"In the usual place"

Marilú Terán Menez, a traditional chef from the municipality of Tepoztlán, Morelos, Mexico, manages to make dozens of people smile and feel happy every day after eating the food she prepares in the market of this pueblo mágico.

Her specialty is the famous takeaways (itacates), which are made of corn and their peculiarity is that they are shaped like a triangle.

He arrives daily at his stand called El Lugar de Siempre (The Usual Place), where Gabriel Terán Ménez, Adriana Alvarado Terán and her husband Severo Noriega Barragán accompany him.

"14 years ago we had premises, but we did not have the name, especially what it was going to be called, then one of my sister-in-laws heard on the radio or television that an artist was going to play El Lugar de Siempre" (The Usual Place) (a song), and that's where the name of the premises comes from," Marilú Terán said.

The people from the town successfully adopted the name of the premises. It is a name that they consider great and original, which has generated fame and has had a positive impact on sales.

Offering traditional Tepoztlán food, such as itacates (takeaways), quesadillas, enchiladas, beef jerky tacos, among many other guisados (stews), represents a proud moment for Marilú because its main satisfaction is waiting on people who visit them, both from the town and from different parts of Mexico and of the world, since Tepoztlán is a highly touristy place.

Visiting Tepoztlán and not eating an itacate (takeaway) is like going to Yecapixtla and not eating beef jerky, like going to Tres Marías and not eating quesadillas … "The most traditional and most common thing in the market is the itacates (takeaways), it is something typical of this place, something that represents the tepoztecos,"Marilú said.

She added that many tourists, some English speakers, come to her stand and, although she does not speak this language, she made an effort to write a menu in English.

"Sometimes foreigners come and because we do not speak English, and as I prepare in certain ways I wrote a menu so that they can ask in English. It is not well specified, but we manage to understand."

Marilú explains that the expression itacate (takeaway) comes from the northern region of Mexico, where people say itacate to take food away in a box. The most traditional one was itacate (takeaway) with salsa because there was no cream or cheese before.

When they are not at the food stand, Marilú and her family usually go to the main square to have fun, they buy some tapas such as elotes (street corn) or sorbets being sold in the main square.

They celebrate their anniversary at the venue every April, they don't have an exact day, but they are aware that every April another year has gone by bringing satisfaction to visitors through the sense of taste.

"I would tell them that they will be given the chance to come and see and try our dishes. I can tell them that I am the best, but what if they don't like it, that's why it's better that they try and hopefully they like it and they get a pleasant surprise. We're waiting for them at "El lugar de siempre" ("The usual place"), he finished.