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Mexican Christmas Traditions

Celebrating Día de los Muertos with friends: Nibbles and Feasts

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Día de los Muertos is this week and as a special treat, I've asked some of my friends to send me photos and descriptions of their altars to share here on The Other Side of The Tortilla to show the variety of ways that people celebrate this holiday.

Today, I'm sharing the altar of my friend Ericka Sanchez from Nibbles and Feasts.

Altar for Día de los Muertos by Ericka Sanchez of Nibbles and Feasts
Altar for Día de los Muertos by Ericka Sanchez of Nibbles and Feasts. PHOTO/COURTESY OF ERICKA SANCHEZ

Where in Mexico are your family's roots?
Ericka: Torreon, Coahuila, Mexico

A Día de los Muertos altar by Ericka Sanchez
Ericka's altar. PHOTO/COURTESY OF ERICKA SANCHEZ

Who does your altar honor? 
Ericka: It honors the loved ones our family has lost throughout the years.

Any special ofrendas or items on your altar?
Ericka: Most of the items displayed on the altar are artwork we've collected from our trips to Mexico City, Guadalajara, Oaxaca and Torreon. From a paper-mache catrina to clay luchadores, we love bringing home something that we know will have a special place on our altar.

Why do you make an altar for Día de los Muertos? How does it keep your connected to Mexican culture? And do you involve your kids to pass on the tradition?
Ericka: We love the time we spend together building the altar, talking about the friends and family we are honoring, the items on display and what they symbolize culturally. This year is special because it is the first year my son is old enough help arrange the cempazuchitl (marigold) blooms throughout the display.

For more photos and a story about Ericka's altar for Día de los Muertos, click here to visit Nibbles and Feasts.

Wordless Wednesday: Building my altar for Día de Los Muertos

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Día de los Muertos is next week and we've begun setting up our altar at home. On Sunday, we started gathering our ofrendas and hung papel picado. It's nowhere near finished yet, but here's a sneak peek from a few days ago.

I'll share more details about the items on the altar as well as who it honors next week.

Dinner in a flash: Tostadas

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Tostadas are my go-to dinner after a long day at work when I get home late and am too lazy to cook. I always have various ingredients on hand to make them, and the great thing is that you can be creative based on what you've got. There's no wrong combination.

Lately, I find myself in a big rush to get home from work in time to get dinner on the table. Tostadas are one of my secret weapons because I can prepare some of the ingredients in advance so that come dinnertime, I can just throw everything together. I do all my grocery shopping on the weekend, which means I also need to take the time to prepare myself for the week and portion out lunches and dinners. I'll often grill meat (or sometimes buy a rotisserie chicken), cut it up and store it in the refrigerator. This version pictured above is simply grilled rib eye seasoned with salt and pepper, shredded Chihuahua cheese and served with salsa verde.

Another version I like to make has a base of refried beans smeared on the tostada, pulled roasted chicken (pollo rostizado), shredded lettuce and a little avocado topped with crema Mexicana and salsa. My cuñada likes tostadas with cueritos (see a tostada de cueritos pictured here) and manitas de puerco, neither of which are on my top 10 list of favorite kinds of tostadas, but that's what's so great about them; there's something for everybody. You can't say, "I don't like tostadas" if you haven't tried more than one kind.

In Mexico City, I love to visit Tostadas Coyoacán in the mercado Coyoacán because everybody can get what they want and be happy. It's inexpensive, quick and there's a variety of choices. One person can get camarones (shrimp) and another can get pato (duck). Or they can get one of each! One of my personal favorites there is the tostada de cochinita pibil.

Here's a list of some suggested ingredients you'll need to make typical tostadas so you can mix and match with the ingredients you like:

  • tostadas (either store-bought, or you can make your own by cooking tortillas on a comal and then putting them in the toaster oven or under the broiler until they crisp)
  • refried beans
  • shredded lettuce
  • shredded cheese or queso fresco
  • crema Mexicana
  • meat (whatever kind you like)
  • avocado
  • tomato, diced
  • onion
  • cilantro
  • lime wedges
  • salsa

Tell me in the comments: How do you assemble a tostada?

Siempre junto a mi corazón/Always near my heart

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Over the weekend I posted a photo online of a locket that I wear often that always seems to get compliments from strangers. It's got a vintage map of Mexico City on the outside (er, as close to the heart of Mexico City as they could get with the maps they had available), and on the inside, a tiny photo of the home where my suegros live.

If you're a geography whiz, you'll notice that the map on my locket is not quite accurate. But no matter. I love it anyhow.

I seem to have developed an eye for finding these kinds of unique pieces. I found and purchased this necklace at Chicago's annual Renegade Craft Fair two years ago, from a little booth called The Weekend Store. You can purchase one here with a map of anywhere you like.

When I wear it, I somehow feel like I'm never really that far away from my México lindo y querido.

  • Do you have any special jewelry or trinkets that remind you of Mexico that you keep close to your heart?

Throwback Thursday: Memories from Mexico on an iPhone case!

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It's no secret that I'm addicted to Instagram. Therefore, it should come as no big surprise that I found a way to show off some of my favorite photos from The Other Side of The Tortilla, my travels in Mexico and other assorted Mexico-related things I've found here in Chicago. I've been loving the #ThrowbackThursday (or #tbt) hashtag where people post photo memories on Instagram and Twitter and I've been playing along when I remember on Thursdays, but I want to make it a more consistent thing.

While trying to figure out some more fun ways to use my Instagram feed, I was super excited to discover Casetagram, a service that lets you create a smartphone case with your Instagram photos. I created this Tortilla-themed phone case for my iPhone and I can't wait for it to arrive! Some of the places I included photos of from travels to Mexico (from top to bottom): Diego Rivera's studio in San Angel, a doorway in San Miguel de Allende, the bugambilias I fell in love with at Hacienda Galindo and last, but not least, El Ángel de la Independencia in Mexico City.

Then, of course, I also included some favorite foods, such as guacamole, tacos al pastor, flor de calabaza, buñuelos, conchas, pozole and molletes. I wished there were more spaces to put more of my favorite things and places, but I guess I might just have to make another one!

  • If you were going to make a case for your phone with Casetagram, what photos from Mexico or what Mexican foods would you include on yours? What places or things are so unforgettable to you that you'd want everyone to see?