Fiesta Mexicana: A Celebration of Mexican Culture in Zürich

Ballet Folklórico Dancers
A few weeks back when we attended the Teotihuacan exhibit at Museum Rietberg in Zürich, I noticed that the museum would be hosting a fiesta mexicana in early May (to coincide with "Cinco de Mayo," I guess). They advertised a day of authentic Mexican food, mariachis, ballet folklórico, a market -- well, they had us at Mexican food.

What "Mexican" restaurants here call Mexican food is definitely not the Mexican-American food we're accustomed to and it most certainly is not something anyone in Mexico City would ever cook at home or eat at a restaurant. This makes me question who the heck runs those joints! Anyway, thank heavens the people running the food booths at the fiesta mexicana were genuine Mexicans serving up authentic Mexican street food like tlacoyos. (You will not find these served up at a taco shop in California.)

Blue corn meal cakes stuffed with beans...
and topped with salsa verde, fresh cheese, onions, cilantro, and nopales.
One last shot of the tasty street snack

My favorite performance of the day was by a musical group called Flor y Canto. They took us on a journey through 500 years of Mexican folkloric musical history, often incorporating as many indigenous musical instruments as possible. Also, the folkloric dance performances made me miss watching my friends Azucena and Karina perform with their group back in San Diego. Mostly, I was reminded of the beauty of my Mexican heritage. ¡Qué viva México!




Granny gets her drink on!
Beautiful, sunny day at the park

8 comments

  1. Que Viva Mexico!!! Wow! I'm impressed by the food, nopalitos? sounds like authentic food. You lucky girl. What a lucky treat you had to see the ballet folklorico. awww I'm proud to be a Mexican!!LOL.

    how was the salsa verde? spicy??

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  2. Oooh, that looks like it was great! Luckily I'll be going to So Cal soon so I can take care of the Mexican food craving you just triggered. It'll be Californian-Mexican, but I figure that's a valid version of Mexican cuisine.

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  3. Habia muchisima gente, increible! Y si, la comida mejicana tiene cosas mucho mas alla del guacamole pero pasa en todas partes. En españa no nos pasamos el dia cominedo paella y bailando flamenco o haciendo la siesta pero eso creen muchos!

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  4. Hi Elisa - It was great! I hadn't eaten nopalitos in such a long time. It really was a special treat. Most of the other food was tacos and quesadillas I could make at home, so I was really glad they had the tlacoyos... btw, the salsa was pretty mild but very tasty!

    Hi Virginia - Oh yes, Cal-Mex is much more authentic than anything I've encountered here!

    Hola Julia - asi que tampoco bebes sangría cada noche con la cena? jiji.
    So many people! Esperamos como media hora en fila para pedir esos tlacoyos!! uuuf!

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  5. I miss Mexican food sooooo much. I did recently find a good one in Madrid. I am so jealous! I will just have to live vicariously through you.

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  6. Amanda,
    This is so odd...Mexico in Switzerland! I LOVE it! I'm just dying to go to Mexico after watching Anthony Bourdain's feature on the city.

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  7. Wow. I shouldn't have looked at this post today when I'm stuck here in southern Italy, with only Uncle Ben's to get me by!

    :-) Those look delish!

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  8. Hey Ashleigh - One pretty decent Mexican restaurant is better than none!

    Hey Jen - Where in Mexico? Gosh, so many places on my list... Guadalajara, the Mayan ruins in Chiapas, and the list goes on!

    Hey Cherrye - Does Uncle Ben's make Mexican food down there? We've got "Pancho Villa"!

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