Mexico, Tenancingo Degollado, : Xico

Xico, pronounced (Heeko), is a magic pueblo in Vera Cruz pegged to Coatepec, another magic pueblo. Both of these towns are on the high foothills of El Cofre de Perote. These slopes in Veracruz, possess a humid temperate climate. It is misty world of orchids, waterfalls, and coffee. In fact the nutty aroma of coffee pervades the air with the promise of wakefulness. Xico, a beautiful colonial city, offers great views and unique gastronomic experiences where mole and tamales will caress your palette.

Xico was populated by Totonacans in prehispanic times.At that time it was called Xicochimalco. The Totonacas are rumored to be the indigenous people who built the mysterious El Tajin. Those who settled Xico were most likely rural Totonacas, not exactly like their coastal counterparts who built El Tajin. The earliest Totonaca settlers of Xicochimalco must have liked the climate of the high slopes, the cloud mist forests, and the abundant waters of the Huehueyapan River.

El Tajin

       The ancient origin ofthis town is Totonaco, although later it was conquered by the
Tlaxcaltecas or Teochichimecas. These tribes claim to have founded Xicochimalco around 1280. This part of the history however is unclear. Later the Mexicas (Aztecs) dominated the Totonacas. One thing that seems true in the history of Xico is that the Xiquenses were a people who prized peace over resistance. If one bows to power commerce continues and economic and cultural systems survive a while longer.
Cortes passed through Xico on his way to Tenochitlan. In a letter he sent to the king of Spain he mentioned this fortified city. The historic citadel described by Cortes, now a ruin covered by cornfields is about 4 kilometers from the center of the colonial city and are called Xico Viejo or Old Xico. Between 1525 and 1530 the families of Xico Viejo were forced to move to the valley in what is now Xico Nuevo, away from the fortified city to avoid clashes with the Spaniards. What was once fortified Xicochimalco was deserted until just a few decades ago when it was again populated. The name Xico comes from Nahuatl Xiko-chimal-ko meaning "nido de jicotes" or nest of jicotes, a type of bee.
     Even though Xico was given some preferential treatment by Cortes because they treated him deferentially, most likely from fear of what resistance would bring, Xico and the neighboring provinces fell into economic oblivion until the 17th and 18th century when tobacco, oranges, and coffee recaptured its importance.
   In 1540 Franciscan monks arrived and designed colonial Xico. By 1580 all the surrounding communities were living in Xico Nuevo. A result of all that urban organization was a kind of pacification and of course a more efficient manner to collect taxes for Spain.

Happy smiley faces of Totonacas, that strikingly resemble Chinese, I am sure before forced relocation and taxes .

There is a major festival in Xico in honor of their patron saint, Maria Magdalena throughout the month of July. Magdalena is my favorite saint because she was loyal and fearless, and left out. Her faith for me embodies the Christian idea of living simply and loving your friends. During the festival in Magdalena's honor Xiqueños cover the streets with carpets of brightly colored sawdust. This tradition of temporary installations of colorful alfombras de aserin is celebrated in many towns in Veracruz, Guanajuato, and Tlaxcala and also in Honduras and Guatemala. In Xico the carpets are organized by mayordomos and guilds and executed by families.

It seems, according to the internet, the origin of the tradition of sawdust carpets is claimed by various places including Antigua, Guatemala, Comayagua, Honduras, and Iramuco, Guanajuato. These carpets originally were placed on the streets to emmulate the palms which covered the alleys of Jerusalem when Jesus returned just before the crucifixtion. The idea of laying carpets in honor of a religious figure was brought from Spain after the conquest. There are older carpet making traditions in many towns in Spain such as La Orotava, Ponteareas, Villa de Mazo, Foz, Castropol, Burela, Cué, and Pravia that honor not only Jesus's return, but virgins, and saints. These carpets however are made of flowers not dyed sawdust. A more primitive tradition was the planting of fragrant flowers for the procession of Corpus Christi or celebration of the Eurcharist. In Xico, for example, massive quantities of sawdust are first sifted to gain a fine even consistency like flour. The sifted sawdust is then mixed with boldly colored dyes by hand,, not unlike mixing concrete. The dyed sawdust is then dried and bagged by color. To make a carpet requires a stencil. To make one that covers an entire street many stencils are necessary.

Typical stencil

Stencil maker

The background is applied first then the colored designs on top of that

Sometime in the 18th century Maria Magdalena replaced all her competitors as the saint of choice in Xico. No one remembers how exactly Maria Magdalena came to be their patron saint. The Xiqueños have resorted to a legend,,, not unlike how the Virgin of Tonantico in the State of Mexico who came to have a church built around her. The legend cocerns stubborness or pertenacity and goes like this. A mule appeared before the church bearing a box with an image of Maria Magdalena and the animal refused to move. So what else could the population do but adopt this controversial figure as their patrona.

Maria Magdalena has long been considered, by a male dominated culture, as a female with questionable morals converted by a benevolent and understanding Jesus, and who became a role model for devotion. She is the embodiment of Jesus's treatment of the women in his life,, that is as equals. In the Georges de la Tour portrait of her she is seen as comely,, soft,, burning the midnight oil. After all supposedly she witnessed the entire cruxcifixtion and was the first to encounter the empty tomb. She was loyal to Jesus. His male friends at first just scattered. In Xico Maria's day is celebrated on July 22.

This festival developed and like many mexican religious festivals it draws from different genres enthusiastically mixing bold colors, dance, costumes, running of the bulls (xiquenada), a bullfight, songs, callejoneadas (musicians, in period costume, who amble in the alleys playing romantic music), gastronomic delights, and fireworks. It certainly draws the community together as a focused group in a cyclical celebration.

There are two Marias in Xico. One is in the church, the image of Maria de Magdala washing the feet of Christ and cleaning them with her hair. It was said that when she performed this ritual of humility she kissed his feet repeatedly. She elevated the washing of feet to a sensual act as well. The other statue, the one which is borne through the streets is Spanish, more austere, less vulnerable.

To demonstrate the devotion of the Xiquenses they have bestowed upon her jewelry, wigs, perfumes and dresses. In fact there is a museum of dresses in El Patio de las Palomas that houses all her sartorial splender, the oldest dating back to 1910. She has more wardrobe changes than Lady Gaga's superbowl performance.

Museum of dresses

Just a few examples of her changes.

The dances performed during the fiesta are a mixture of indigenous and post conquest history. Many of these dances are repeated in various pueblitos in Veracruz, Puebla, and Tlaxcala.

Danza de Las Dos Reinas

Danza de Los Pavoreales con El Torito

Danza de Los Pavoreales

Danza de Los Santiagos

Danza de Los Tocotines Con La Malinche y El Rey

Danza de Los Payasos

Gastronomia:
I will not list all the flavors found in Xico but here is one that stands out for me. Tamales de choco or xoco with mole xiqueño. I never had them before trying them here at a restaurant near the exit of the center of town called El Campanario. The tamale is made with masa de maiz negra. butter,lard, piloncillo (solid molasses) requeson, and grated coconut. This is wrapped in a choco leaf which imparts an unusual flavor. What is a choco leaf you ask. It took me a while to find that out. Choco is a medium sized tree (Oreopanax capitatus) and also nicknamed Cabellera de Palo. It can be found in wetter regions from Mexico to South America. Where does the name of tamal xoco come from? Its name derives from the nahuatlismo "xoco" that means "tart". The shape of the leaf that surrounds it is heart-shaped, dark green glossy and duller when steamed. It is an extremely humble tamal, which is unforgettable when immersed in the fiesta mole, a mole sweeter than that of Puebla.

Choco Tamales

     General information on tamales:
     Mexicois rich kitchen is recognized worldwide. Gastronomic ethnobotany takes on profound porportions in this region. Each mexican dish is an amalgam of various species of edible vegetables. This culinary peculiarity is the result of the wide ecological, cultural, social, and economic mosaic that Mexico enjoys. One of those peculiarities is, without a doubt, the variety of tamales, which constitute national biocultural expression. Tamal or tamalli ("wrapped" in Nahuatl language) is one of the most famous indigenous Mexican dishes, which is not just part of daily consumption habits, but also something sacred. Tamales are a fundamental part of family celebrations and religious events. The word tamal,, like gohan in Japanese could very well be a substitute for the word "food".
     Tamales, simply said are corn flour "wrap" with a stuffing. In reality though the ingredients and wraps can vary wildly. Sweet tamales are usually filled with some sweet cream, different fruits (pineapple, strawberry, coconut, raisins, etc.) or simply with sugar. Sometimes spices or chiles are added to give them a special flavor. There are two main types of leaves for tamales, banana and maize, yet these wraps can vary widely according to each region and local customs. For example, in the state of Chiapas the camxóchitl or canak (Chiranthodendron pentadactylon), the canek (Quercus candicans), the Hawaiian (Alpinia purpurata); In the Yucatán Peninsula chaya (Cnidoscolus chayamansa). In the state of Veracruz we can find more than 15 species of plants used for this purpose. Most of the leaves are used in fresh form that they are subjected to a soasado and or steamed so that they can be softened and folded. Some are grown commercially in Veracruz such as: the leaf of papatla (Canna indica), the platanillo (Heliconia schiedeana), the corn leaf (Zea maiz) and the banana (Musa paradisiaca). With the exception of the latter, all other species are of American origin.The main reason these leaves are widely used by people is that they do not break easily during the preparation of tamales which are steamed. If you visit Xico try the chocos.