Mexican Artist : Amendolla
In one of my most recent Posts, Arte Mexicano : Mi Colección, I mentioned a beautiful watercolour that had fortuitously (and somewhat synchronistically) entered my possession. The image in the painting was that of San Bernardino, a church in Xochimilco, and was by the artist Amendolla. Now my knowledge of Mexican art is really limited to the prehispanic era, although I am aware of modern … Continue reading Mexican Artist : Amendolla
Poreleaf Adjacent : San Felipe Dogweed : Adenophyllum porophylloides
I have briefly looked at this herb in my Post Papalo and Pipicha. Skunk Weed? and as it is tantalisingly close to my love papalo I would like to investigate it a little more deeply (and grow it if I can source the seed). Also called : Yerba del Venado, Coronilla, Cempasuchil sencillo, Corona de Rey, arnica, San Felipe dyssodia, San Felipe dogweed, San Felipe … Continue reading Poreleaf Adjacent : San Felipe Dogweed : Adenophyllum porophylloides
Arte Mexicano : Mi Colección
I have begun to collect Mexican art. I stumbled upon this beautifully textured oil painting in a second hand store and was immediately drawn to the bugambilia flowers (1). The aesthetics of the painting strongly suggested Mexico to me and upon further investigation I found that it was painted in Cuetzalan Puablo (sic) (1) The next piece to enter mi coleccion was a lovely watercolour. … Continue reading Arte Mexicano : Mi Colección
Ketumbar Bolivia : The Poreleaf in Southeast Asia
Cover image : roadside offering to the Gods on a street in Bali. Ketumbar Bolivia = Bolivian Coriander : generally identified as Porophyllum ruderale (syn P.ellipticum) Also called : Seungit (fragrant, smells good – Indonesia.) In southeast Asia Ketumbar Bolivia is a type of papalo usually identified as being the variety known as Porophyllum ruderale. Ketumbar (katumbar) is a Brunei Malay (1) word signifying the … Continue reading Ketumbar Bolivia : The Poreleaf in Southeast Asia
A Naturopathic View of the Aztec Diet : Part 1
Wow. This started as something else. We’ll get to the Aztec diet part in a minute. Before I wanted to start I thought I’d define a couple of terms (one being “Naturopath”) so I thought I’d do a quick Google to get some ideas of the definitions out there and how they measured against what I know and all I can say is Holy Fuck! … Continue reading A Naturopathic View of the Aztec Diet : Part 1
Gentification of the Molinillo?
Cultural appropriation (and appreciation), gentrification and gentefication. What’s in the mix? I recently published a Post on an unique prehispanic cooking tool called the molinillo. Mexican Cooking Equipment : The Molinillo This tool has become, more or less, the focus for this Post as a molinillo that has recently entered my collection raised a few questions within myself regarding when (and how) is it OK … Continue reading Gentification of the Molinillo?
Medicinal use of Papalo in 1651 as noted by Hernández
One of the first written references to papaloquilitl is to be found in the work Historia natural de Nueva España (7 Volumes) penned by Francisco Hernández de Toledo circa 1570 AD Now, to the author…. Francisco Hernández de Toledo (c. 1515 – 28 January 1587) was a naturalist and court physician to King Philip II of Spain. He was among the first wave of Spanish … Continue reading Medicinal use of Papalo in 1651 as noted by Hernández
Papalo – A Lexicon of Local Names
I have previously Posted on the use of Latin binomial nomenclature or the “two name” system of classifying plants as being vitally important in regards to the positive identification of a specific plant. This is particularly relevant if you are taking the plant internally either as a medicine or a food. One plant may have a plethora of common names (as is demonstrated below) or … Continue reading Papalo – A Lexicon of Local Names
Papaloquelite : It’s History in Text
The first written references to papaloquelite (papaloquilitl) appear in the Libellus de Medicinalibus Indorum Herbis (“Little Book of the Medicinal Herbs of the Indians”) or more commonly the Codex de la Cruz-Badiano (Badianus Manuscript) . This text was written by Martín de la Cruz in the Colegio de Santa Cruz de Tlatelolco (1) in 1552 and then translated into Latin by Juan Badiano. The book … Continue reading Papaloquelite : It’s History in Text
Celebrity Tequila : A New Chapter?
A new chapter? Probably too much to ask I’d reckon. I have previously Posted on celebrities jumping on the tequila (or mezcal, or sotol) bandwagon to “create” new brands of tequila for “discerning” consumers. Celebrity Tequila. Cultural Appropriation? Gentrification? Only a few hours ago (on the twenty sixth day of October in the year of our Lord two thousand and twenty three) a new celebrity … Continue reading Celebrity Tequila : A New Chapter?
Masa Americana 