Mi casa es tu casa. Bienvenido a Mexico!

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Hi there! Welcome to my blog.

This is the first time I embark myself on writing one so I’m curious to see how this is going to evolve. My name is Maria Fernanda Diaz Rodriguez and I’m very latina like my name.

I’m an extroverted and curious late 80’s Millennial, born in Mexico City – one of the biggest metropolises of the world, so you can imagine that it’s a jungle out there. Luckily, we moved back to my mother’s hometown where the rest of her side of the family lives. So, me and my sisters – I’m the one in the middle by the way – grew up surrounded by many aunts, uncles, and cousins. We were raised in the Caribbean in the south of Mexico, where life goes easy like a fish swims in the sea. At age of 28 I traded the crystal blue waters and white-sand beaches of Cancun and Tulum for a life in the Swiss Alps. I’m living in Switzerland for almost three years now – Crazy to see how time passes by so fast!

During the first ten months here I was learning German. Intensively. Monday to Friday. Three hours class per day, plus three hours learning at home, plus conversational training, plus plus plus… four words, one feeling: “Deutsche Sprache, schwere Sprache”.

Anyway, since living abroad I realize how little people know about my country and how many ignore how much of Mexico there is in everyone’s daily lives.

Many aspects of life are marked by ancient Mexican cultures, but this first post couldn’t be long enough to cover them all at once. So, let us, for now, begin with one main similarity shared by every culture in the world: Food.

Let’s say that for many it is given that Pizza, Spaghetti & co. are to Italy, as much as tomato sauce is key to these Italian dishes. But, what many people probably don`t know is that tomatoes originally came from Mesoamerica (a big part of today’s Mexico) and that they were first cultivated by the Aztecs. Their name originates from the Nahuatl (Aztec language) word tomatl.  

Many people I talked to also missed on the origins of the world’s most beloved sweet: Mr. Chocolate. Cacao beans (the chocolate seeds) are native to central and South America and it was the (ancient Mexican) Olmec civilization who first consumed them about 4,000 years ago. The name goes back to the Nahuatl word xocolatl, which translates to “bitter water”, referring to the revered drink they mixed with it. So now, could you imagine what would be of the Swiss’ identity without Sprüngli or Lindt chocolates? And what to say of the Belgians without Côte d’Or? Probably, you never even gave it a thought, am I right?

And well, here we go again with the Aztecs who have not only given you tomatoes and named your statistically favorited sweet. They are also the ones to thank for baptizing your Guacamole. But, it is worth mentioning that Avocados have been grown and domesticated long before the Aztecs, for over ten thousand years by ancient civilizations in the central region of Mexico.

Mexico stacks the cinema’s snacks 

Have you ever wondered where the top snacks you munch in the cinema come from?

Well, I guess if you made it all the way to this part of the blog, you got it right: They were brought to you by one of Mexico’s ancient civilizations!

Popcorn

One of the cinema’s essentials. This salty, sweet or buttery snack was first domesticated in Mexico over seven thousand years ago. And yes, once again the Aztecs were the first ones to try it!

Nachos

Ignacio Anaya, a chef originally from northern Mexico, named his creation Nacho’s Especiales, after his own nickname – in Mexico Nacho is short for Ignacio.

In 1943, the chef by chance put together in the oven fresh fried tortilla chips, jalapenos, and cheese for a group of American ladies spending the day across the Mexican border. The success was immediate, the flavor and crunchiness of the Nachos quickly gained popularity in the USA, so that today Nachos are one of America’s most eaten snacks in cinemas and at sports events.

Chewing gum

What about the world’s most common habit: The Chewing gum. Its term comes from the Mayan “sicte”, which translates to “blood of the Chicozapote”, an endemic tree of the south region of Mexico. The three’s resin is extracted and worked into what we know as chewing gum.

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… well, that was a lot of information about food and hopefully it wasn’t too much to digest (for the first time).

If you would like to discover more interesting facts about Mexico, its culture, its people, its food and its drinks >>> Stay tuned! I will weekly introduce you to this magical land with lots of history, passion, and flavors.

Thank you for reading!

Fer