This city would have possessed a beauty like no other. I am not at all surprised that some conquistadors felt as though they were experiencing a fantastical dream. When Hernán Cortés arrived in 1519, he was awestruck. In letters to the Spanish king, he compared Tenochtitlan favorably to Venice and declared it more beautiful than any city in Spain. His soldiers wandered the markets and … Continue reading Tenochtitlan. The City on the Lake
I have a small (but growing) collection of masks and I am ever on the lookout for new additions, particularly from Mexico. I find it fascinating thinking of the journey the mask made to end up in Australia and into my hands. For some reason (maybe clumsiness?) I prefer wooden masks over the clay/ceramic ones. I like the feel of wood, the story it tells … Continue reading Mis Mascaras : Máscara Guatemalteco
Mexican rompope is typical of recipes that came out of the convents during Mexicos Colonial period (1), particularly from Puebla de Los Angeles (2). According to tradition, the original Mexican rompope beverage was created in Puebla’s Convento de Santa Clara in the 17th century by sisters of the Orden de las Hermanas Pobre de Santa Clara, better known in English as the Poor Clares. This … Continue reading Rompope : Mexican Eggnog
Cover Image : Hueyapan Centro In my urban archaeological wanderings of my local second-hand/thrift stores I on occasion stumble across something that really catches my eye. An unexpected Thrift store treasure. I couldn’t walk away from it. It cost me $15 (which I did consider a little steep) but it is a professionally framed, high quality photograph and is of a church that sung out … Continue reading Mexican Indigenous Arte : The Embroidery of Hueyapan
*DISCLAIMER* Any products shown in this Post are for information purposes only. I was researching herbs specific to Tlaloc when a seemingly throwaway line in an article by Ortiz de Montellano (1980) (1) noting that “Certain plants were associated with particular gods: examples include omixochitl (Polianthus tuberosa) with Xochipilli, and cuetlaxochitl (Euphoria pulcherrima) with Xochiquetzal” caught my interest (the section highlighted in BOLD immediately drew … Continue reading Xochipilli and the Bone Flower
We add another one to the list : A Note on Deer Weed : The Danger of Common Names Scientific name: Peperomia lenticularis A plant with smooth, slightly heart-shaped green leaves. Common names : Sopa-causasa, cumazani, Tequelite chiquito (1) Known in other languages as: cuc’sazan also Laktsu kuksasan (Totonac, northern mountains of Puebla) tancharapo (Nahuatl, northern mountain range of Puebla) Below are some descriptions of … Continue reading Quelite de Venado : Another Deer Weed
in another Post (1) several references note that the “seat of the soul” for the Aztecs was the intestines and as such gastrointestinal illnesses and conditions, specifically trip ida, are synonymous with another condition called susto (2). My research does not indicate this though. For the Mexica, the human body mirrored the cosmos, both being composed of heavy and light substances. The light substance within … Continue reading A Short Discourse on the Aztec Soul.
*well “Tlatoanis” actually if you want to be pedantic about it (and I do) I briefly look at the masa based drink called atole in my Post Mexican Cooking Equipment : The Molinillo and go into it in a bit more detail in, A Naturopathic View of the Aztec Diet : Part 2 : Appendix 1 : Atole, and then expand upon it again in another related … Continue reading Atlaquetzalli. The Drink of Kings*
In a previous Post (Rábano. The Radish.) I mentioned briefly the dish known as pozole (go check the Post out for a bit of a breakdown on the origin and meaning of the word pozole, it’s interesting – well I reckon it is anyway – and it links with a little more etymology in this Post) Anyway. Back to the Pozole. At its most basic … Continue reading Pozole : Part 2 (Well, Part 1 really)
Joyous Yuletide. Well it’s not Christmas but today certainly feels like it. I was scanning Facebook Market place (as I do) to find anything remotely Mesoamerican and mask related when I stumbled across the painting below. I was also quite surprised that it was listed as being FREE. This I could not believe so I contacted the seller and after a little back and forth … Continue reading Máscaras Peruanas : Peruvian Masks
Masa Americana 