South of the Border,

Episode 7    17-25 Dec  ’17       

Posadas….& a Merry Christmas!

           

I spoke about the ‘Posada’ held at the Party room of the complex. This week, we were invited by Janu-Jenny’s friends in the building. Diego & Irene (pronounced ‘Iraynay’), Diego is a practicing Psychiatrist & Irene, a home maker, Since they stayed on the 14 th floor, we had to first go to GF & take the lift on the opp side, as there are two sets of lifts, as I’ve mentioned.

We were received very warmly by the couple & Diego, who is well informed & widely travelled, wanted to know the Indian way of greeting!

The choice of beverages were, a Hibiscus infusion & Lemonade with ‘chia’ seeds.  Evelyn- Rodrigo & Omar-Alexandra were the other Two couples invited. I must make a mention here that Janu is quite fluent in Espanol, considering she’s been here just about a year! 

While the kids made themselves at home with the toys & games, the hosts explained to us, food habits of Mexican’s, what’s to be eaten (or not eaten) with what. Corn is the staple, followed by Rice & Black Beans. But most of the fare is Non Vegetarian, Pork & Beef at the top of the “pecking order”, followed by pollo! Food is mostly an ‘assembly line’ kind of a system, It’s mostly tortillas/ tacos/tostadas/tacos etc, which are all corn & the other ingredients are added on,as per taste. Taste essentially comes from the various sauces & cheeses, all of varying colours….& ascending degrees of spiciness!!

So Evelyn proceeded to demonstrate how to make Tostadas, with either B Beans paste or Cream. And some items are a strict “no-no” to add on.

Stage 2 & 3

Stage 1

                                 Followed by Pozole. This is such a simple item to make, that after reading this, you’ll want to try it out straightaway. The catch is, of course, the % of spiced/sauces! Essentially shredded Pollo or Barbacoa(Lamb), White Corn, Vegs (any) all cooked in a chicken broth & spiced up. Dessert was squares of preserved fruit served with a cheese.

The topper here was Beer mixed with La Chiva, a Tamarind-based drink, made in Vera Cruz! (The words on the scroll on the bottle, if taken in Punjabi, conveys it all!!). Omar owns Two Diners in the city & we were let off only on a promise that we would have b’fast/brunch at one of his places.

Diego & Ire'ne'

Since it was Christmas time, feasts were very much on the agenda. There were three invites on the trot, the distance of each, increasing in geometric progression. The first  was Diegos, which was in the same building. The next was at Tripthi & Sabareesh, from God’s Own Country, who live within 5 minutes from our place. That evening, we learned that there were at least 1000 Indian families in Ciudad Mexico! Besides the IT crowd, pharma & manufacturing made up a bulk, besides some traders, mostly from the Land of Five Rivers. These enterprising folks, had taken a bungalow & set up a Gurudwara there, which besides offering temporal solace, also served at a meeting point for the Indian community. Lastly,  it was an hour & a half drive beyond Santa Fe. We drove through perhaps one of the best gated communities here, with Ivy-covered high walls & very ornate gates! We were told that the residents were mostly politicos, film stars & business magnates!

Gated community

 Not surprising.  Archit, again from God’s own country & Lalita, have a beautiful hacienda-type of a house, with typical white walls, tiled roof, cobbled streets & tall cacti! Lalita, incidentally is from Nepal, settled in Hyderabad! National integration at it’s best! And the fare was very different at both places, Archit himself serving up an abs fab Biryani (Super se Upar, as Jenny is wont to say!) It was Christmas eve and everything was still as still…..and brrr cold!

On Christmas itself, we were invited for lunch at the residence of Mr. Jose, yes Jose & not Jose’!    

Mr Jose came to Mexico 41 years ago from yes, God’s Own Country & has his own manufacturing unit. Dr Mrs Jose is a well-known Gynaecologist here. The Joses live in one of the exclusive areas of the city, where there are only bungalows, with huge lawns & tree cover. The guest list was the who’s-who of the Indian community here.

It was heartening to hear their stories of success.  There was a choice of beverages & nibblers, but the spread was an amazing mix of Mexican fare & typical Kerala cuisine (KeMex!) The gracious hosts personally attended to us all & the amalgam was smoothly achieved.

The spread-Dr Annie chkg out

In-between the festivities, there was a ‘quake ‘ alarm, so we all trooped out in the garden, as per the drill! By then, (this is my reading), all the spirits imbibed by us, perhaps acted as “auto-stabilisers”, since not much of the tremor was felt! However, it gave us all a chance to take in the beauty of the place. Dr (Mrs) Jose has a proper Curry Leaves ‘farm’ on a small plot in the house, as also a Jackfruit  tree!

We marvel at the similarities as well as presence of similar plants, fruits, spices & foodstuff, in India & here. However, it is no surprise that a lot of these items as well as lentils, beans & the like which are used in our everyday food, have actually been brought in from other countries! Of late, there have been many articles in the ‘papers recommending planting “native” trees & avoiding “alien” one! If I am right, the Tamarind is not native to India. Are we going a few steps ‘forward’(?) by dividing trees also on countries of origin? (shudder, shudder!)

On our way back, we passed by another well-wooded park, named Gandhi Park, in memory of the Father of the Nation! Another revelation  was the importance  Fine Arts & Literature has been ensured. There are numerous Museums here (anthropology, modern art, natural history etc) And streets/ localities named after eminent writers like Shaw, Moliere, Homer, Horatio! And a book stall named after Gandhiji! 

 

Another family from Dallas (Arindam, Sudipta & boys), good friends & colleagues arrived after a pretty harrowing wait at immigration. However, tempers were soon soothed with appropriate Chritsmas ‘spririts’! The night was a quiet affair at home, but not before   calling it a day(night) with Beef Chilly (Janu has mastered this) & good Wine from Baja California!

The next day, we left for Puerto Vallarta via Guadalajara for a seaside holiday. But “ye kissa kabhi aur”.

Adios!

TC,Hope you enjoy reading this as much as I have, while writing.
AshoKalpana