• Skip to content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • Skip to footer

The Other Side of the Tortilla

Mexican recipes, culture and travel destinations

  • HOME
  • ABOUT
    • CONTACT ME
    • FAQ
    • PRESS
    • Media Kit
    • ADVERTISE
  • RESOURCES
    • INGREDIENTS
    • KITCHEN TOOLS
    • Thanksgiving
    • Mexican Christmas Traditions
  • RECIPES
  • shop

Historia/History

4 December 17, 2010 Christmas

How to Celebrate Las Posadas Navideñas

Las posadas navideñas are the nine days of annual Christmas celebrations that culminate with a big celebration on Nochebuena, or Christmas Eve, in Mexico. The nine days symbolize each of the months that Mary was pregnant, and that’s also why Christmas Eve is more celebrated in Mexico than Christmas Day like in many other countries.

The posadas often include traditional foods and drinks, especially things like tamales and ponche navideño. There are many different ways to make ponche, and each family does something different. Another holiday favorite of mine is rompope, an eggnog-like drink that comes from the famous nuns of Puebla, located about two hours outside of Mexico City.

RELATED RECIPE: How to make ponche navideño

Watch this video to learn more about las posadas and how our family celebrates.

RELATED RECIPE: How to make rompope

The piñata is also a staple of posadas, and everyone from the youngest to the oldest gets a turn to try to break it. Piñatas are traditionally shaped like a star with seven cones, and the cones represent the seven deadly sins. The custom of being blindfolded while hitting the piñata is supposed to symbolize one’s faith, and the stick used to hit the piñata is supposed to symbolize virtue. And traditionally, the piñata is made of an olla de barro, or clay pot, covered in paper maché and decorated with colorful tissue paper and streamers.

A piñata is used to celebrate Las Posadas in Mexico. Visit theothersideofthetortilla.com for more information on how to celebrate this holiday.

Many people still fill their piñata with fruit such as tejocotes, oranges, and guavas, or cane sugar sticks and nuts but it is also common to fill it with candies such as tamarindo or even modern candies like one of my favorites, a strawberry jelly and marshmallow candy bar covered in chocolate called Bubu Lubu.

Piñatas are an important part of any posada. Find this and more about Christmas in Mexico at theothersideofthetortilla.com.

Below are the lyrics to the piñata song, “Dale, dale dale” as well as the traditional song you can hear in the video when the “peregrinos” are singing.

A piñata is used to celebrate Las Posadas in Mexico. Visit theothersideofthetortilla.com for more information on how to celebrate this holiday.

Piñatas are an important part of any posada. Find this and more about Christmas in Mexico at theothersideofthetortilla.com.

“Dale, dale dale”

 

Dale, dale, dale , no pierdas el tino
porque si lo pierdes, pierdes el camino.
Ya le diste una, ya le diste dos, ya le diste tres, ¡y tu tiempo se acabo!

Piñatas are an important part of any posada. Find this and more about Christmas in Mexico at theothersideofthetortilla.com.

Celebrating las posadas navideñas in Mexico: Traditional song lyrics for posadas. Find this and more about Christmas in Mexico at theothersideofthetortilla.com.

 

Canción para pedir posada

The “peregrinos” sing verse A and the “innkeepers” sing verse B.

1a. En el nombre del cielo os pido posada, pues no puede andar mi esposa amada.
1b. Aqui no es mesón, sigan adelante. Yo no debo abrir, no sea algún tunante.

1a. No seas inhumano, tennos caridad, que el Dios de los cielos te lo premiará.
1b. Ya se pueden ir y no molestar, porque si me enfado os voy a apalear.

2a. Venimos rendidos desde Nazarét, yo soy carpintero de nombre José.
2b. No me importa el nombre, déjenme dormir, pues que yo les digo que no hemos de abrir.

2a. Posada te pido, amado casero, por sólo una noche la Reina del Cielo.
2b. Pues si es una reina quien lo solicita, ¿Cómo es que de noche anda tan solita?

3a. Mi esposa es María, es Reina del Cielo y madre va a ser del Divino Verbo.
3b. ¿Eres tú José? ¿Tú esposa es María? Entren, peregrinos, no los conocía.

3a. Dios pague, señores, nuestra caridad, y que os colme el cielo de felicidad.
3b. ¡Dichosa la casa la casa que alberga este día a la Virgen pura! ¡La hermosa María!

Then the peregrinos enter and the tune changes while all sing.

Entren, Santos Peregrinos, reciban este rincón, que aunque es pobre la morada, os la doy de corazón.

Cantemos con alegría, alegría, todos al considerar
Que Jesús, José y María, y María, nos vinieron hoy a honerar.

 

0 December 1, 2010 Cultura/Culture

Wordless Wednesday: Nochebuenas

This past weekend I saw the first Nochebuenas of the holiday season! Did you know that Poinsettia flowers originally came from Mexico? Just a few hours outside of Mexico City, the first poinsettias were discovered in the valleys of Taxco and Cuernavaca but it wasn’t until after the Spanish conquest that they were incorporated as a symbol of the Christmas season thanks to the Franciscan priests. The flower was popularized in the United States after it was brought here by Joel Poinsett, U.S. Ambassador to Mexico after the country won its independence from Spain.

  • Does your family use Nochebuenas to decorate during the holidays?
The photo in this post was taken with my iPhone 3Gs using the Polarize app by Christopher Comair.

0 November 19, 2010 Cultura/Culture

Celebrate Mexico Every Day

September 16th, Mexican Independence Day, has come and gone, but the celebration of Mexico isn’t really over just yet.

Tomorrow, November 20th, Mexico will celebrate the centennial of its Revolution. This year has been filled with special events all over the world honoring these two important anniversaries in Mexican history.

But there are many everyday reasons to celebrate Mexico, too: the diverse flora and fauna; beautiful ecosystems spanning every kind of terrain from jungles and deserts; the incredible food with worldly influences ranging from pre-Hispanic cultures to European, Asian and beyond; the kind and generous people; the abundance of historical and World Heritage sites… I could probably go on listing the things I love about Mexico for days. I can’t wait to one day have children to teach them all the things we love so much about the country where their papá was born and raised.

In the news in the U.S., Mexico is often painted as a violent, turbulent place and seldom are the positive things about the country and the culture shared in the mainstream media. But to me, Mexico is so much more than what they show on the news. Here on The Other Side of The Tortilla, I choose to focus on the positive aspects of Mexico and Mexican culture because it is what I feel in my heart. It is a mission here to both connect Mexicans at home and abroad to their culture via stories about family and food – two of the most important aspects of the culture – as well as educate those who are not Mexican about traveling the country, absorbing the rich culture and experiencing the incomparable cuisine.

This week, the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) awarded Mexican cuisine the status as a Masterpiece of the Oral and Intangible Heritage of Humanity at a ceremony in Nairobi, Kenya. This is big news in Tortillalandia and you can definitely expect to read more about it here soon. In the meantime, check out the Conservatorio de la Cultura Gastronómica Mexicana to learn more about the organization that submitted the proposal that was approved by UNESCO. I’m excited to see that the world is finally acknowledging the importance of Mexican cuisine and it’s even more special that the status is being awarded during the bicentennial year.

From November 29-December 10, Mexico will also be hosting the United Nations Climate Change Conference (also know as COP16/CMP6) in Cancun. I was delighted to hear that the conference will be planting around 10,000 trees and bushes in Cancun as part of their way of giving back to the city for hosting. I’m very excited to see all the sustainability efforts being implemented during the conference, as environmental sustainability and caring for the natural resources of the area are very important to the local habitat. The Riviera Maya has much to offer in terms of natural beauty, historic landmarks and world-class culture and food. In fact, the ruins at Tulum are one of my favorite gems in that area because they incorporate both the lush vegetation and the incredible building skills of a civilization that is not physically present, but still lives on in the heart of Mexican history.

I encourage you to follow along with the conference and check out the resources on their website as Mexico steps into the limelight to become part of the solution, bridging the gap between the developed and developing worlds and educating others on how to preserve our beautiful natural spaces and reduce our carbon footprints for generations to come.

I plan to continue celebrating the magic of the Bicentenario through the rest of 2010 and well into the future. I’ll be visiting Mexico for most of the month of December and into early January so you can count on a daily serving of whatever I’m up to, all laid out here in stories, photos and video every day while I’m there. Ven conmigo and subscribe via email or RSS so you don’t miss out on the fun!

Without Mexico, my life would be a lot less picante, verdad? And to me, life without a little spice is boring so I’m proud to say that Mexico is my home away from home.

If you missed the espectáculo, check out this video below for a glimpse of how the bicentenario was celebrated in Mexico City’s zócalo. To learn more about Mexico’s rich history and the events still to come in 2010, check out the Bicentennial websites in Spanish and English.

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DjXXM_SvyIc[/youtube]

200 AÑOS DE SER ORGULLOSAMENTE MEXICANOS

  • HOW DO YOU CELEBRATE MEXICO EVERY DAY?
The photos in this post were provided by the government of Mexico through Ogilvy Public Relations Worldwide.
Ogilvy is working with the government of Mexico as a communications partner to help promote Mexico worldwide as a global business partner and unrivaled tourist destination. To accomplish this, they are working with writers like me to provide interesting information, additional facts, economic information, and new perspectives about the country to a range of interested audiences. The words and opinions here are my own.

0 November 13, 2010 Cultura/Culture

Querétaro: barbacoa de la carretera & other tales

This past summer I took a road trip from Mexico City to Aguascalientes with my suegros to celebrate José’s Abuelita Ana’s 90th birthday.

The day before we left Mexico City, my suegros were going on and on about this place we were going to stop for barbacoa for breakfast. I didn’t need to hear anything more; I was sold. Mostly because any time they mention food that’s along the highway, I know it’s going to be good. I can’t quite explain why, but every restaurant I’ve ever been to along the highway in Mexico with them has been practically legendary.  It’s fodder for conversation for months – sometimes even years – at the dinner table, family gatherings, via email or phone. Highway food is never forgotten in our family. Many conversations begin with, “remember that time we ate at that little place off the highway?”

Perhaps I never understood what “something to call home about” meant until I ate the world-famous cecina at Cuatro Vientos on the highway to Acapulco just outside of Cuernavaca a few years back. (OK, perhaps it’s not world-famous, but it’s certainly famous within Mexico. It should be world-famous, it is that good.) I’ve explicitly trusted my suegros with steering me toward the best highway road trip food ever since and they haven’t disappointed me yet. So when they told me we were going to have barbacoa de la carretera, my salivary glands were already in overdrive.

We left Mexico City around 6 a.m., and as we got stuck in traffic on the way out of the city I began to drift off in the back seat. When I awoke, we were pulling off the highway and onto a gravel driveway that was packed with cars and people who all had the same motivation as ours: barbacoa for breakfast at Barbacoa Santiago….

Read More

0 October 4, 2010 Cultura/Culture

Happy National Taco Day!

Happy National Taco Day!

I didn’t even know this holiday existed in the United States until today when I was doing my daily morning food reading, but I’m glad I came across it because who doesn’t need another excuse to talk about tacos? Although practically every day is taco day in my house and we don’t need a holiday just to eat them, I thought I’d take the opportunity to share some history about one of Mexico’s most common culinary delights.

My good friend Claudia, who is from Puebla, Mexico, and is also a linguist, shared with me a little lesson about the origin of the word “taco.”

There are various accepted origins; literally, it means a plug for an empty gap. Which makes a lot of sense when you look at it from the perspective of food – you eat a taco to fill the emptiness in your belly that is hunger.

A gringa from El Fogoncito in Mexico City

…

Read More

3 September 16, 2010 Cultura/Culture

Classic guacamole recipe

mi papel picado bicentenario

¡Feliz Día de la Independencia, México!

Did you watch the Grito last night?

In my house, we hung papel picado and waved our Mexican flag as we watched the celebration starting in Mexico City’s zócalo. My heart was filled with emotion seeing the zócalo, where I have stood in awe many times, brimming with people from all corners of Mexico to celebrate the bicentennial of Independence from Spain and 100 years since the Revolution.

If you missed the Grito, the shout of independence honoring Mexico’s national heroes, you can watch it here:

If you want to watch last year’s Grito and attempt a very traditional Independence Day recipe, you can check out the chiles en nogada I made and posted last year here on The Other Side of The Tortilla….

Read More

  • « Previous Page
  • Page 1
  • Page 2
  • Page 3

Primary Sidebar

SEARCH

¡Bienvenidos!

Hi, I'm Maura Hernández. Welcome to my kitchen! I'm an award-winning food and travel blogger, recipe developer, and journalist sharing my passion for all things Mexico. Married to a Chilango, I've traveled Mexico extensively for the last decade. On The Other Side of The Tortilla, you'll find a mix of traditional and modern Mexican cooking, along with my advice on where to eat, stay and play on your visit to Mexico! READ MORE ABOUT ME...

Mexican books + cookbooks I love

The books linked here are Amazon affiliate links, which means I earn a little commission for each sale, at no extra cost to you.



PINTEREST

How to make easy roa
An easy and flavorfu
This spiced Mexican
How to make Mexican

ADVERTISEMENTS

Xel-Há Park Admission + Optional Activities at special price at Tulum, Riviera Maya . Cobá and Tulum Tour! Live a day among the history of a great ancient civilization. All inclusive. Cancun, Mayan Riviera. Save 15% online presale.

New recipes, fresh travel tips + more

Delivered straight to your inbox!

Footer

  • Email
  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • Pinterest
  • Twitter
  • YouTube

Copyright© 2018 · Cookd Pro Theme by Shay Bocks