|
Que
Vivan Los Tamales!: subtitled "Food and the Making of Mexican
Identity," examines the evolution of mestizo recipes -- the
blending of Old and New World spices to make the famous turkey
mole or gourmet flourishes, such as cuitlacoche rolled in crepes
and covered with bechamel sauce.
The author praises the creative role cookbook authors played
in unifying the country's taste buds, especially in the 19th
and 20th centuries when a national identify was being forged
and the construction of railroads and highways lowered the costs
of distribution of exotic agricultural products so that local
specialties could be enjoyed throughout the country.
Much of the book traces the differences and debates stirred
by promoters of maize and wheat. Elites often criticized maize,
and even suggested that the corn-eating population was at a
serious disadvantage in terms of development. Their reasoning:
the wheat-consuming Europeans were on top of the world, not
the corn-eating Americans or rice-eating Asians. But such prejudices
were not easily resolved. The problem was (and is) that corn
simply grows better in Mexico than wheat.
It's hard to understand the desire upper-class Mexicans had
to break from their indigenous heritage. Throughout the colonial
period, corn was under attack and likewise the construction
of homes and buildings using adobe, a centuries-old technique
used the world over and perfected in many of the regions in
Mexico.
Instead, colonial architects favored European-styled architecture,
European-styled clothes and European-styled foods. Pilcher explains
the logic of the time: "One did not have to be born a European,
it was sufficient to act like one, dress like one, and eat like
one."
In reality, Pilcher says that "the tortilla discourse really
served as a subterfuge to divert attention to social inequalities...
Rural malnutrition resulted not from any inferiority in tortillas;
instead, poverty, particularly the lack of land, made it impossible
to obtain a well-balanced diet."
The book is loaded with colorful tidbits, such as Christopher
Columbus' description of lizard : "tastes like chicken," he
said -- perhaps using this present-day cliche for the very first
time.
Pilcher also recounts how during the colonial period more
beef was available than wheat bread. Priests were slow and often
hesitant to use corn for communion wafers, though chocolate
was sometimes consumed (covertly) at mass.
|
