REVIEW - Josefina's Concina Con Alma - An Authentic Mexican Cooking Class

Let me start by saying that I absolutely LOVE Mexican food.  

Not the calorie-laden, cheese heavy, greasy, soggy stuff found in countless Mexican restaurants across Canada and the USA, but "authentic and traditional" Mexican cooking. Subtle flavours made with ground herbs & spices, mixed with the freshest fruits, vegetables, fishes and meats - all combined to create complex layered taste sensations, each mouthful designed to delight the senses. 

UNESCO recognizes the uniqueness of Mexican Cuisine.

Mexican cuisine was listed in 2010 by UNESCO for its "Cultural Intangible Heritage", gaining recognition for traditional dishes that retain the names, ingredients and cooking practices dating back to the pre-Hispanic era and incorporating influences and contributions from other cultures. Like the pyramids, the Great Wall of China, the Eiffel Tower and other world wonders, Mexican food with its indigenous influences received serious recognition and to date, is the First and Only international cuisine to obtain the status.

Primer Cementerio de Cozumel

HISTORY 

The Maya are believed to have first settled Cozumel by the early part of the 1st millennium AD, and older Preclassic Olmec artifacts have been found on the island as well. The island was sacred to Ix Chel, the Maya Moon Goddess, and the temples here were a place of pilgrimage, especially by women desiring fertility. There are a number of ruins on the island, most from the Post-Classic period. The largest Maya ruins on the island were near the downtown area and have now been destroyed. Today, the largest remaining ruins are at San Gervasio, located approximately at the center of the island. 

The first Spanish expedition to visit Cozumel was led by Juan de Grijalva in 1518. In the following year Hernán Cortés stopped by the island on his way to Veracruz. The Grijalva and Cortés expeditions were both received peacefully by the Maya of Cozumel, unlike the expeditions’ experiences on other parts of the mainland. Even after Cortés destroyed some of the Maya idols on Cozumel and replaced them with an image of the Virgin Mary, the native inhabitants of the island continued to help the Spanish re-supply their ships with food and water so they could continue their voyages. Gerónimo de Aguilar was rescued at this time.

As many as 10,000 Maya lived on the island then, but in 1520, infected crew members of the Pánfilo Narváez expedition brought the smallpox contagion to the island and by 1570 only 186 men and 172 women were left alive on Cozumel. In the ensuing years Cozumel was often the target of attacks by pirates, and in 1650 many of the islanders were forcibly relocated to the mainland town of Xcan Boloná to avoid the buccaneers’ predation. Later, in 1688, most of the rest of the island’s population, as well as many of the settlements along the Quintana Roo coast, were evacuated inland to towns such as Chemax.

In 1848, refugees escaping the tumult of the Caste War of Yucatán settled on the island and in 1849 the town of San Miguel de Cozumel was officially recognized by the Mexican government.

TODAY

WE walked around San Miguel Cemetery, the Primer Cementerio de Cozumel and visited with some of the pioneer souls that first journeyed to this island; and their descendants. This is a very old place. It’s divided into two sections, the smallest of  those is directly back from the main gate and it holds the graves of the first settlers. Many of the tombs and family masoleums are adorned with gifts, photos, flowers, plants and candles. Some hold, plates and cups or glasses; left behind by visitors who shared food or drink with loved ones. On November 2, Dia De Meurtos (Day of the Dead), family and friends gather to clean, paint and decorate the grave-markers of their relatives.

 

Three Weeks on Cozumel Island & the Launch of Dive Group CANUSUKair

It took awhile to get this post completed and published. Slow Mexican internet connections!

We had intended on being away for the whole winter once again, but aging parents and the subsequent family responsibilities that followed, required we re-evaluate those plans. So, instead of a November / December 2015 departure, this years' Sunbird Adventure doesn't begin until March of 2016. This is our fourth SCUBA and Snorkelling trip to Cozumel Island, MEXICO. It’s now become a tradition! We’ll be joined this time by Janet & Andy from Illinois, USA, Joe & Rosa & their daughter Daniella from ENGLAND, UK and Randy & Heather from Saskatchewan; an international group, should be fun.

We have a few days booked at the Explorean Cozumel before joining the others at Hotel Cozumel & Resort. The Explorean is a few kilometres further south along the west coast near the Chankanaab Reef. This is a smaller resort that's part of the much larger Fiesta Americana. It's a bit more private and tucked into the jungle behind the main condominium portion of the resort. Helen scored us a good rate here and we're going to take advantage of some of the activity tours they offer and maybe see some parts of the island in a different way during this trip.