6/11/07-Ruben from Wisconsin wrote: Why do some Hispanics eat corn, and some eat flour.  There seem to be die-hard advocates of each.  Where does this rivalry come from?

-Ruben

 

Well, un poquito research and a chat with the very friendly folks at the Tortilla Industry Association (TIA) and bingo!  Did you know that tortillas really have become “the best thing since sliced bread”?  Seriously!  Tortilla sales now surpass wheat bread sales & trail white bread sales by just 2% according to the TIA!

 

Who Eats What?

Central Americans prefer corn overall.

South Americans- Tortillas are not a native food! In fact, they are relatively new!

North Americans-...Well we know Americans tend to prefer flour...(but we do eat todo/everything!)

 

CENTRAL AMERICA

The Tortilla Association says: "In Central America corn tortillas are very popular, it is a basic, source of nutrition for this population.  When it comes to Central America, Costa Rica, Nicaragua, & Mexico- tortillas are not only for breakfast, or lunch, but for everything.  Some poor people in such countries depend on corn tortillas for sustenance with a little bit of refried beans."

 

One writer on RoadFood.com from Central America says:  “We never discussed getting tortillas de maiz because that would have been redundant, there wasn't any other kind.”  One of the folks here at Hispanic.com remembers visiting Central America in the 80s & being homesick for flour tortillas because there were none!

 

NOT A SOUTH AMERICAN  FOOD!

The Tortilla Association tells us tortillas aren’t a native South American food. It's a myth!  Latin American countries may have varieties on tortillas, like the arepas in Colombia, but they aren’t a part of the culture. 

 

Stella Parra from the Tortilla Association tells us: “In Latin America, we do have companies who are members, but in this case…it’s Mexican culture that has been exported.  Tortillas are definitely not as popular in the US.  But it’s starting.  We also have members in Europe, Netherlands, Spain, etc.  Tortillas are becoming very popular worldwide.”

 

TORTILLAS- WHERE’D THEY COME FROM ANYWAYS?

There’s a couple of thoughts on the flour tortilla issue. 

Flour Tortilla History 1

Here’s one we read on a forum:  San Antonio got its first flour mill in 1859. Flour was cheap. And flour tortillas were much easier to make than corn ones.

 

Goodness yes- curing the corn, grinding the corn, kneading it etc,..lots of work in those pre-mechanized days.  We’re lucky we run on over to HEB, Safeway, or heck even 7-Eleven & just pick some up.   

 

Flour Tortilla History 2 

This is from Professor Charles M Robinson III, from South Texas Community College- McAllen

Much of the US/Mexico border was settled by conversos (converted Sephardic Jews or people of Jewish descent from Spain and Portugal).  They immigrated to Mexico in the early years of the colonial period, brought their unleavened flour, and came up with the tortilla.

 

Corn Tortilla History

From What’s Cooking America

In 1519, Hernando Cortez, and his conquistadores arrived in the New World on April 22, 1519, they discovered that the inhabitants (Aztecs Mexicas) made flat corn breads. The native Nahuatl name for these was tlaxcalli. The Spanish gave them the name tortilla (small cakes). In Cortéz' 1520 second letter to King Charles V of Spain, he describes the public markets and the selling of maize or Indian corn.

 

So that’s the tortilla.  No rivalry…just different.

 

-Ask A Hispanic

5/28/07- I have always wondered this (along with why is the sky blue, & why does my kitchen faucet drip).  Everytime I see a Mexican caricaturized, they’re always wearing that poncho thing.  So why do ponchos and Hispanics seem to go together? 

 

Well the story goes that the European missionaries, the Jesuits, who came to Argentina in the 16^th century got tired of having the natives wander around naked in front of them.  So fashionistas that they were, they got a blanket, cut a hole in it, & threw it over the naked natives.

 

This new invention spread like wildfire throughout the Latin American continent.  And then in 1531 a dark-skinned Virgin Mary appeared to a Mexican peasant & left an imprint on his cactus fiber poncho, so after that, the poncho became an icon for the Virgin of Guadalupe which is wildly popular in Mexico.

 

So this my friends, is why we wear ponchos.  Now, everybody’s doing the poncho thing.  Martha Stewart walked outta prison wearing a prison-knit poncho, and now everybody’s gotta have one.  I’m about to go get ready for my night out on the town.  Where’s my poncho?……..

 

-Ask A Hispanic

4/30/07- Cinco de Mayo, the holiday the U.S. remembers Hispanics are around...and then everybody goes out and has margaritas and/or nachos.  We see ads in the paper with Hispanic foods on sale, restaurants create special menus, sales of tortillas, chips, Mexican food, and especially Mexican liquor or beer drinks go through the roof that day.  So what the heck are we celebrating? (& why are we guzzling all those margaritas?)

 

What we are not celebrating (Nope Not This)

Well the thing we are not celebrating the 5^th of May is Mexican Independence Day (Independence Day in Mexico is September 16^th.  Mexico declared independence from Spain in 1810). 

 

What we are celebrating (Fiesta everybody!)

The famous May 5^th holiday is actually simply the celebration of a rather small battle which occurred in the Mexican state of Puebla in 1862.  On May 5^th, Mexican forces defeated French forces at the Battle of Puebla.

 

Who celebrates Cinco de Mayo (Not Mexico so much)

Experts say Cinco de Mayo is actually celebrated more in the U.S., than it is south of the border in Mexico.  According to National Geographic:  

 

The anniversary of the victory is celebrated only sporadically in Mexico, mainly in the southern town of Puebla and a few larger cities.

 

How did Cinco de Mayo become important in U.S.?

How did Cinco de Mayo take on a more significant importance in the U.S. than it does in Mexico?  Well in large part thanks to Franklin Roosevelt’s Good Neighbor Policy which was in place from 1933-1945.  According to the Smithsonian Institution for Latino Initiatives, the Policy: sought to move away from its aggressive political and military interventionist policy (in Latin America) and promote more liberal relations with Latin America counties through the use of press, radio, motion pictures, and cultural festivals.

The holiday continued a slow growth during the 50-70s, mainly celebrated in southwestern U.S. States with a preponderance of Hispanics.  Everything changed when it came to May 5^th in the 80s.

 

The Oh-So Bankable Commercialistic 80s  (mucho dough)

American business and corporations began realizing the buying power of the growing minority Hispanic market, and how to cash in? (besides margaritas)  Well by celebrating this Hispanic holiday which many corporate U.S. firms mistakenly and with little due diligence thought was Mexican independence.  And as the network effect of increasing corporate goals to reach U.S. Hispanic consumers grew, so did the comercialization of the Cinco de Mayo holiday north of the border, in the USA.

 

So this is why now, Cinco de Mayo has reached the status it has in the new century.  So we, (while remembering of course it's historic significance), will be partying on come Saturday 5 de Mayo, 2007. Ole! More margaritas baby!

 

 

4/20/07

Ask a Hispanic: Oh No! I Just Ate an Entire Avocado. Is My Diet Ruined?

A Hispanic.com reader wrote in with this question a few days ago, and well the quick answer is: no.  But there’s a little more to it. 

Hispanic.com spoke to two experts on the subject.

A medium avocado has approximately 276 calories, and 28 grams of fat.  Judy Caplan, author of GoBeFull -Eight Keys to a Healthy Lifestyle, and a registered ADA dietician talked to Hispanic.com.  She says the belief avocado's should be avoided is "one of the most common public misconceptions."  Caplan says, "If you love avocado and you want to get all of your healthy, monounsaturated fat from an avocado, you could do that."   Nonetheless Caplan says, if you do go ahead and decide to eat an entire avocado, "it enhances the diet as long as you cut back on other fats, both healthy and unhealthy." If that happens, and someone wants to eat an entire avocado a day, "it would probably mean no salad dressing, peanut butter, or other fat servings of healthy fat that day.” Generally you want to obtain most of the fat in your diet from monounsaturated fats like avocado and cut back on foods that are higher in saturated fats like whole milk dairy products, beef and processed meats.  So instead if you ate an entire avocado in one day, you would want to choose white meat of chicken, turkey or seafood.  

Bhimu Patil, the Director of the Texas A&M Vegetable and Fruit Improvement Center said "No, your diet is not in danger, even if you do eat an entire avocado." But Patil says, even so do not worry. "The avocado is filled with bioactive compounds, compounds which are shown to reduce the risk of certain diseases.   Plus, the fat that in avocado is not affecting cholesterol issues, because it is a plant product containing primary unsaturated fats.   The avocado has a 6 carbon sugar which is actually really beneficial to human health: D-Manno heptuplose.  Also, the avocado is filled with lutein, higher than other fruits in fact, and lutein has shown in studies to prevent age related macular degeneration issues."

So how to incorporate avocado into your diet if you don't necessarily want to cut back on all your fats?   Well Caplan encourages her clients to "eat 5 servings of healthy fat every day”.   2 tablespoons or 1/8 of an avocado is considered 1 serving of healthy fat.   Other examples of healthy fat are: 1 tsp. of olive oil, ½ tablespoon of natural peanut butter, 6 raw almonds, 1 tablespoon of salad dressing, 1 teaspoon of canola mayonnaise, or a teaspoon of ground flaxseed.  Caplan says she herself eats a lot of avocado in her diet, advocating it as a power food.

 Have a question? Write ask@hispanic.com