Wed., March 30, dance, learn Nahuatl, cook

To help us remember March 30, I will post three photos.   In the morning, Laura shared patience and stamina as well as dance steps.  Yao shared the richness of Nahuatl language, traditions, and beliefs.  In the afternoon, everyone shared in cooking at Girelle's home.  Personally, I have never been so well fed in such pleasant company.  Through food, I better understand  the contributions of Latin America's indigenous Americans, Spanish (European) colonizers, Moors in Spain, and enslaved Africans who were brought to the Americas.  ~Carol

A day like no other.

My day started off a bit rocky but it got better within seconds. Today I taught the group a few "Azteca Danza" steps. It was a lot of fun and I really enjoyed seeing people get the steps. I'm not going to lie, it's not an easy dance to learn but I was extremely impressed by how fast everyone learned it. Yesterday and today my mom came to see and experience everything we've been doing. One of her ideas were for me to do a whole presentation for the group, of course everyone agreed with her. At first I hesitated because I don't really feel comfortable dancing all by myself, but Denis did it with me too, so it wasn't that bad. We were dancing for about an hour when our guest speaker arrived. She was teaching us so many things and bought a lot of the items for us to see. One item that really stuck to me the most was the azteca sonaja it's like a maraca used during the Aztec dance. ( i guess thats why it struck me the most) 

My favorite part was when she taught us a song about mother nature in Nahuatl. 

The beat of the song was suck in my head. Being Mexican and learning so much about my roots today has inspire me to learn more and explore everything I need to know to feel more connected with my culture. After the this we got ready to go to Girelle's house. The menu for today was Ceviche (which is shrimp cocktail) and Chifles which are Plantain Chips. Daisy, Jared, Jennifer and myself worked on the Ceviche. Once again everyone had a task and we all worked together. I personally had so much fun doing the Ceviche and the Chifles. The final results were amazing. 

  

I had to leave early :( So i didn't get to taste the Corn cake Fernanda and Stephanie did for us and the drink Wendy was working on. But I'm hoping to have some tomorrow. I came home and surprised my family by making the chips. They loved it and were all gone within minutes.

I've been super happy about everything I've been learning this past week that I am actually going to cook the Chicken Stew we learned on Monday for my family tomorrow. I'm kind of nervous but very excited. It won't be the same though, cause I wont have everyone around to help but I'm hoping it comes out just as tasty. 


I am really excited for tomorrow ! We are going to spend most of the day in the city  
Laura Lopez <3

Crazzzzyyy Latin Culture Fun!!

         Today as soon as I got to the school my group was setting up room 300 for the traditional Mexican dance Laura was going to teach us. She got there a few minutes late because her mother was so excited that she was going to be teaching us these dances that she wanted to get all the costumes for her, that just so happened to be at Laura's aunt's home. When Laura finally got to the school we were all anxious to learn how to dance. Since the room is pretty small we separated into two groups and took turns learning. While the first group went some of us took videos and pictures as well. I was really impressed at Laura's patience with us and she really knew how to break down all the steps for us when we didn't quite understand how to do it. Once the first group finished Girelle told me to go up, so I did, I was a bit embarrassed but I got over it quickly and got into the music that was playing in the background. The dancing with Laura was a lot of fun, I wish we learned more, but because of the time we weren't able to. After we finished dancing we made a circle for a guest speaker that was coming to teach us about the Aztec calendar and Nahuatl Language. She told us how for her its very important to keep the Native American culture alive. She showed us many different artifacts and explained to us what each one meant. She also showed us five books, three that she felt misrepresented the Aztecs, and two that were good. She passed all these items around and we all got to see them and read a few lines of the book. We learned that the Aztecs never actually sacrificed like we see in the movies, they actually don't roll sacrificed heads down the pyramids/temples Nor do they sacrifice hearts. These are all just myths that aren't true, they do however do small sacrifices, but nothing like this that is to the extreme. We even learned a song in Nahuatl, and our group is going to sing it on Friday during presentations (Fernanda's idea) Someone also asked a  question about 2012 and if it was true, she said that the calendar did end, but this didn't mean the world was going to end. Instead she explained to us how it meant that we wee somehow going to be closer to the earth and learn to appreciate everything we have. After we finished learning all about the Aztecs we prepared to head out to Girelle's house. Once we got there we had to try and be quiet because Girelle's voice was gone and she wasn't feeling that great. We began to cook immediately and separated into groups to make our jobs easier. I made Cheese Ceviche (an alternative to Ceviche de Camarones) with Brianna and Erica. The food was very tasty and we all worked as a team to get everything done and we worked well considering how much little space we had. When we finished cooking everything we all sat down and were able to eat in peace. Carol took some really great shots today and some good videos, so we were looking at them while we made some humus with Girelle. Today was overall a really fantastic day and I can't wait for tomorrow!! 

                                                                                                                            -Marcela Rodriguez :)

Bernardino de Sahagun, Lively Junior Girls and Tamales

For me, preparing lessons and materials has been one of the most rewarding aspects of Rensizzle. I have always loved cooking and history, and knowing that I would be learning about Latin America with a group of lively junior girls further encouraged me to investigate the food and life of the cultures that have molded the region. This Sunday, I spent some time at the New York Public Library researching the writings of Fray Bernardino de Sahagun, a Spanish priest and one the first outsiders to document life in the Aztec empire.

His narrative was so detailed and energetic I forgot the book was more than 600 years-old. In one passage, he described how young girls would stroll at the market chewing chiclet (gum) to make their breath smell well and, in this manner, attract young men.  The Tortilla Sellers at Tlatelolco Market hand-patted and toasted fresh tortillas surrounded by dozens of baskets filled with all kinds of steaming tamales: guajolote (turkey), fish, honey, cactus fruit, beans, chile, tomatoes, etc I will always remember with fondness how, upon reading the text on Monday, the students unanimously cried “ewwwww” at the mention of frog tamales. I simply loved seeing the students read an ancient text with smiles and joy.

Today, we visited Tortilleria Nixtamal in Corona and learned that, just like 600 years ago, making Tamales is still important in Mexico’s culinary tradition. Nixtamal is very special because it is the only place in New York City where tortilla-making follows the ancient Aztec tradition. After lying in the sun for week in the summer, the corn is packed and shipped to Nixtamal from Illinois. At Nixtamal, corn is given a bath of water and limestone until it becomes very soft. Then, it is washed and grinded into fresh masa. The Limestone increases the corn’s nutritional value, making tortillas a healthy alternative to bread.

Using fresh masa we made tortillas. We took turns pressing and toasting tortillas. Shawna, the owner, said that at least half of the people who try making tortillas this way make it wrong the first time. We set a record because ALL our tortillas came out beautifully. Honestly, these were the best tortillas I have ever had. I think Deisy and Wendy would also agree. 

Then we made sweet tamales with fresh masa plus milk, butter, brown sugar, pineapples and raisings. Carol pointed out these tamales show the Spaniards’ influence because they introduced milking cows, sugar and butter to the new world. Each one folded her own tamal in corn husk and got them ready for a steamy 40-minute bath!

~Girelle.