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Author: Ferron Salniker

Talking perseverance, sisterhood and Tlacolula’s gastronomy with Oaxacan Cocinera Tradicional, Catalina Chávez

7 / 9 / 197 / 9 / 19

I met up with Catalina Chávez at a gas station in Tlacolula, Oaxaca, where she and her husband picked me up in a tuktuk and immediately took me to eat ice cream. The day only went up from there. Catalina is a cocinera tradicional, which means she’s part of a group of women who are passing down the ancestral cooking traditions from Oaxaca’s eight regions. At the recent “encuentro” where women from all over entered their ceremonial dishes into a competition, Catalina won third prize with her mole enchiladas. Celia Florian, the organizer of the cocineras, introduced me to her when I asked to interview a cocinera not far from Oaxaca city. 

After enjoying a cone of leche quemada and tuna ice cream (a staple here), we followed the sweet scent of a fresh bread where she insisted I take a bag of Tlacolula’s pan de yema home. Fairly quickly we were out of the town center and climbing up a dirt road, Catalina with the kind of grace that allowed her to sway and bump in the back while holding her posture and a cone of melting ice cream perfectly upright. 

She lives in Colonia Tres Piedras (three rocks), marked by three Flinstone-looking boulders. At the time her comedor was still under construction, so we sat in the shell of the dining room and Catalina told me about her life. We talked for about two hours: about her sister’s passing to cancer, embracing life as a cocinera, motherhood, and yes, about food. Here’s an abbreviated version. At the end she fed me a plate of mole negro, glistening over a pile of white rice. It was perfect.

How did you learn to cook?

I’m the third generation of cooks in my family. This chef asked me once if I went to culinary school and I said yes, I studied at the best school possible: because when you mess up you get a slap on the head! With an onion, with a chile, with whatever is in the kitchen.

My mom had a strong personality. She became a widow when I was 11-years-old. My dad was an alcoholic. She said that all she thought about was how to get food on the table for her kids. Imagine: you have an alcoholic husband, you have to get food on the table, you have to take care of your kids, you have to clean, and all that pressure falls on you and you don’t have any way to let off steam.

I told my mom in the end that I understand. My grandmother was a widow too. You understand eventually that they had to figure out how to do what they needed to do and that shaped them. It shaped me too, because I saw that if you work hard at a job you can provide for what you need in life.

It seems like you see cooking as more than a job — do you think being a cocinera tradicional has always been valued by Oaxacan society?

Since I was a girl helping my mom in Tlacolula, I remember the cook leaving the kitchen: dirty, sweaty and dead tired, everyone turns around and looks. No one values that you just fed 300 or 500 people. I was embarrassed to say I was a cook.

One time this woman asked me who I was and she said, “Oh the cook” with a negative tone when I told her my mother’s name. I remember it. I saw her a while later and she said, “so you became a cook too.” And I said yes, and I’m proud of it. I like it. I’m passionate about it, I love representing the gastronomy of my town. And also— I’d like one of you to try and do one single thing that I do. And she had no words.

How does your husband support your work?

One time my husband got upset because I came home from cooking really late. He said if I didn’t stop going like I was going he would leave. I told him, I don’t need you and I will continue with or without you. From that point on, he got it and has been supportive. I wasn’t changing. It’s complicated to be a mom, wife and worker. But everything is possible— it’s tiring but it’s possible. We as women have to work harder. 

Why be part of the cocineras tradicionales?

This really is a project for women. I admire Cecilia [Celia Florian], she could be very comfortable living her life without doing anything else. But she’s doing something beautiful for us. There are women cooking in more isolated areas who need ways to make income. So we need more projects that support our work as cooks. It’s women supporting women.

Apart from that, they are also trying to rescue a diet of unprocessed foods. Maseca is taking over, but when we were little my grandpa and my dad would bring in sacks of corn— it’s such an amazing flavor to eat corn straight from the field. People aren’t growing agriculture like they used to here, and people eat so differently now. That’s why the cocineras tradicionales is important: so many of the diseases we deal with now are because we are hurried and eating fast food. 

What’s the difference between your mom’s food and yours?

My grandmother and my mom have the same recipes, but they do change a little when they are passed down. Everything is still made artisanally and by hand, but I think the “sazon” that we have is different. My grandmother is 97 but she still notices details when they’re off according to her. 

You represent Tlacolula with your cooking, what kind of dishes should people try here if they want the real deal?

Tlacolula has an intense gastronomy. We are known for our moles: coloradito, amarillo, verde, negro. In Tlacolula we have the custom that when someone dies we make mole de luto, a chichilo mole. Higaditos are also very traditional, with chicken, onion, tomato, miltomate, chicken stock. Just when the vegetables are boiling you add eggs, but if the eggs hit the bottom it doesn’t work so you have to very careful. Also, barbacoa is typical at important events too.

What about the rest of your family, are your siblings cooks too?

My siblings all crossed [the border]. I remember one night my sister said she was going to leave, but I told her I wouldn’t leave my mom. That night my mom came home and my sister was gone. She was 16 years old, I was 13. She’s still there 27 years later. She said she was going to build a house here and she did, it’s beautiful but she’s never returned. I stayed to work with my mom. There was one day when she said “we’re doing ok, you could go back to study”, but I said no, I liked my work. And since then doors have opened. I have an 18 year old in college and a 14 year old as well. And thanks to the cocineras tradicionales, I got a 10 year visa. Imagine that. 

Find Catalina Chavez in Tlacolula at:

MO-KALLI Restaurante

Donají 48, San Isidro, 70400 Tlacolula de Matamoros, Oax.

01 951 294 1249

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A Few Favorite Tacos from Taqueando, and where to find them

6 / 18 / 196 / 18 / 19

I mostly avoid food festivals these days (long lines, hungry people, ugh) but a festival called Taqueando? Of course I was there. The all-you-can-eat taco festival featuring chefs and taqueros mostly from Southern California and Mexico is Bill Esparza’s reincarnation of Tacolandia, the former LA Weekly-sponsored festival (now independently funded because LA Weekly is owned by conservative a-holes). Despite my food festival kvetching, this festival illustrated perfectly why these types of events can be so important to cities. Especially in LA, where it’s a challenge to get from one end of town to the other, Taqueando was an opportunity to taste food from all over the city. Eaters got to try tacos they may have been lusting after in their IG feeds, and they got to try tacos from places they probably haven’t heard of. And while I think folks were excited to sample from places just over the border like La Guerrerense, Corazon de Tierra, and Tras Horizonte, I’d bet it was also an educational experience for people who haven’t traveled south yet. The vendors seemed genuinely happy to be there too.

Also, the festival was nicely managed, with the lines not too long and lots of aguas and mineral water to wash down the masa and meat. Not to be like “I’m an event producer so I know things,” but I am an event producer and I noticed that clearly the tickets were capped out of consideration for the guests and the vendors— they could have sold way more tickets. Don’t miss it next year if you like tacos (and if not, why are the heck are you here?)

A few of my favorite bites from stands in the area that you might not know about:

Poncho’s Tlayudas

A classic Oaxacan snack, tlayudas are thin and crispy tortillas that typically host asiento (lard) beans, cheese, lettuce, tomato and meat on top like a pizza, or folded and crisped up on a grill or comal. Not all tlayudas are created equally though, sometimes they are too dry, or overly loaded with one ingredient (like so cheesy you can’t untangle your mouth from the quesillo). I’ve been meaning to get to Poncho’s stand on Friday nights where they offer homemade moronga (blood sausage) and heirloom corn tlayudas from Oaxaca. It did not disappoint, with a healthy amount of juicy cabbage and salsa to balance the smokey masa and richness of the moronga served on the side. Next to the stand, Odilia, Poncho’s partner hosted a booth for Frente Indígena de Organizaciones Binacionales, a community-based org and coalition of indigenous organizations, communities, and individuals settled in Oaxaca and California. She gave me a cookbook by indigenous Oaxacan women living in LA, so I walked away extra juiced from these two stands.

Dos Tierras

I was delighted to see this crew from San Diego, who I had the pleasure of collaborating with for my event Mexico in a Bottle in Barrio Logan. There’s a lot that’s cool about them. Their dope logo is a start, but also they serve vegan, vegetarian and meat tacos. Often I find with vegan food that the positioning is anti-meat versus pro-veggie— and you can taste it in the boring soyrizo tacos. I’d always rather have an original like their enoki adovation: enoki mushrooms, cauliflower, broccoli marinated in pineapple vinegar and guajillo chiles. BBQ flavors mingled with a layer of beans, topped with tangy curtido and a pleasant habanero beat salsa, plus cotija and fried onions for a little crunch. Their slightly thicker handmade tortillas are great too. Check them out at pop-ups in southern california.

La Huesuda Tacos

Slow braised pork ribs in grilled guajillo and BBQ sauce with chile de arbol pepper aioli and pineapple won me over here. Apparently I’m diggin interesting takes on BBQ flavors these days. Check them out as they pop-up around town.

Some of my other favorites from places that have more fama:

La Embajada

I know cauliflower has long been the new kale, but it was struttin yesterday with a number from Guerrilla Tacos and a fish taco riff from this restaurant in Monterrey, Mx. The battered and golden cauliflower was crispy and airy, cut by a burnt salsa macha with pickled onions.

Corazon De Tierra

Chef Diego Hernández represented his beautiful restaurant in Valle de Guadalupe with a striped bass taco from Todos Santos.

Breddos

I didn’t spot too many insects at the festival, but this London-based restaurant made up for it with a fat and crunchy chicatana on top of a cured rockfish and nectarine tostada.

Broken Spanish

Pork prensado with hibiscus pickled onions— as vibrant as it looked.

Sonoratown (pictured at top)

I had about 15 tacos by this point, but who can turn down a freshly made flour tortilla, the smell of mesquite, or a luscious guacamole splat? Not I.

Chichen Itza

Yucatan represented by none other than the poc chuc taco with two types of habanero salsa to sample. I have been missing Yucatan but a trip here might help with that.

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About Me

Hi! I'm Ferron Salniker. Storyteller, consultant, and tour guide.

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Laksa albondigas & fried chicken conchawich (conch Laksa albondigas & fried chicken conchawich (concha flavored with tumeric, coco & makrut lime leaves) are my food baby dreams. Terima kasih @nora_haron ❤️
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Oh hi friends👋🏼 I’m back on the gram after Oh hi friends👋🏼 I’m back on the gram after getting a concussion in December that made it painful to read or write or look at the screen until a couple of weeks ago! It has been a long journey since I couldn’t do much besides chill on this floor in the dark and listen to records (not even something I can deeply complain about) but sometimes I still come here to ground myself and thank the universe for my magical lil brain. I hope to never take reading, writing, or remembering what the hell I was getting in the kitchen for granted again. 
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If you or a loved one ever gets a minor brain injury please holla at your girl and I will share all the resources and healing tips my fam and chosen fam found me. I am forever grateful to them and to get back to work.
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#concussed
This date last year was the first day of our @mezc This date last year was the first day of our @mezcalistas Michoacán tour with a bunch of friends in the industry from across the country.  We drank snake mezcal and ate carnitas and followed the light up the hills for inaquidens agaves. How things have changed for all of us. Putting tour dates on the calendar for the end of 2021 makes me feel hopeful (stay tuned!) In the meantime, sipping my copita pretending like it’s from the still and scrolling through the memories captured by @renecervantes. 
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#michoacan #travelgram #instatravel #traveldeeper #travelmexico #pasionxmexico #tasteintravel #livecolorfully #instacolor #igtravel #whereitravel #mezcal #mezcaltour #mezcalovers
Taiwanese breakfast today is daikon cakes, dan bin Taiwanese breakfast today is daikon cakes, dan bing, fan tuan with purple sticky rice, red bean mochi with osmanthus, Taiwanese breakfast sandwich, and dou hua with ginger syrup. Remember to support your local restaurants & makers if you can this weekend and always❤️
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#picnicbreakfast #brunch #picnic  #feedyoursoul #tasteintravel #foodphotography #foodwriter #instafood #taiwanesefood #shopsmall
🌊Family day🌊 🌊Family day🌊
Doin so much social media consulting these days I Doin so much social media consulting these days I get exhausted by the screen and don’t really get on my own gram. Plus this quarantine is an emotional roller coaster and I’m setting hella boundaries on and off the screen so I can stay grounded and grateful. But then I miss seeing all my friends’ work and all the art & activism & community that everyone is making happen. So hi friends, keep at it, also here is one of my favorite quarantine creations - an agave bandanna from @tuyo_nyc 🖤🤍⚡️
When missing breakfast in Istanbul🌹 . . . . . # When missing breakfast in Istanbul🌹
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New article up on Life & Thyme as part of a series New article up on Life & Thyme as part of a series on institutional racism and agriculture, link in bio • repost @lifeandthyme "Most of the country’s 2.5 million farmworkers are of Mexican descent, and at least half are undocumented. Wages are generally low; in 2019 farmworkers earned less than what workers with the lowest levels of education in the U.S. labor market earned. They typically endure long hours, face occupational health and safety hazards, lack health coverage, reside in crowded housing, and many of them live below the federal poverty guidelines. At least six percent of farmworkers identify as Indigenous, and for those without English or Spanish fluency, accessing medical care or information can be even more difficult. And while immigrant farmworkers are some of the most vulnerable to Covid-19 due to these circumstances, they have been deemed essential workers. ⠀
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This inequity of including people in an economy for their labor and skills and yet excluding their humanity in narrative and policies is part of maintaining racial and economic power structures—and the nation’s food system was built on it." -- L&T Contributor @ferronlandia⠀
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Today on Life & Thyme, Ferron Salniker explores how a history of immigration, trade and discriminatory economic policies have made U.S. farms dependent on exploitable labor mostly by Latinx immigrants. Read, "How Immigration and Trade Policy Have Shaped U.S. Agriculture" at the link in our bio.⠀
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#lifeandthyme
Been resisting social media, submitting to water a Been resisting social media, submitting to water and California. Plumas County to Topanga Beach this week 🐬🌊
New piece up on the women behind the Black Chef Mo New piece up on the women behind the Black Chef Movement, who are fueling protesters in NY. Repost from @lifeandthyme: 

“McCallum and Davis are responding to a singular moment in history, facing the combined hardships of an economic crisis, increased hunger, the Covid-19 pandemic, and swelling protests across the country demanding transformation of our political and economic systems. Black Chef Movement is meeting the needs of this moment in its own way, continuing a tradition of Black activists showing up to nourish communities while organizing for liberation.” — L&T Correspondent @ferronlandia
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Honoring a historic tradition, New York chefs Kayla Davis and Rasheeda McCallum founded the @blackchefmovement to feed and fuel a movement. Read the full story at the link in our profile.
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Photos by L&T Photographer @jonvachon
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