec

Global Citizens Face the Challenge of Climate Change

by Meredith Mullins on December 14, 2015

Ice chunk from Eliasson's Paris Ice Watch, an art work from one of the global citizens focused on climate change. (Image © Meredith Mullins.)

Hommage to the melting glaciers
© Meredith Mullins

COP21 Conference in Paris Brings Focus to the Future of the Planet

Climate change is insidious. Glaciers melt drop by drop, chunk by chunk. Ocean levels rise centimeter by centimeter. Temperatures climb slowly—we sense a warming trend but perhaps cannot see it as dramatic change unless we take a long-term look.

And then there are the more dramatic reminders. Floods. Storms. Droughts. Heat waves. Extinction of certain plants and animals.

The changes are difficult to see day by day, month by month, or even year by year—making the problem of climate change more difficult to bring to the world’s attention. It also makes the problem easy to ignore for those who choose to do so.

But, as global citizens, it is up to all of us to protect the future of the planet.

Signage with message to redesign the world, a poster from one of the global citizens focused on climate change. (Image © Meredith Mullins.)

Redesigning the World: Observe. Understand. Act
© Meredith Mullins

Putting the Spotlight on Climate Change

The Paris COP21 United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change brought worldwide focus to the challenges and the possible solutions.

Delegates from nearly 200 countries worked long hours over the past two weeks to reach the final deal, announced on Saturday, December 12.

The agreement includes legally binding actions as well as voluntary actions focused on keeping global temperature increase “well below” 2C and committing at least $100 billion a year in climate finance for developing countries by 2020.

The work was lauded as a significant step toward saving the planet for future generations.

Paris metro poster, a message from one of the global citizens focused on climate change. (Image © Meredith Mullins.)

Paris metro posters focus on climate change.
© Meredith Mullins

Global Citizens Take Action

While delegates hammered out a plan, Paris as host city was filled with messages of support and urgency, and protests for faster, more ambitious solutions.

The “Oh, I see” moment? The issue of climate change is not just for government delegates behind closed doors. It is for everyone.

Artists from around the world created work to focus on greenhouse gas emissions, global warming, air pollution, and deforestation and to engage as many people as possible in the conversation.

Upward view of Shepard Fairey Earth Crisis, an art work by one of the global citizens focused on climate change. (Image courtesy of Galerie Itinerrance.)

Shepard Fairey’s “Earth Crisis” sphere at the Eiffel Tower
Photo courtesy of Galerie Itinerrance

Taking a Close Look

American artist Shepard Fairey (aka Obey in his street art life) collaborated with La Galerie Itinerrance in Paris to create a two-ton sphere that commanded the free space between the 1st and 2nd floor of the Eiffel Tower.

The giant globe, named Earth Crisis, looked like a cosmic mandala from a distance, with blue and green floral motifs that suggested the air, the sea, and harmony with nature.

As you moved closer, the message became clear. The sphere was covered with threats to the environment, including anti-oil symbols and slogans.

Shepard Fairey's Earth Crisis sphere suspended from Eiffel Tower, an art work by one of the global citizens focused on climate change. (Image courtesy of Galerie Itinerrance.)

On closer look, the challenges and solutions become clear.
Photo courtesy of Galerie Itinerrance

The illustrations also offered solutions, such as green energy, respect for ecosystems, and the call to action, “The future is in our hands.”

“I am not an alarmist,” Fairey explained. “But I think people must understand that we are facing a world crisis.”

Like any work of “street art,” Fairey wanted to “engage the public in conversation.” He wanted people to take a closer look at what is really happening on the planet.

Ice installation by Olafur Eliasson at the Pantheon in Paris, an art work by one of the global citizens focused on climate change. (Image © Meredith Mullins.)

Watching Ice Melt

Icelandic-Danish artist Olafur Eliasson transported nearly 100 tons of glacial ice from Greenland to Paris. The 12 huge ice chunks had calved from the ice sheet and were floating in the ocean. He installed them in a circle in front of the Pantheon, like the face of a watch.

The title, Paris Ice Watch, encouraged viewers to see the beauty of the ice, to be aware of the ice melting (in the installation as well as in our colder climates), and to recognize that time is a critical factor in saving the planet from the effects of climate change.

Eliasson asked us to feel the smoothness of this material, to listen to it breathe, and to seek out the small air bubbles trapped inside for thousands of years (perhaps the purest air we have on the planet, he notes).

Protesters and ice installation at the Pantheon in Paris, an art work by one of the global citizens focused on climate change. (Image © Meredith Mullins.)

Shedding Light on Pollution

Air is invisible, so how do we know what microscopic materials may be floating around us affecting our health?

To help answer that question and to draw attention to the growing issue of pollution, American environmental artist Andrea Polli created a digital waterfall in Paris, cascading down the side of a building on the well-trafficked Avenue de New York.

Blue waterfall, Particle Falls, by Andrea Polli, an art work by one of the global citizens focused on climate change. (Image © Meredith Mullins.)

The bright blue projection, called Particle Falls, is presented by the Mona Bismarck American Center and uses a nephelometer to measure pollution particles in the immediate environment, which are then translated into bursts of white and color.

The light show is a real-time alarm of the pollution levels in the area—a timely alert given rising pollution levels in Paris (and the world).

Turning the Eiffel Tower Green

For five days during COP21, the Eiffel Tower came alive with images of trees dancing over the iron work. The unique 1 Heart 1 Tree project gave new meaning to the term “going green.” The tower became a virtual forest of light.

Eiffel Tower with projected trees by one heart one tree, an art work by one of the global citizens focused on climate change. (Image © Jean Philippe Pariente.)

Belgian-Tunisian digital art pioneer Naziha Mestaoui designed this engaging participatory environmental project to coincide with the climate change conference.

Visitors were able to plant a “virtual” tree on the tower. For every virtual tree, a real tree was promised to be planted in one of the 1 Heart 1 Tree reforestation projects around the world. To complete the reality, a Google Earth file is sent showing where the actual tree was planted.

The attention to trees—both virtual and real—offered a vital reminder that the protection of forests is essential to combat the change in greenhouse effect and to ensure proper habitat for wildlife.

A Commitment to the Planet

COP21 has taken a critical step forward. Supporters call the Paris Agreement a “transformative diplomatic victory.”

However the real work is just beginning. And, as global citizens, we know that it is not just the governments of the world that have to step up. It is up to each and every one of us.

As Paris Ice Watch artist Eliasson said as he watched his beautiful ice melting, “We underestimate how amazing we are as people. We can fix this.” The planet is ours to save.

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