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Cacahuates: From Soup to Nuts!

If asked to list the staples of Mexican cuisine, most people would name rice, beans, corn, chiles, lime, and cilantro. Well, add peanuts to the list. While used as a thickening agent in many dishes, peanuts also star in salsas and soups. A nutritious snack, throughout Mexico peanuts roasted with chiles and salt are common, but it is in Oaxaca that they are most addictive, typically studded with roasted cloves of garlic and whole chiles. Just try to eat only a few! Cerveza, por favor!

Cacahuates, from the Nahuatl word tlalcacahuatl, are thought to have been discovered in Peru, cultivated by pre-Columbian cultures, and then spread throughout Mesoamerica, and ultimately the world, by the conquistadors. Peanuts are officially a legume, and grow just a few inches under the surface, in light, sandy loam soil. They require five months of warm weather, and an annual rainfall of 500 to 1,000 mm (20 to 39 in) or the equivalent in irrigation.  Our part of Mexico has all the requirements for peanut cultivation, and Oaxaca is the third largest peanut producing state in Mexico.

Huatulco Life and Style: Jim Spicka "Huatulco Being"

 

Last Friday evening, artist Jim Spicka  mounted an exhibition of his recent work. The theme for the exhibition is  "Huatulco Being" and one senses a transformation in Jim's relationship with his surroundings and perhaps with himself. Some of the pieces represent his tropical lifestyle and surroundings ,taking obvious inspiration from places and elements we here call home - quite literally, Hagia Sofia, the Gales of Tehuantepec and Pluma Hidalgo. The Blanca series although named after 3 of Huatulco's populated bays, Chahue, Conejos and Arrocito, are almost austere, clean and simple, unlike the busy beaches of their namesakes. But it is with Going Bamboo, and Secret Garden, that the artist seems to be most at home, and is comfortable letting the viewer create his or her own context. 

 Ministry of Culture representatives Hugo Ancantara Avelino and Dario Pacheco Venegas, artist Jim Spicka and El Sueno Zapoteco founder Britt Jarnyrd.

Officially opened! Ribbon cutting ceremony.

Guests enjoying the ambiance, art, and refreshments.

Jim's medium is tissue paper and acrylic on glass, the multiple layered shapes and materials create depth against vivid backgrounds. Framed, the pieces take on a weight and gravity that suits traditional spaces. Unframed, resting on wooden pegs on the wall, they float across the landscape with a breezy lightness. 

Foundation co-founders  Raymundo Ruiz and Britt Jarnryd with Silvana Araiza, El Sueno Zapoteco workshop director and head designer.

It is fitting that this exhibition supports El Sueno Zapoteco, and their art and craft work shop where they teach young people from the villages how to use the natural materials  to create saleable art. Jim partnered with El Sueno Zapoteco who also exhibited, and donated 60% of sales to the foundation creating a very public bridge for support to this esteemed organization.

                               

Over 70 people gathered in the remarkably perfect Sueno Del Mar storefront gallery to view the exhibit, and support El Sueno Zapoteco.The exhibit was also coupled with a Sueno del Mar open house, and a number of people toured the property.

Drink your way to Health the Mexican Way

FRESH FRUIT AND VEGETABLE COMBOS FOR HEALTH AND HAPPINESS

 *Published in Huatulco Eye, January 2012

Ladies and Gentlemen, start your blenders, but first put away the tequila.  After the indulgences of the holiday, it is time to turn a new leaf – a leafy green antioxidant one!

As the New Year begins, it is a perfect time to cleanse and renew our bodies, and to establish healthy habits for the months ahead. Visiting the local Jugo and Licuado stand at least once a day is one of the easiest and most convenient ways to kick-start a new regime. 

You will find all of the trendy buzzwords of our popular North American lifestyle propaganda incorporated into the jugo and licuado menus, but this is not “news” to most Mexicans. That nopal can control diabetes or that beets can lower blood pressure are not recent discoveries.

David Rotundo Band Leap Year Party

 Back by popular demand, the David Rotundo Band, will be preforming in Huatulco on Wednesday Feb 29 on behalf of Un Nuevo Amanecer.

The party will be at the Latitude 15 beach club on Chahue Beach.

Doors open at 7 PM, Music at 7:30.

Beer/wine and snacks available

Tickets 200 pesos in advance; 250 pesos at the door.

Please join us for a great evening and let your friends know. We need a good word of mouth push to get a great turnout. The last concert was fantastic, this event promises to be even more spectacular with Bahia Chahue as a backdrop, a crescent moon, Saturn and Jupiter gracing the evening sky.

Tickets Available at the following locations:

HEMINGWAY’S

RESTAURANTE VIENA

Café Dublin

CAFÉ JUANITA

FINCA DE VAQUEROS

Fundraiser for Nuevo Amanecer - http://www.freewebs.com/nuevo_amanecer/

For more Information on the band, please visit http://www.davidrotundo.com

HECTOR INFANZON LIVE IN HUATULCO

Hector Infanzón, arguably Mexico’s best jazz pianist played to a sold out audience in Huatulco on Thursday night.

The city of his heart and the theme of his latest CD Citadino, the vibrant tumult that is Mexico City, beat and soared through the tropical night. Perched on an oceanfront stage, framed by palm trees and lit by a rising moon, Infanzón and his quartet delivered the passion of the city to the shores of Tangolunda Bay.

Midway through this season’s Amigos de la Musica Huatulco concert series, Infanzón dazzled an audience already heady with the season’s previous performances, ranging from Opera Obsession to Patá  Fuá's  eclectic instrumental fusion. 

Percussion was the buzz of the evening as young drummer Giovanni Figueroa lit up the audience with his intensity, and Luis Gomez on congas and cajon (box drum) framed Infanzón’s original but obviously latin influenced compositions. Percussion and piano shared the stage in a passionate conversation, backed by bassist Adrian Infanzón.

Next Amigos de la Musica Concert will be on February 25^th, at the Camino Real Zaashila.

Concierto Baroco will feature Amigos de la Musica’s  Honorary Artistic Director Horacio Franco along with Asaf Kolerstein and Santiago Alvarez.

Tickets $ 150 general admission and students $ 100 available at : Photo Conejo, tel. 587-0054, Office of Residential Chahue, tel. 587-0502, REMAX, tel. 587-0136, Hotel Camino Real Zaashila, tel. 583-0300.