"Nahua Siwameh itech Tlekuille": The Nahuatl woman at the campfire
To the rescue of the traditional recipes of the Nahuatl women and their history.
By Secretaría de Cultura
Siwalcentli Collective
Keeping the traditional Nahuatl cuisine alive
The Siwalcentli Collective seeks the strengthening of gastronomic knowledge, as well as its diffusion through different activities, thereby making sure it continues.
The work carried out has focused on the registration of different ancestral recipes, as well as plants, flowers and edible insects, which in addition to their consumption in different guisos (stews), have had healing properties.
Textli, bolitas de masa (2017) by Miriam Pérez TemoxtleSecretaría de Cultura
Masa dough balls with epazote (Mexican tea) for making the dish known in Nahuatl as tesmole (soup-stew) (in Spanish mole de masa).
Texmole de pollo (2020) by Miriam Pérez TemoxtleSecretaría de Cultura
The tesmole (soup-stew) can be chicken, pork or pure vegetables, often prepared with mushrooms, and flavored with epazote (Mexican tea), which are included in the masa dough balls and in the broth, made from tomato, onion, garlic and thickened with dissolved dough.
Gusano de Popotoca (2016) by Miriam Pérez TemoxtleSecretaría de Cultura
Insect known as Popotoca, extracted from the tree with the same name, is eaten in soup, or simply fried and accompanied with a tecajete salsa.
Popotocas asadas en comal (2020) by Miriam Pérez TemoxtleSecretaría de Cultura
This insect is one of the most popular ingredients in the region, so there are efforts to preserve its habitat and preserve the preparation techniques.
We have also compiled the food preparation techniques that each chef has, the knowledge about gastronomy and their relationship with the Nahuatl worldview.
Tlaxcalli (2020) by Miriam Pérez TemoxtleSecretaría de Cultura
To prepare the tortillas, the tradition in the mountains is to heat them in a clay comal (griddle), having previously cured them with lime.
Chiles rellenos (2016) by Blanca Yaret García MartínezSecretaría de Cultura
Preparation of chilis stuffed with pork, with the huge variety of ingredients that are produced in the communities, like tomato, onion and plantain, which undoubtedly make a perfect combination, prepared at special events.
Women are an important part of this work as they are the carriers of knowledge and flavors of communities, who share and teach others. The wisdom, taste and love with which they feed the family originates from their stoves.
However, they tend to live in the shadow, isolated and viewed as people unable to contribute anything significant to society, that is why there is a need for us to open a space for the Nahuatl women where, through food, we can manage to share our ancestral knowledge and put into practice the knowledge acquired in academic training.
Citlaltomatl (2012) by Miriam Pérez TemoxtleSecretaría de Cultura
Tomatito (cherry tomatoes) known in Nahuatl as Citlalli, meaning star, which is very common for preparing different spicy and sweet salsas. Cultivated on the mountain in an organic way.
“Centli” Mazorca (2020) by Miriam Pérez TemoxtleSecretaría de Cultura
The day of the Pixca in Nahuatl, which in Spanish means harvest, a meeting between man and corn. In the mountains, the traditional way of cultivating and harvesting corn has been preserved, something which must continue to be preserved in the next generations.
Calabacitas tiernas (2016) by Blanca Yaret García MartínezSecretaría de Cultura
High vegetable production. Traditional chefs know the best way to use them in each of their dishes, generating a food resistance that takes care of the feeding of each one.
Tlaxcalli (2010) by Miriam Pérez TemoxtleSecretaría de Cultura
Freshly made tortillas in the comal (griddle).
The aim is to spread the traditional Nahuatl cuisine of Zongolica with a cross-sectional project in the region, where we will contribute to the promotion and strengthening of ancestral knowledge regarding the use of endemic and medicinal ingredients, in addition to the care of some species in danger of extinction, valuable knowledge that women possess and making traditional Nahuatl Zongoliqueña food visible.
Mixquilitl guisado (2020) by Miriam Pérez TemoxtleSecretaría de Cultura
Traditional stewed mixquilitl.
Elotl tamale (2020) by Blanca Yaret García MartínezSecretaría de Cultura
Tamal of elote (street corn), prepared in the era before the harvest. The young elotes (street corns) are extracted and the tamales are prepared with oil, cinnamon and sugar, accompanied by a delicious cup of coffee.
We as Nahuatl women interested in the rescue of traditional cuisine seek to transcend beyond it, to achieve recognition and value for future generations, maintaining a balance between land, woman and the stove.
Siwalcentli Collective
Our objective is to make visible and disseminate the ancestral knowledge of the Nahuatl women from the center of the State of Veracruz, belonging to the municipality of Zongolica, in terms of traditional food, which is made from organic ingredients harvested in the region, some endemic and others endangered.
MEMBERS:
Blanca Yaret García Martínez
Miriam Pérez Temoxtle
Laura García Coquehua
Corazón de María Tlehuactle Atlahua
Elvira Colohua Ajactle
Xalapa Regional Unit—General Directorate of Popular, Indigenous and Urban Cultures
