Thanksgiving in Mexico

culinary cultures — By Bob Riel on November 22, 2007 at 7:29 am

Happy U.S. Thanksgiving!

Familes across the U.S. are sitting down today for a traditional holiday meal. Boris Fishman, though, recently had a different sort of Thanksgiving meal – in Xalapa, Mexico – which he wrote about for the NY Times.

You’re going to be part of an experiment tonight,” Justo Fernández Garibay said. “We couldn’t find chestnuts for the stuffing, so we’re using macadamia nuts.” I was about to sit down to Thanksgiving dinner at the Posada Coatepec, a beautiful inn owned by Fernández’s family on the outskirts of Xalapa, the state capital of Veracruz…

Thanksgiving in Xalapa — I wouldn’t have thought twice about it in the “gringo ghettos” of San Miguel de Allende or Ajijic. But Xalapa is in the mountains, about five hours east of Mexico City, far from the usual tourist and expat circuit. After traveling extensively throughout the country, I hadn’t expected to have turkey dinner, let alone one with such worldly touches as tortilla rounds with potato purée and coal-cured sausage, a mille-feuille of salmon and cranberry sauce infused with orange zest.

Fishman writes not only about his meal, but also about the city of Xalapa.

It seems to take cues from neither Mexico City nor the colossus to the north (Thanksgiving dinner notwithstanding). There are few American brands on the shelves, only Mexican pop on the stereos blaring from storefronts, and the tabloids manage to do their work without ever mentioning Britney Spears. If Xalapa looks to any one place, it’s Spain, the mother country to which many of the area’s families trace their lineage.

Or, if you want to learn more about the Thanksgiving holiday in the U.S., including its traditions and origins, you can check out this wikipedia entry.