Historias: Stories of El Paso - Virtual Exhibition
Historias: Stories of El Paso - Virtual Exhibition
Historias: Stories of El Paso - Virtual Exhibition
Historias: Stories of El Paso A virtual exhibition curated by our community Courtesy of: Rubi Orozco Santos Title: Nixtamal in the Borderland Historia type: Photograph & Poem In 2019 with support from the City of El Paso and Museum and Cultural Affairs Department's Artist Incubator Program, I released a bilingual book of poetry inspired by the history of nixtamalization and interviews with practitioners of this ancient indigenous culinary innovation in the El Paso area. One woman I met personally brings her corn from Mexico every year for her family's Christmas tamales; another one shares her cooking knowledge with people in her neighborhood; some had their hand mills for decades, others had recently gotten theirs on the internet; more than one had husbands who made them custom tables on which to permanently mount the molino (hand mill). Like many El Pasoans, these women navigate increasing border militarization even as they carve out spaces to maintain and share nourishing traditions. In this respect, their lives are the continuation of those of indigenous peoples who maintained the tradition of nixtamalization even as they endured state violence in the late 1490s and beyond. This is the final poem in the collection: Teocintle In the beginning, there was Corn. And the Corn said: Know me. Evolve with me. Choose my starchiest seeds for planting. Build tools for grinding. Built structures for these tools. Sing the song of my existence.
Report this entry
More from the same community-collection
Photography by Jaime Humberto Caldera Chacón
There is nothing more pleasing and rewarding than witnessing the ...
Photography by Jaime Humberto Caldera Chacón
There is nothing more pleasing and rewarding than witnessing the ...
Toddler in Front of Daily Church Service Hours Sign
A toddler standing in front of a sign advertising a Church's ...
Singer and Piano Player at a Church
A singer and piano player, as well as other members of a church. ...
Congregation at Presumed Bethlehem Temple Church
Congregation at what is presumed to be Bethlehem Temple Church. ...
Congregation at Presumed Bethlehem Temple Church
Congregation at what is presumed to be Bethlehem Temple Church. ...
Congregation at Presumed Bethlehem Temple Church
Congregation at what is presumed to be Bethlehem Temple Church. ...
Children Congregated at Presumed Bethlehem Temple Church
Children's congregation at what is presumed to be Bethlehem ...
Congregation at Presumed Bethlehem Temple Church
Congregation at what is presumed to be Bethlehem Temple Church. ...
Members of Presumed Bethlehem Temple Church
Faithful service as musician, choir director, Sunday school ...
Brief History of The Links, Incorporated - 1946
El Paso (TX) Chapter, The Links, Incorporated. Brief History of ...
The Uncolonized: A Vision in the Parallel Virtual Exhibition
Created by local artist Angel Cabrales, “The Uncolonized” is ...
The Uncolonized: A Vision in the Parallel Virtual Exhibition
Created by local artist Angel Cabrales, “The Uncolonized” is ...
The Uncolonized: A Vision in the Parallel Virtual Exhibition
Angel Cabrales
Macuahuitl (Sedimentary ...
The Uncolonized: A Vision in the Parallel Virtual Exhibition
Angel Cabrales
Xiuhpōhualli Anomala , ...
The Uncolonized: A Vision in the Parallel Virtual Exhibition
Angel Cabrales
Teoquiyaoatl (Sacred ...
The Uncolonized: A Vision in the Parallel Virtual Exhibition
Angel Cabrales
Apoteosis del Olmequemista, ...
The Uncolonized: A Vision in the Parallel Virtual Exhibition
Angel Cabrales
Apoteosis del Aztecnonauta, ...
The Uncolonized: A Vision in the Parallel Virtual Exhibition
Angel Cabrales
Codex of the Interplanetary ...
The Uncolonized: A Vision in the Parallel Virtual Exhibition
Angel Cabrales
Center
Textile del la ...