Mexico Comes to Sunninghill

 

I recently joined a small group of volunteers who are organizing events to increase the use of our public library. Yesterday we installed an exhibition called Mexico Comes to Sunninghill. On Thursday evening we are serving a Mexican supper of ceviche acapulqueño (fish in a sauce of tomato, chiles, lemon juice, olive oil, white wine, coriander and green olives); ensalada de nopales (a salad of cactus, tomato, red onion, chiles, coriander, feta cheese and a lime and olive oil dressing); ensalada de hongos y frijoles (a bean, chile and mushroom salad); guacamole; pan de elote (cornbread); and agua de jamaica (a cordial made from hibiscus flowers). I will give a short illustrated talk about Mexican history and culture.

Sunninghill Library decorated for the exhibition

 

We have decorated the library with papel picado (the Mexican equivalent of bunting) and the Mexican national flag. The main themes are:

 

·      Time and the stars: an explanation of Mesoamerican astronomy and of the two calendars (the 365-day xiuhpoalli and the 260-day tonalpualli). The former was used for planning the year’s activities and the latter for divinatory purposes. The two calendars corresponded every 52 years, a momentous event marked by the New Fire ceremony.

·      Teotihuacan: the city in the Valley of Mexico, which by the 6th century was one of the largest in the world and much bigger than any city in Europe.

Time and the Stars and Teotihuacan

 

·      Paper and books: the display includes two paintings on bark paper and pages from Indigenous books and documents.

Paper and Books

 

·      Food and drink: this focuses on the ingredients from Mesoamerican cultures still consumed in Mexico (e.g. chocolate, tomatoes, maize, the fruit of the prickly pear cactus, grasshoppers, ants’ eggs, maguey cactus larvae); the fusion of ingredients and culinary traditions from Mesoamerica, Europe and Asia to create a unique cuisine; and the history of pulque (cactus “beer”), tequila and mezcal.

Food and Drink

 

 

A particular jewel of the exhibition are the miniatures collected by Margarita Beick de Schwedhelm, the mother of my colleague Karin Sartorius. In Aztec society children underwent a ritual which Spanish friars mistook for baptism because the infants were ritually washed. Boys were given miniature bows and arrows and tiny shields. Girls received a miniaure weaver’s loom. On their homes’ altars were placed diminutive figures of domestic gods. This tradition has expanded in colonial and modern times to create tiny, exquisitely crafted, copies of domestic objects, human figures, animals and plants. With apologies for rather poor photos (my fault) these will help you to imagine these beautiful and finely crafted miniatures.

Miniatures of animals and plants

 

A miniature mule driver and fishermen

 

 

 

A miniature mariachi serenades a miniature girl

 

   

 

 

 

Household items

                          

Donations at Thursday night's event will benefit our son Chris' charity, Pasitos de Luz: www.pasitos de luz.org