Traditional Mexican Food

                At Christmas time many Mexicans celebrate with several authentic food, but one traditional food item commonly cooked and enjoyed for Christmas are tamales. Tamales originated in Mesoamerica around 8000 to 5000 BCE. Aztec, Maya, Olmeca, and Tolteca civilizations used tamales as a on the go food for armies, hunters, and travelers. Tamales have also been discovered to be used by the Inca Empire before the Spanish came to the Americas.

                Tamales are made with a masa type of dough that surrounds fillings such as meats, cheese, vegetables, chilies, fruit, or sweet foods.  The masa and its filling is steam cooked in a leaf or corn husk wrapper, and when the tamale is finished cooking then the leaf or husk is removed before eating. The most common fillings in Mexico are pork and chicken mixed with either red or green salsa. In Mexico, tamales are considered the most favorable traditional and comfort foods. Almost every region and state within Mexico has its own kind of tamale. There are around 500 to 1000 different types of tamales throughout Mexico.

Beef Tamale Recipe:

Ingredients

2 pounds beef shoulder roast
Salt and pepper, to taste
2 onions, peeled and sliced
1 garlic bulb, cloves removed and peeled
4 ounces dried New Mexico chilies
2 ounces ancho chiles
2 ounces pasilla chiles
2 tablespoons cumin seed, toasted
1 tablespoons salt
2 bags dried corn husks, about 3 dozen
4 cups masa mix for tamales
1 tablespoon baking powder
2 teaspoons salt
4 cups reserved beef broth, warm
1 cup vegetable shortening

Instructions

Beef; Season the beef shoulder all over with salt and pepper then brown in a large heavy pot over medium heat. Once browned on all sides, add enough water to cover the roast along with the 1 sliced onion and about 6 cloves of garlic.

Cook until the meat is fork tender and comes apart with no resistance, about 2 hours. When done, remove the roast to a platter to cool, reserve the beef broth. Hand shred the meat and set aside.

Sauce; To prepare the sauce, remove the tops of the dried chilies and shake out most of the seeds. Place the chilies in a large stockpot and cover them with water. Add the cumin, remaining sliced onion and garlic. Boil for 20 minutes until the chiles are very soft. Transfer the chiles to a blender using tongs and add a ladle full of the chile water (it is best to do this in batches.) Puree the chiles until smooth. Pass the pureed chiles through a strainer to remove the remaining seeds and skins. Pour the chili sauce into a large bowl and add salt, stir to incorporate. Taste to check seasonings, add more if necessary. Add the shredded beef to the bowl of chili sauce, and mix thoroughly. Refrigerate until ready to use.

Husks; go through the husks and sort by size and remove any silks or debris. Soak the corn husks in your sink filled with warm water until soft, about 30 minutes. (You can also soak husks in large bowls of water if you are not doing a lot of tamales).

Masa; In a deep bowl, combine the masa, baking powder, and salt. Pour the broth into the masa a little at a time, working it in with your fingers. In a small bowl, beat the vegetable shortening until fluffy. Add it to the masa and beat until the dough has a spongy texture.

Drain Husks; Rinse, drain, and dry the corn husks. Set them out on a sheet pan covered by a damp towel along with the bowls of masa dough and beef in chili sauce.

Spread Masa; Start with the largest husks because they are easier to roll. Lay the husk flat on a plate or in your hand with the smooth side up and the narrow end facing you. Spread a thin, even layer of masa over the surface of the husk with a tablespoon dipped in water. The easiest method of spreading masa is with a masa spreader (see side panel for how this is used) Do not use too much, keep the masa thin. 

Add about a tablespoon of the meat filling in the center of the masa. Fold the narrow end up to the center then fold both sides together to enclose the filling. The sticky masa will form a seal. Pinch the wide top closed.

Fold; the sides of the corn husk to center over the masa so that they overlap to make a long package. Fold the empty part of the husk under so that it rest against the side of the tamale with a seam.

Steam; Place the tamales in a steamer and cook tamales for 2 hours. Check every 20 minutes.  Do not let the water boil away. The tamale is cooked when it separates easily from the corn husk.

Serve; Unfold the husk and spoon about a tablespoon of remaing beef filling on top

Enjoy!

Source: soulfoodaustin.org

State of the Indigenous

Currently, in Mexico there are about fifty-six indigenous groups. An eighty percent of Mexico's indigenous people live in extreme poverty. The poorest state in Mexico is the state of Chiapas which has an extremely high concentration of indigenous people. There are several language barriers between the indigenous peoples in the public education system. The illiteracy rate among the indigenous people in Mexico is six times the national average. In addition to the language barrier comes the reality of unemployment and employment discrimination in Spanish-speaking areas. Many companies discriminate against the Indians not only because of their inability to speak Spanish but because of their physical charicteristics. For example, Indians are often not allowed to do the easier plant packing work because they are "too short" to reach the vegetables. Indigenous women also suffer much discrimination due to a higher illiteracy rate. Many of these woman have double the discrimination due to being an indigenous person and a woman. They suffer from employment and political discrimination and have to deal with rape and sexual asault from military presence in their home towns. The Mexican government is aware that the indigenous people suffer from racial discrimination, but the government blames it on poverty itself.

Current Events

According to the Southern California Public Radio, the director of the FBI, Robert Mueller, is highly concerred about the drug cartel violence in Mexico. Last year, there were 13,000 deaths due to the drug war in Mexico. There are growing threats of violence from this drug war's gangs crossing the boarder and leaking into the United States. The FBI has been giving extra support of law enforcement the the US, Mexico boarder as a means of lessening these threats. The FBI even has an office in Mexico City, Mexico's capital, as a way for the FBI to work directly with Mexican law enforcement officials.

Indigenous Languages of Mexico

Mexico has as many as 68 indigenous Amerindian languages as national languages. According to the Commission for the Development of Indigenous Peoples and National Institute of Indigenous Languages, only 5.4% of the 10% of the population who is of Native American origin speak an indigenous language. Nahualt is an Indigenous language with a total of 1,376,026 speakers. The Yucatec Maya is the second most commonly spoken indigenous language with a number of 759,000 speakers. A few of the other indigenous languages that still exist in Mexico today are Tzeltal Maya, Tzotzil Maya, Otomi, Totonac, Mazate, and many others. With the Spanish forces and colonizers arriving in the 16^th century, the indigenous languages of Mexico slow was replaced with Spanish.

Mexico's National Flag

Source: cia.gov

Map of Mexico

Source: Si-Mexico.com

Mexico

Mexico is a country full of rich and cherished culture. Ranging from its noted Mexican food to its beautiful landscapes touching the Pacific Ocean and Gulf of Mexico. Mexico has a population of 112,322.757 people with a birth rate of 19 per 1,000 and a population growth of 1.82% each year. The average life expectancy is 75.6 years of age. The number of people speaking indigenous languages such as Nahuatl and Yucatec is 6,001,202, and the main religion of Mexico is Roman Catholic. The flag of Mexico consists of red, green, and white. The largest city in Mexico is Mexico City and it has a population of 19,231,829 people. Mexico has a deep history of wars and triumphs, but its people is what keeps the country's memories and traditions alive.