NewsTaco

By Joe Ray, Latinovations

Growing up near the Mexican border and having spent a few of my first few Holiday seasons in Sonora as well as Arizona, provided me the opportunity to observe and take part in various Holiday traditions.

My family’s personal tradition of devotion was honoring Our Lady (La Virgen) de Guadalupe on December 12. This began around Thanksgiving by adorning our framed print of La Virgen with flashing Christmas lights, rosaries and constructing the piece into an electronic Christmas altar. We had other saints around the house, but none compared to the Virgen’s status.

This past 12/12/12, I joined about 30 others in a ceremony honoring Our Lady de Guadalupe/Tonantzin. It warmed my heart to see all of us gathered here for this touching ceremony.

Tamales, champurado, and atole. All treats that bring the Holiday season back to life for me with a great fondness. Of course, in addition to Christmas, there’s El Día de Los Reyes Magos (3 Kings Day), this being a celebratory day and one of reflection as well. I’m also touched to see this particular day celebrated more often in the past decade by more acculturated Latinos, bringing many others into the fold.

In thinking about this post, I discussed traditions with a couple of other friends who also shared theirs with me.

My friend Carlos, a Chicano who grew up in a small town in Arizona, shared this tradition/memory:

His Abuelo was the ringmaster of the family’s tamale making endeavors. This began with him buying roasts immediately after Halloween, and once the hojas hit the grocery shelves, he made sure to stock up.

One particular memory that has stuck out in Carlos’ mind was getting around his Nana’s strict guidelines for perfect masa. The test consisted of dropping some masa into a glass of warm water. If fluffy enough, it would float. Carlos’ Tata let him in on a secret…adding a teaspoon of salt would allow the masa to rise in the glass.

Since then, his masa always rose to the occasion, passing Nana’s test.

Bertica is from the Dominican Republic. She reminisced about the food on Noche Buena, but what I found most fascinating was her family’s celebration in bringing in the new year. This was a dressy affair with a big dinner (we love our food, don’t we?), where everyone was given 12 grapes. The grapes would be eaten as the 12 campanadas would ring. If you were able to do this and not choke, it indicated you would have a good year.

This sounds like something my cousins and I would have been doing, and been recipients of chancletazos. I love it.

My friend Conchita came from Cuba as a young girl. Her family’s tradition was attending mass to celebrate the Holy Day of Obligation, as well as her patron saint, Maria de la Concepcíon (whom she’s named after). Additionally, the large Immaculate Concepcíon has always been a framed, magical piece of art which serves as an altar centerpiece.  Concepcíon now resides in Conchita’s house.

Having a patron saint honored and celebrated during the Holidays has always been an extra special tradition for the majority of Latinos. It’s part of our culture. It’s in our DNA. It is our devotion and faith(s), even if we don’t adhere to our original and particular faiths and religions. It’s who we are.

These traditions are part of our new America.

It’s the evolution of Las Posadas. It’s our cultural evolution.

This article was first published in Latinovations.

Joe Ray is Vice President of Multicultural Marketing at E.B. Lane, a full service marketing and advertising agency with offices in Phoenix and Denver. Joe’s experience includes working with Pfizer, Bic USA, Dawn Foods Intl, Medicis Dermatology, State Farm, La Tradición, Super Bowl Host Committee, and The Arizona Lottery. Additionally, Joe is a conference speaker and presenter whose topics include: Reaching Latino Audiences, Health/Wellness Education for Multicultural Audiences, Brand Building, Packaging Design, Social Media, Arts & Culture, and Community Activism. He can be reached at jray@eblane.com.

That little love scamp Latino Cupid presents his special Valentine’s Day cards for tough times. As they say around here, Happy Valentimes Day! Catch more of Latino Cupid’s escapades around this time every year at La Cucaracha, the nationally-syndicated comic strip by Pocho’s Jefe-In-Chief Lalo Alcaraz. Sign up for free La Cucaracha comics daily at GoComics.

Everyone’s favorite holiday is approaching, that’s the “Show me you still care with a public display of I still matter to you” Day. Some people still refer to it as Valentine’s Day. The day where the women in our lives are pandered to, though we take them for granted during the other 364 days of the year. Well ladies, it is a leap year, so you better make that 365 days.

I am one of the hopeless males you have come to accept with a sigh and a shake of your head — you know the type. We want you to feel special so we will take our iPhones and translate a Pablo Neruda poem to English that we can only hope you are not familiar with, so we can pass it off as our own. Next, we will regale you with flowers bought from shady websites that will later steal our identities and use them to apply for countless credit cards. Well, the joke is on them — because my credit was already ruined. The finishing touch is usually a handmade dinner that tastes just like King Taco, but we swear up and down that it’s a recipe that goes back to our great-great-great-great abuelita.

Look, I know I am a caveman but I have not read up on what kind of caveman I am. I might not have the adequate upper body strength to be a hunter, or the botanical knowledge to make a proper salad, but I try to try. It used to be so much easier when I was a kid: if you liked someone, you gave them a Batman or Superman valentine; if you did not like someone, you stuck them with an Aquaman or Green Lantern valentine. Gabriela Estar and Julia Valencia always got the Batman cards, I would save them for last and write a personal greeting in red pen.

I challenge Pablo Neruda to come off with something like that.

Nowadays, valentines are too politically correct. No one wants to hurt anybody else’s feelings, and they all sound like permission slips to be friends.  Batman must have succumbed to the complications of his reckless lifestyle because he has been replaced by brand name fads and product placement. I would be placated to find one Simpsons’ “I Choo-choo-choose You” card.

The bottom line is that I’m trying to be romantic, but it does not come easy because all the people I want to be romantic with do not wish to be romantic with me. Simply put, the valentines do not have the magic they once used to.  Oh Batman, this lonely nation and I turn our eyes to you, as I log in to freeflowerz.kenya.org to buy flowers. I wonder why they need my banking information.

[Photo By andertoons]

Arizona State Representative Cecil Ash proposed that Arizona create a White Appreciation Day when whites are no longer the majority in the state. Many are in awe that Ash only asked for one day; he has since clarified that this single day will be so spectacular that only one day will be necessary.

He wants to point out that while other groups need an entire month, whites are more efficient and just plain better. For those who partake in White Appreciation Day, some preliminary events could include the following:

• Dane Cook stand-up marathon.

• Large white flags that, in a really useful move, will double as festive clothing. That’s right: stylish and economical.

• To conserve energy and keep the party going into the wee hours of the morning, lower-case Ts will be set ablaze throughout the state. The Ts will represent the intersection of cultures that make up “white.”  The Ts will be placed on the lawns of non-whites as an invitation to join the festivities. It will, all in all, be a very inclusive celebration.

• Betty White, Jack White, Shaun White, Vanna White, and Jaleel White (of Steve Urkel fame) will be the featured entertainers.

• In honor of Cecil Ash, the Ash Hole Award will be given to that individual who best represents the morals and intellect of the award namesakes — Cecil Ash and Harold Hole.

Your handsome and humble servant —

El Guapo

[Image By Huebi]

By Eres Nerd

The approach of St. Valentine’s signifies the annual season where Latino nerds across los Estados Unidos discover Pablo Neruda. Like Christian using Cyrano De Bergerac, Neruda becomes a proxy for many Latino nerds in expressing their love for another.

In the years without a novia, St. Valentine’s Day was not a big holiday for me, since I focused being a nerd and doing nerdy things. Despite being a nerd, it was soon my turn to face the Latino the rite of passage in discovering Neruda, the Chilean poet-turned-prominent diplomat. He was primarily famous for writing love poetry — he wrote about love, but not simply the love between people. He wrote of the love of culture, of nations, and the love of simple things. Neruda shows this contrast in the poems “The Heights of Machu Picchu” that celebrates the Incan culture and my personal favorite, “Oda a Mi Traje,” which as I grow older, makes me appreciate under-appreciated things in my life.

My memory fails me now the exact reasons and the place where Neruda entered my life. I do remember the book. It was “20 Poemas de Amor y Una Canción Desperada/20 love poems and A Song of Despair.” It was an epiphany. The Spanish was flawlessly beautiful and devastatingly expressive. Poema 15 from that collection has the verse, “Me gustas cuando callas y estás como distante,” which is just brilliant. I wondered who inspired such adoration and affection. Would I ever feel that way about someone? Could I ever write that well?

With Neruda as a starting point, I read other great Latin American poets, such as Mario Benedetti, Jaime Sabines, and Efraín Huerta. All have expanded and deepened my appreciation of my native language, español. Of course, life is not always great, so I thank my English literature classes for exposing me to Sylvia Plath and Charles Bukowski. I have not kept up with modern poets, apart from my fellow NewsTaco columnist Oh Hells Nah and Jay-Z.

For all the uncomfortable nerds standing before the poetry shelves, below is a quick primer on Pablo Neruda’s works. Most of his poetry books have the poems both in English and Spanish versions on opposite pages.

1. “20 Poemas de Amor y Una Canción Desperada/20 love poems and A Song of Despair” was Neruda’s first prominent work and an easy introduction to his style.
2. “Los versos del Capitán/The Captain’s Verses” is my personal favorite. The downside to this book was Neruda’s Newt Gingrich-like behavior when writing it; dating a woman, he later married, while still married to another woman.
3. “Cien Sonetos de Amor/100 Love Sonnets” is his most well known book, and there are 100 love poems, which become overwhelming after sixty-fifth one. In addition, it has a very pink cover which matches any St. Valentine’s day décor.
4. “Odas a Cosa Comunes/Odes to Common Things” is Neruda’s effort to state that an common thing still deserves love.
5. “Il Postino/The Postman” is a 1994 Italian movie about a postman, who delivers Neruda’s mail while he was living off the coast of Italy, and like many Latino nerds, using it to attempt the object of his affection. And the movie has a very good soundtrack where famous celebrities, including Madonna, recite Neruda’s poetry.

Colorín Colorado, read poetry, love, and be happy.

Eres Nerd lives a nerdy life in the borderlands of Estados Unidos and Mexico. Follow him on Facebook or on Twitter @ElEresNerd.

[Video By carotatiana; Photo By Freddy Agurto Parra]

By The U.S. Census Bureau

To commemorate and celebrate the contributions to our nation made by people of African descent, American historian Carter G. Woodson established Black History Week. The first celebration occurred on Feb. 12, 1926. For many years, the second week of February was set aside for this celebration to coincide with the birthdays of abolitionist/editor Frederick Douglass and Abraham Lincoln.

In 1976, as part of the nation’s bicentennial, the week was expanded into Black History Month. Each year, U.S. presidents proclaim February as National African-American History Month.

Businesses

$135.7 billion - Receipts for black-owned businesses in 2007, up 53.1 percent from 2002. The number of black-owned businesses totaled 1.9 million in 2007, up 60.5 percent.  (Source: 2007 Survey of Business Owners)

37.7% - Percentage of black-owned businesses in 2007 in health care and social assistance, repair and maintenance and personal and laundry services.  (Source: 2007 Survey of Business Owners)

10.6% - Percentage of businesses in New York in 2007 that were black-owned, which led all states or state-equivalents. Georgia and Florida followed, at 9.6 percent and 9.4 percent, respectively.  (Source: 2007 Survey of Business Owners)

[Photo By bamalibrarylady]

By Rebecca Lynn Guerra

The commemoration of Dr. King’s birthday forces us to reflect on the civil rights movement, its past, and our future.  The movement conjures up images and stories of activists putting themselves in harm’s way in order to obtain the most basic rights in our society.  We recall Dr. King, Dorothy Height, and activists marching for the desegregation of the South.  We remember Cesar Chavez, Dolores Huerta, and others demanding rights for farm workers in the West.  Two communities fighting for rights that would benefit all of us, often collaborating ideas, sharing methods, and gaining strength from one another.  Our nation was set on fire by a movement that would forever change our lives.

Across the country, African Americans and Latinos in the civil rights movement drew strength from one another in their reliance on Gandhi’s principle of non-violence in the wake of violence against marching, protesting, and picketing activists. In 1946, Mexican Americans fought segregation in the classroom, with some success, in Mendez v. Westminster. Thurgood Marshall of the NAACP joined the appellate case and would later spearhead the Brown v. Board of Education of Topeka in 1954, which paved the way for full integration in the classroom.

The successes of each inspired the other to continue the fight. Said Dr. King in his famous telegram to Chavez a mere month before his murder, “as brothers in the fight for equality, I extend the hand of fellowship and good will and wish continuing success to you and your members… We are together with you in spirit and in determination that our dreams for a better tomorrow will be realized.”  As we celebrate these collaborations and triumphs King spoke of, we cannot forget the obstacles we must still overcome.

Dr. King once said that voting is the foundation stone for political action. 

In this election year, it is more critical than ever that our work begins with that foundation – our right to vote. As communities of color, African Americans and Latinos will become a focus of national political campaigns during the election season, a stark contrast from the neglect our communities too often receive from these same politicians outside of the cycle.  Focus groups and pundits will highlight the need to win our vote and politicians understand the value of garnering our votes. These same politicians also understand the impact of that electoral force if they oppose the interests of our community.  In the midst of attacks on voting rights that disproportionately impact African American and Latino communities, we must ensure that our people are voting.

Today, there are more than 6 million unregistered African Americans and more than 11 million unregistered Latinos.  By registering our communities to vote, we are giving them a voice which will undoubtedly highlight the disparities still faced by African Americans and Latinos in this country.  We must join civil rights organizations like the NAACP, which will be registering new voters in record numbers before November. These new voices will shed light on the troubles our communities face and they will be the sound of new ideas that will move our country forward.  These are the masses that will rekindle the fire for our movement.

Rebecca Lynn Guerra is the Region VII, Mid-Atlantic, Field Director for the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People.

[Photo By LOC]

When I was a little girl, the arrival of the Tres Reyes Magos meant something very special to me — a second chance at getting more gifts after Christmas. The Biblical meaning for me was a short story about a horrible king who wanted baby Jesus dead, and about three wise men walking across the desert to find the new king, baby Jesus, in a manger to offer him gifts. But, I also remember celebrating Christmas in my mother and father’s hometown of Zacatecas, in Mexico and in Juárez, México where one of my aunts lived.

All would put out these wonderful miniature replicas of the town of Bethlehem in their homes. The nativity scene would be placed at the edge of this tiny town. I also remember the Posadas, our Mexican version of caroling. It’s a reenactment of Joseph and Mary going from inn-to-inn, looking for lodging in Bethlehem before Jesus was born. We were a procession of aunts, grandparents, cousins and friends going from door-to-door in our neighborhood singing the pleas of Joseph and Mary for lodging.

With children in the group, the procession was never smooth sailing. There would be taunting and pushing and someone singing completely out of tune. There would be wounds from painful, hot wax on hands and the occasional odor of burnt hair due to someone getting too close to a lit candle or sparkler. At the end of our procession the participants were let into the final house and rewarded with brown paper bags full of peanuts, oranges and candy. We’d drink spiced tea and eat buñuelos. On Christmas Day, someone would pass the baby Jesus figurine around and have everyone in the room kiss him before he was placed in his bed in the manger. This ritual signified the birth of Jesus.

In Mexico, January 6, El Día de los Tres Reyes Magos, was truly the day to give and receive gifts. It is the day Melchor, Gaspar y Balthazar, the three wise men, arrived at the manger to meet Jesus and offered him their gifts. Instead of writing a letter to Santa Claus, I remember writing a letter to one of the three wise men asking for the toys I wanted and waking up to find a gift. On this day, we would all come together again to eat tamales, drink chocolate caliente, and find a little figure of baby Jesus in a Rosca De Reyes, our version of a bunt cake. The hiding of the plastic baby Jesus in the Rosca symbolized the effort to hide him from El Rey Herodas. The knife used to cut the cake signified the great danger baby Jesus was in.

As a child I may not have had all the facts regarding the true meaning of Christmas, but, what I do remember is that when I celebrated Christmas in Mexico, it was not about going shopping, and receiving a multitude of gifts. It was not about Santa Clause or elves on a shelf. I can’t even remember putting too much emphasis on trimming a Christmas tree, although we did have one. My memories of those times are of laughter, aromas of delicious food, and of generations of one family coming together and gathering around a miniature nativity scene to take part in the reenactment of an event that would change the world.

[Photo By vectorportal]

I am the kind of girl who can proudly out-eat anyone. “Hey, look at me eat this burrito the size of a toddler!” “Fried pig skins? Bring it!” “Chicago style pizza? Put it in my belly!” Etcetera. I am not ashamed of my love of food. Only yesterday my boyfriend had to talk me out of buying a dress with hamburgers on it. I can unapologetically enjoy a decadent meal like few women can. I don’t order salads at restaurants. I don’t get the grilled chicken. In fact, once, a plate of barbeque literally made me dance the mashed potato.

But I’m doing an unusually girly thing for the New Year: I am not going on a diet, per se, but rather cutting my food intake and attempting to eat healthier. For me, diets are for orange-colored celebrities and sorority girls trying to fit into a bikini for spring break in Cancún.

I consider this to be a slight lifestyle change. Why am I doing this? Partly because yesterday my jeans cut off my circulation. They were so tight, I kept doing squats throughout the day to loosen them up to no avail. I’m  also doing this because after one particular holiday feast, I was so full, I almost laid on the ground to allow the food to more comfortably spread out in my aching stomach and yelled “Why, God, why?”

I have been blessed with a decent metabolism because people are often shocked by my food intake in the context of my size. I also work out frequently, which helps.  I have been a well-proportioned 130 lbs for many years now. I have never been ashamed of my weight, or ever had the desire to be thin. Maybe it’s because I grew up in a working class Mexican family, and to be thin in my family is alarming.  Drop a few pounds and people will think you’re clinically depressed or have AIDS. Your mom and tías will surround you with worried faces: “¿Mi’ja que te pasa? ¿Estás deprimida?  ¿Atiriciada?”  You just may be fed a plate of frijoles against your will.

And although I will love food forever, and will never be one of those women fainting during a juice fast, I have realized that I much too often take refuge in food. Though my boyfriend and I usually cook nutritious and delicious meals, when I really dislike my job — for example — I just want to eat an Italian beef smothered in cheese and hot peppers with a side of fries to make myself feel better. Too many times I have found myself reclining on my couch, clutching my stomach and cursing a torta.

So here I am at the beginning of this new endeavor.  As I fantasize about the ham and cheese croissant across the street, I am cramming my mouth with granola bars. My body is in shock. I have the shakes. My co-worker is starting to look like a hot dog. I can do this, though. After a few days of nutritious meals, I will reward myself. For me, there will always be a burger at the end of the tunnel.

[Photo By inajeep]

By La Cosmopolatina

One of the most widely spread traditions in Latin America is that of eating 12 grapes at the stroke of midnight on New Year’s Eve. We’ve all done it – stuffing the grapes down our throats as fast as we can before we grab our empty suitcases and go for a walk around the block.  And how many of our grape-wishes have come true?

Um, well, that’s not the point. The point is that it is a fun and hopeful tradition to share with family and friends and add to the night’s merriment. If you want to add a twist to the old ritual try some of these delightful ideas, courtesy of the California Table Grape Commission:

• Serve them in style! Personalize bunches of grapes for your guests and serve them in champagne flutes with a name tag. You can also package them in decorative party bags or even place them on a toothpick to make fresh grape skewers.
• Grapes can be easily “frosted” with sugar, spices and finely chopped nuts. Simply dip clusters in liquid gelatin before rolling each grape in your favorite mixture. Use them to decorate cookie plates, cakes, puddings, mousses and more.
• Ask guests to write out a wish and drop it in a hat, then pick one out just before midnight. When they eat their grapes, they’ll learn of the secret wish for 2012 and have the choice to eat a 13th grape to honor it.
• In some countries eating a 13^th grape is believed to ensure good luck, so you might want to round off your wish list with an extra grape for good measure.

By Silvio Sirias

And on that dark,  bitter Christmas night, as yet another round of fireworks shattered the still, tropical sky with bright, thunderous explosions . . . 

So begins the closing sentence of my novel “Meet Me Under the Ceiba.” Although set in Nicaragua, I knew that the tradition of setting off fireworks as Christmas Eve turns into Christmas Day extends through the region.

But I never expected anything like what I experienced, along with my wife and guests, in Brisas del Golf — our new neighborhood in Panama City.

It had been eight years since we last spent Christmas in Panama. Every year we have traveled to the United States to spend time with our families in North Carolina and California.  This year, however, for various reasons — including the increasingly exorbitant costs of airfare — we decided to have a quiet celebration in our new home.

It was everything but quiet, however.  Beginning at approximately 11:30 p.m. fireworks began to go off at a steady pace — making conversation in a backyard bohio rather difficult.  By 11:45, the unceasing stream of explosions obliged us to step out to the street to see what was going on.

What we witnessed for the next 30 minutes was astonishing: a firework exhibition in the round as countless neighborhood households set off colorful shows of light, explosions, and smoke. Although we had experienced the traditional barrage of Christmas blasts in Nicaragua, what we saw in Panama was unlike any firework display any of us had ever seen before — an extravagant show with a thunderous torrent of detonations going off in every direction from where we stood.

The almost deafening sounds shook the ground with a force that set off car alarms. Our four cats and one dog sought refuge in dark, secure corners of the bedrooms.  And then we were startled to discover that Hortensia — our turtle and newest member of the family — had left her backyard wading pool to also seek refuge in the house.

Eventually, the celebration waned and Hortensia returned to the water. The cats and dog slowly started to come out of hiding, and everyone was able to bid each other a Merry Christmas, head to the bedrooms, and call it a night.

Silvio Sirias, a Nicaraguan-American and award-winning novelist originally from Los Angeles, he now resides in Panama. Visit his website for more of his work.

[Photo By Magnolia5777/Phyllis]

Most people have already started making their list of resolutions and changes that will be their best intentions for the New Year. The beginning of a year motivates many to improve their lifestyle on a physical, social, professional or familial level. Among the most well known resolutions are:

• Quitting smoking.
• Lose Weight.
• Stop drinking alcohol.
• Commit in a relationship.
• Change jobs or seek work.
• Learn something new.

These are some of a number of good intentions that often fail to hold only for more than a few weeks, perhaps even several months. The experts on these disappointed hopes are the gym owners, since they know they’ll start the year with a full house, but little by little their membership will diminish.

The questions everyone will ask themselves are: Why don’t I have the willpower? Why is it so easy for other people? What do they have that I don’t? The answer is that one must understand the reasons why they make those resolutions: being overweight, being addicted to nicotine or alcohol, being afraid of commitment, etc.

You will find yourself at a crossroads. The first thing to do is ask yourself: What worries is my fat hiding? What feelings am I escaping with alcohol? What am I evading by using drugs? Why haven’t I gotten the best job? Why am I failing in school?

When you make your list of resolutions, resolve to find the cause of the behavior you want to change, that way you have a higher probability of being successful, and a feeling fully accomplished. Remember, with lots of support you can be successful in 2012.

Good luck in 2012!

[Screenshot By LEDChristmaslighting]

We all know it’s coming, New Year’s is on the weekend this year, and it’s bound to be a doozy. But, we can help. Here are the most common cures for that cruda (that means hangover).

1.) Menudo

In my social circles, menudo is the go–to method for scaring away that nasty cruda. The power of the Aztec gods? Meat? Corn? Who knows why, but word has it that it works.

2.) More alcohol

Hair of the dog, as it were. This method is perhaps one of the oldest cures for cruda. Does it work?

3.)  Coffee and aspirin

We’ve written about this before, it’s not just speculation — it’s science.

4.)  Chile

Not the country, the spice. Perhaps it’s an old wives’ tale, but for some reason spicy food seems to have the effect of scaring away a hangover. Maybe only because it gives you something else to worry about.

5.) Not getting drunk in the first place

This one may seem to come out of left field, but sans alcohol you probably won’t feel so bad.

With these things, we inevitably miss some, what are your best cures?

[Photo By mislav-m]

Our friend and super talented chef Juan Mondragon, he of Juan’s Restaurante in California, shared his special Christmas recipe with us this week. Below are the recipes for Lomo de Cerdo Tres Milpas con Nopalitos and Ensalada Noche Buena with beets.

Also, NewsTaco Contributing Editor Renée Saldaña cut a video of Mondragon preparing the food, and afterwards, he provided us with a very special tasting. Believe you me, this food is amazing, and if you don’t believe me just watch the video below to see the clip of me at the end.

Check ‘em out and lemme know what you think!

Lomo de Cerdo Tres Milpas con Nopalitos

Ingredients for 8 Servings:

• 1 lomo de cerdo, approximately 2 kg
• 2 tablespoons grapeseed oil
• 2 cups chopped nopalitos
• 1 cup boiled flor de calabaza
• 1 cup grated zucchini
• 1 cup corn kernels
• 1 oz cilantro
• 5 garlic cloves, finely chopped
• 1 pinch of ground pepper
• 2 serrano chiles, finely chopped
• 1 cup grated panela cheese
• Salt to taste

Directions:

1. Mix the ingredients, sans the pork, in a bowl.
2. Lay the pork in a pan, salt and pepper.
3. Over the stretched out pork, spread  the tres milpas mix.
4. Wrap the meat, tied with hemp yarn so it won’t open in the oven,  add a little salt and pepper.
5. Cover with foil and bake to 180C for an hour, or until cooked through.
6. Remove the  foil 15 minutes before the end of cooking to brown slightly.
7. Remove from oven, remove the string. To serve, slice,  add  salsa of your choice.

Ensalada Noche Buena

Ingredients:

•  4 beets
•  water, to taste
• 1/2  cabbage, thinly chopped
•  3 tablespoons of raisins
•  1 cup of crema, sour cream
•  2 tablespoons of chopped almonds
•  2 cups of orange juice