As Mexicans prepare to celebrate Candlemass next week (February 2,) a wave of new options to dress up your Baby Jesus has emerged. And because Baby Jesus Doctor is no longer enough, what about Baby Jesus Doctor Covid or Baby Jesus Taquero?
So. Many. Options!
P.S. For those who asked, Candlemas (or Día de la Candelaria) commemorates the ritual purification of Mary 40 days after the birth of Jesus, which in Mexico pretty much boils down to two things: Dressing up your Baby Jesus in your favorite costume *and* eating tamales like there is no tomorrow.
Filing under Mexicans: How Can Anyone Not Like Us?
Thank you, @natyvaro1, for your TikTok highlighting a restaurant in Coahuila, Mexico that specializes in Dinosaur-shaped quesadillas. These beauties are shaped like adorable little dinosaurs and (yes, you guessed it) some of them even have cheese inside! (pardon the private joke.)
Founded by Abraham Padilla, Dino Quesadillas features cheesy Triceratops, Tyrannosaurus Rex and other prehistoric creatures of your preference.
Oh, and they’re only like $5.03 USD for an order of three.
Let’s be honest: Just as any other holiday, Thanksgiving has become mostly another good reason to eat and drink in excess (at least in my case.)
But if a 3 pm “dinner” of turkey, pumpkin pie and cranberry sauce seems a little boring to you, you can always throw a “Latino Thanksgiving,” which basically means a three-day smörgåsbord of lechón, tamales, arroz, frijoles, elote, tostones, tequila, poker games — and plenty of dancing and family drama.
If any of the above sounds exciting enough, you are in luck.
Here are 8 SIMPLE STEPS to turn your regular Thanksgiving into a Latino one:
Turkey? Who eats turkey? Run to the closest bodega and pick the biggest lechón available. Roast and stuff an apple on its mouth while you’re at it.
Cranberry sauce? We don’t even know what that is. Get a mojo going or start a guajillo marinade for said lechón
Start with plenty of tamales and make sure to serve rice, beans, gandules, tostones and/or plantains on the side.
Pumpkin? Who eats pumpkin? Really. Pumpkin is only good when you use its flowers to make one of these.
Start serving dinner at 10 pm, because, really, who has dinner at 3 pm?
Once the meal is over, and liters of alcohol have been consumed, be ready for your mother, tía or abuela to start crying inconsolably over you not visiting more often, etc.
No football. Who watches football? It’s not like it’s fútbol… Take out the baraja, the poker chips and open up the wallet.
Turn up the music and dance like maniacs all night long. And do not worry about thy neighbor. Thy neighbor should be thankful to have a Latino family around. After all, what is Thanksgiving if not an opportunity to say gracias?
A Spanish-language version of this blog post first appeared on Univision.com
AMLO looooves a good local garnacha, but he might miss on my city’s Mexican delights this time.
Start spreading the news…
He’s leaving next week…
Mexican president Andrés Manuel López Obrador (aka AMLO) will be in the Big Apple for a short visit next week (Nov. 8 & 9) and while this blogger was eager to follow his culinary adventures in her adopted city, it looks like he will be missing out on the whole “Puebla York” experience.
According to press reports, AMLO will travel to the United Nations next week and give a speech about the dangers of corruption (no, really!) His visit corresponds with Mexico taking over the rotating presidency of the U.N. Security Council in November.
Alas, while his supporters at the “Morena New York Committee 1” are prepping a whole fiesta complete with mariachis –and plenty of local garnachas–, it looks like AMLO will remain at the UN and look all professional and stuff.
The 2021 AMLOFestNYC is free to the public and is to take place -where else?- at the Aztec Hall in Brooklyn. But the fiesta will have to go on without him.
A real pity if you asked me, since Manhatitlán is home of the best antojitos, garnachas and other Mexican goodies on this side of the border.
Ni modos, presi. Maybe next time!
El Mariachi Habanero estará recibiendo a nuestro querido Presidente @lopezobrador_ en el aeropuerto y también estarán en el #AmloFestNYC Invitamos a todos los mexicanos para darle la más hermosa bienvenida a nuestro gran Presidente. pic.twitter.com/5gP1Y9jYhf
Una puerta cualquiera en la Colonia Doctores. Laura Martínez, October 2021 (P.P.)
After 1 year, 7 months and eleven days, I’m finally back in my beloved CDMX (formerly known as D.F.) and while many things have changed -and Covid was truly devastating for many Mexicans I know- the simple beauty of my birth city and its sights & sounds remains undisturbed.
Since October 8, 2020, I have not only lost one job but two of them, and while things look pretty challenging right now, I’m very lucky to be back and to be able to hug my friends and family once again. Yes, I’ve been hugging people left & right… Take that, #PincheCovid!
Also, and given the extra time life is affording me right now, I have made some very important resolutions, like updating this blog sangüichero as often as possible and catching up on some very important reading material (see below.)
I’m not really sure what’s next. But first things first: I’m off to Ajusco for some sopa de hongos. ¡Ahí se ven!
T-Mobile does Cinco de Mayo with taco socks, maracas and the like.
No matter how many bizarre holidays Americans come up with, Cinco de Mayo will forever be my favorite. And not only because it’s an excuse to drink all day and yell ¡Viva México! while thinking it’s Mexican Independence (it’s not) but because it is also the time of year that brings out the stupidest most creative marketing brains to sell Americans everything, from DIY printable fiesta kits and taquito shooters (whatever that is,) to senseless drink mixes, “ethnic food” and even life-size cardboard Mexicans as scene setters.
Etsy T-shirts, anyone?
Nacho de Mayo, because why not?
This time around, though, in honor of that amazing marketing tool known as Twitter, I’ve put together a few tweets making their way to my timeline using the #CincoDeMayo hashtag. This has only begun, so, please help me by tweeting me your own personal horrors for 2021 Cinco de Mayo and let the “Mexican” madness begin!
#churros anyone? These scrummy churros cupcakes are the perfect treat for #CincoDeMayo and they’re even topped with a mini churros that I baking using the @beckyexcell recipe 😋 🤤 😍 🤩 🧁 🇲🇽 💃
Got extra $40 and no shame? I got the perfect thing for you!
The Nostalgia Taco Tuesday Heated Lazy Susan Topping Bar is a fun way to get together on Taco Tuesday and share hideous, non-taco tacos with your friends. The set costs “only” $39.99 (plus shipping) and promises to hold as much plasticky, fake Mexican food you can imagine!
According to its creators, this thing’s Lazy Susan Design “makes it easy to share across the table” and features a “removable warming pot and topping trays.”
Heck, there’s even a video showing how a “timeless tradition has been made more convenient.”
The Gyoza Taco Dog serves up gyoza nestled in a hot dog bun topped with spicy sauce
Move over, Sushiro’s sushi tacos, here comes the Gyoza Taco Dog, the latest Japanese taco-themed delicacy courtesy of Korakuen, one of Japan’s largest ramen chains.
But, what makes this thing a taco? I’m glad you asked! “The taco flavor serves up gyoza nestled in a hot dog bun topped with a spicy sauce with chopped tomatoes, green peppers, onions, and jalapeños and a rich cheese sauce.”
I never heard of this Mexican restaurant before, nor I’ve ever set foot in Bristol Virginia, but if their tacos are as good as its name, I envision a bright future for these people. Oh, and I want to buy shares or something.
‘A chilanga without a voting document is like a al pastor taco without pineapple’
Mexican electoral authorities are calling on chilangos (as Mexico City residents are known) living abroad to take part in the 2010 election and vote for a “Diputación migrante.” What this basically means is that migrants hailing from the city capital will be able to cast a vote for representation at the Mexico City Congress.
And what better way to convince chilangos to take part than using some of the things that make our heart beat the hardest? Tacos al pastor; tortas de tamal and trajineras.
As Mexico’s Electoral Institute (INE) inform us on a dedicated Website, being a chilango without a voting document is equivalent to really dull things: Like a taco al pastor without pineapple; a guajolota (torta of tamal) without bolillo or a trajinera without a name.
This blogger better go sign up for this thing ASAP.
‘A chilango without a voting document is like a guajolota without bolillo.’
Well, the General Mills’ owned brand is back in the news, now with the launch of “Tortilla Pockets Kits,” because apparently their target consumers are too dumb to eat a regular taco made with real tortillas.
Tortilla Pockets, say their creators, “are sealed at the bottom to offer a mess-free solution at mealtimes and are ideal for a quick bite on the go.” And, no, this is not a joke. They’re already on sale in England and Australia.
Oh and “food” writers and editors seem to totally dig them!
“Eating tacos is a precarious business. After years of practise, few of us have perfected the fine art of filling a taco and getting it into our mouths without losing half of it to the floor,” writes Erina Starkey, a restaurant and news editor in Australia, which -granted- is not really known for its Mexican gastronomy. “The nifty pocket design provides a perfect cup for filling up with mince, cheese and salad so you never have to worry about dry-cleaning those salsa stains again.”
The bigger, more simple version of a sign advocating for social justice is even better.
Looks like advocating for equality and social justice doesn’t go down well among some people. Take some Iowans, who found a sign posted outside a Mexican restaurant a little too… politically correct.
The story goes like this. Alfonso Medina, owner of La Carreta Mexican Grill in Marshalltown, Iowa, had placed the below sign outside his restaurant as a way to take a stand in favor of science, social justice, equality… crazy, right?
The original sign posted outside La Carreta Mexican Grill in Des Moines, Iowa.
According to CNN, the offending sign brought lots of hate mail to Mr. Medina, including one letter that actually blew up on social media. Said letter came from a customer, who addressed Mr. Medina by name, said he had recently spent a lot of money in his restaurant but that –upon seeing the sign– he’d never eat there again. This person actually ended the misive by calling Medina “a leftist Marxist.”
Mr. Medina took to Instagram to respond by saying: “We’re sorry your burrito had to get political, but it was the only way y’all would listen.” The IG post ended with a bang: “No Love, No Tacos.” Then, just like any genuine “leftist Marxist,” would do, Mr. Medina copyrighted the No Love, No Tacos slogan; adopted it for his restaurant and even paid for a large billboard to display it.
Filing under Mexicans: How can anyhone not like us?
It’s called Jalapeño Noir and at least they succeeded in putting an ‘eñe’ where it belongs.
Not content with having desecrated tacos, quesadillas and the like, Taco Bell has its eyes on destroying yet another one of this blogger’s favorite things: Alcoholic beverages.
Turns out the ubiquitous American “food” chain is launching Jalapeño Noir, a new red wine to pair with your Cheesy Chalupa, because… WHY THE HELL NOT?
Fortunately for this blogger, this thing is only being released in Canada and is tied to Taco Bell Canada’s introduction of the new Toasted Cheesy Chalupa [don’t ask.] Per an unnecessarily long press release: “The new chalupa variation features six-month aged sharp cheddar cheese toasted onto the iconic chalupa shell to create a crispy blanket of flavour and texture” which should pair well with “notes of wild strawberry, cherry and beetroot in this silky limited-edition red wine.”
As Mexicans prepare to celebrate Candlemass next week (February 2,) a wave of new options to dress up your Baby Jesus has emerged. And because Baby Jesus Doctor is no longer enough, what about Baby Jesus Doctor Covid or Baby Jesus Taquero?
MI BLOG ES TU BLOG 