Afro-Andalusi culinary legacy in Mexico

This episode contains some descriptions of historical events that are violent in nature. Listen to this question, is advised. You are listening to episode 77 of Pasdici Potli. I'm your host, Rossio Carvajal, Food Anthropologist, Mexican Culture and Gastronomy Educator. And on this podcast, I explore the gastronomic traditions of Mexico and bring together the voices of cooks, authors and entrepreneurs who build cross-cultural bridges around the world, championing Mexican food. You can find more information about my podcasts, lectures, food tour, publications, and subscribe to my newsletter on the links that accompany this episode's notes. Well, hello, hello and happy new year and welcome to the first episode of 2022. I just want to say a big thank you to all of you for supporting this show, which seeks to contribute to broaden the horizons and perspectives about the way food traditions and culture have shaped Mexico's past and present. I am also happy to report that as for now, bookings for my photo, "Eight Drink and Discover Puebla" are open on Airbnb after a forced pandemic hiatus. And together with my bespoke online lectures, I will continue working on and offline. And of course, on the podcast in front, all shall continue as usual. Now, this episode touches on many subjects that I have referenced in different ways in past episodes. But this time around, I take the time to explore them in a deeper way, which is why I took the time to put together a list of resources, reading material and links for those who are interested in continuing exploring these topics. And while most of them are in English, there are also some good references in Spanish. And if you want to check them out, there is a link for that on the notes of the episode. But I'm worried. I will give you a reminder later and I will also be sharing it on Instagram and Twitter. Previously, I have raised awareness and tried to put in context the cultural dynamics between indigenous cultures and the Spanish regime after the conquest of Mesoamerica. And how such forced and circumstantial exchanges gave way to the creation and transformation of culinary traditions and a whole new social landscape. Well, in light of recent discussions about the process of colonization of the Americas, we have come to recognize that mainstream historical studies used to marginalize certain problematic social dynamics and aspects like slavery and race-based violence. And as a consequence of that, there are yet many untold and little explored stories in need to be addressed. So today, I want to explore two hugely important topics that played a key role in the history of Mexico. And I refers specifically to the influence of the Islamic culture that echoed deeply in every aspect of Spain's own society and the impact of the African slave trade in the Iberian Peninsula and in new Spain. But in order to identify and review the way in which these conditions impacted the food ways of Mexico, I will give you a broad context and overview of the historical, political and even religious conditions that caused these unfolding of events. It is helpful here to point out that the history of Portugal and Spain are deeply intertwined not only due to their obvious physical proximity, but also by an intense social and political interaction, competition, conflict, cooperation and crucial royal intermarriage. And all of these factors became particularly significant throughout the medieval period and later on in the age of exploration. Now the attitudes and lenses in which the European expansion in the Americas has been studied and discussed has changed enormously over the centuries. We would like to believe that far gone are the days of justifying colonialism as a generous western civilizational project. The truth is that we are still working on creating better ways to study and understand the impact of plunder, genocide, enslavement and empire building and how that fueled rebellion and movements of independence and emancipation. In doing so, I want to contribute to giving presence and recognition to the stories and people who have been erased and forgotten and seeing their legacy and cultural footprint in our history. And last, you will notice that there will be some mentions about the Sephardic Jewish diaspora in Spain and the Americas. But since that aspect is a whole complex topic in and of itself, I think is best to be explored separately in a future episode. But today, I will only refrain to making some contextual references about it. Alright then, I will leave things here and we'll get on with the show. I hope you enjoy this episode. Part 1, the rise and fall of Hispania. The medieval period lasted a whole thousand years and is between the so-called ancient history that ended with a fall of Rome in the year 395 and the accidental discovery of the Americas in 1492 and this is the context in which the first two sections of today's episode take place. Our story today will take us back to the Roman occupation of the Aperian Peninsula that began with the establishment of provinces in the third century BC, in the year 218 to be precise and it didn't quite end with a fall of Rome that occurred in the fourth century AD because some forms of broken Roman government still occupied parts of the Aperian Peninsula until their painful end in the very late year of 472. The decline of the Roman Empire was caused by many internal problems that largely facilitated the successful invading campaigns of the Visi Goths, who quickly established kingdoms that ruled in Spain for 250 years. The food system and diet of the Visi Gothic society didn't really change much, their pre-existing Roman foodways in Spain. Archaeological evidence has shown a large variety of yeasted breads made with pelt and wheat flour and even those the documented presence of chibarius, which was a type of bread made with leftover flowers of lesser qualities and was quite popular among the middle classes while poor people and slaves ate simple buns made with rye, oats and barley. And just this piece of information alone tells us that the enslavement of people even after the fall of the Roman Empire was still a common practice in the Aperian Peninsula. Now when it comes to food-specific information, there are key documents like those written by Archbishop and scholar Isidot of Seville, and in his masterpiece etymology, he provides a lot of information about everyday life and food traditions like wine-making, cooking techniques like roasting, frying, and forms of preserving meats similar to chorizo, morcija and other types of sausages and cura meats. Other archaeological works have confirmed their farming of sheep, goats, rabbits and deer, also oyster farms, large-scale fishing and even a big production of garum, which is an ancient Roman condiment like a sauce made with fish, goats, oil and herbs. The Fisi Gods were also big on dairy cattle breeds, cheese and butter-making were very popular and of course beef consumption. And just like in ancient Roman times, be honny-remained the main sweetener in posed Roman's pain and excavations show evidence of large deposits of pollen and residues of cereal crops like weed, barley and also numerous leafy greens. But to give you an idea of vesigothic food, I found a few recipes with interesting flavor combinations and here is a sweet first curse that actually sounds rather nice, porridge of dried fruit. The ingredients are honey, almonds, chestnuts, hazelnuts, cider, cinnamon and saffron. Fruits and nuts are boiled with cider and cinnamon and last honey and saffron are added. This dish is served hot and here is a main dish of goose with cabbage. The ingredients are goose, pork, lard, garlic, onion, beer, salt and pepper. The goose meat is sautéed in lard with onion and garlic, topped with beer and boiled until cooked. The cabbage is chopped, added and seasoned with salt and pepper, cooked a bit longer and allowed to rest before serving. But alas, as we will see today, time and time again, all the rice has to fall and the last unstable vesigothic dynasties would also end by the hands of foreign invaders who came from an entirely different culture, history and faith. And that will cause the question merging of the Christian and Islamic worlds of Spain, giving way to a new era that started in the year 711 AC. The beginning of the Muslim rule in the Iberian Peninsula. Part 2, the rise and fall of the al and alus and the reconquista. The Muslim forces that invaded this territory were by no means barbaric hordes. Quite the contrary, they were part of a civilisation at its prime and ready to take upon the challenge of expanding and building powerful and prosperous empires. And the vesigothic kingdoms did not present the strong obstacle, even more so because by this year the Iberian Peninsula was heavily affected by a plummeting population due to plagues and wars. According to historian Dr Hugh Kennedy, in spite of this, vesigothic Spain and Portugal were fairly stable and self-sufficient, but not really prosperous. Urban settlements were few and far between. And most of them relied on the poor and very dated agricultural methods that often neglected and under-exploited the land. In the political landscape, there were many pre-existing rifts and conflicts, but were little true that the Umayyad forces used violence against the resistance of certain leaders, many parts and agreements involved marriages with the daughters of vesigothic lords, which created new dynasties and a Muslim aristocracy, which gives much nuance to the common idea of a brutal and destructive Arab invasion. So the establishment of a new power occurred in stages. As vesigothic kingdoms were imploding due to internal conflicts of succession, according to Muslim and Christian chronicles, along with archaeological evidence, we know that in the 8th century the Umayyad armies from the Arabian Peninsula and the Middle East, led by commander Tarik Ibn Ziyad, swept through North African coastal areas that were once held by the Byzantine Empire, meaning that North Africa, which had been largely a Christian territory for centuries, was now in the hands of Islamic forces. There is a common agreement among historians that recognized that under the Islamic rule of Spain, the Al-Andalus had an important period of enlightenment in science, art, literature, architecture, economy, and many other areas. But it is an entirely different thing to assume that these was an idyllic period of peaceful intellectual coexistence between Muslim Christians and Jewish diaspora, who had been living in Spain since Roman times. The reality wasn't black and white, of course, and it was not a time of relentless struggle either, because we can argue that the whole of the Iberian Peninsula spend more time at peace than at war. And at least for some period, when conflict was present, it had more to do with pre-existing rivalries. But academic and historical discussions aside, there is not out that the culinary, agricultural, and social aspects related to food practices in the Iberian Peninsula changed in delicious and long-lasting ways that even transcended their frontiers, and many centuries later became imprinted all across Latin America, and of course, in Mexico. Luckily for us, there are extremely important historical documents that help us have a better understanding of these aspects. From the 12th century, there is a work that describes the profound agricultural transformation of the Iberian Peninsula. The book is called Kitab al Fila, or Book of Agriculture by Ibn Muhammad Ibn Ahmed Ibn Al Awam. And sorry, Arab speakers, if I'm pronounced that name, which is arguably the most important work of Andalusia agriculture and hospindry. This huge compendium makes references to 1,900 treatises, and it is entirely written in Arabic. It is divided in 34 chapters and mentions 585 different plants, the cultivation of more than 50 fruit trees, observations on soils, use of manures, grafting, and plant diseases. And the last section is about a two animal hospindry, and includes chapters on cattle, sheep, goats, camels, horses, muses, donkeys, geese, dogs, chickens, pigeons, peacocks, and beekeeping. And if that wasn't enough, it also presents a survey of agricultural geography of the al Andalus in the late 12th century. This book indeed offers testimony to what historians call the Arab Agricultural Revolution of the Middle Ages. Now, I know I have some hardcore history notes out there, and yes, my darlings, this work is kind of the equivalent of the ancient Roman book The Agricultura by Kato the Elder, who was born in Central Italy in the year 234 BC. What became known as Andalusia cuisine wasn't the result of conquest and colonization, meaning it was an intricate blend of new and old traditions, techniques, and practices that slowly became unique in its own right. The Arab diaspora that eventually mobilized into this area were the descendants of ancient cultures from Mesopotamia that shared many traits. And so influences from Syria, Iraq, Jordan, and Iran were present along with Moroccan and many other regions that continued cross pollinating each other, thanks to centuries of exchange and trade relationships. It is fair to say that the food landscape of ancient Hispania wasn't very exciting prior to the arrival of Islam, but it wasn't that bad either. However, it must have seemed like an exotic and very exciting time when for the first time arrived new crops and flavors, some included rice, chickpeas, lentils, and the ever so important sugarcane which changed forever the diet of the Western world. A cornucopia of fruits from Anatolia like queens, cantaloupes from Persia, watermelon from Egypt and Syria, exotic fruits like limes, oranges and lemons were quickly accepted. And from warmer lands came bananas, irresistible dates, coconut, peaches, sultanas, almonds, and figs. The famous kitchen gardens of palaces and private residences grew beans and dives, spinach, chard, radishes, leeks, carrot, celery, onions, and aubergines. And dishes were flavored with aromatic cumin, sesame seed, oil, parsley, and fragrant oregano among other staples. In the al-ambalus, all pre-existing are required culture was vastly improved. Many innovations took place like the Sacchia, or animal-powered irrigation wheel, and modern aquedogs were introduced in the early Umayad times. And with that, certain crops became a permanent fixture in Spanish cuisine, and this is a good chance to introduce you to Arabismos, or lone words of Arabic origin, that we still use across his Panic America. So let me tackle two birds with one stone, by also naming some of these crops, as se tunas, from the classic Arabic saithuna olives, sana oria, Sahyarkum, carrot, alubia, alubia, neibibens, beringhena, patindiana, obertin, asafran, safran, safran, carabe, zarab, syrup, limon, layum, lemon, narancha, naranj, orange, sandia, sandia, watermelon, açúcar, al sucru, sugar, the story of the influence and legacy of the cuisine of the al and alus, has only been the subject of formal study in very recent years, and it has contributed to highlighting the many and significant cultural and culinary exchanges of the period. One important source of information is the work of lawyer, poet and gastronome, even rasin al tuyibi, who lived in the 13th century. The title of the book in question, in English, is "Best of delectable foods and dishes from al and alus and al maghrib". That offers an interesting look into the tables and tasties of the ruling classes. Interestingly, there are many cooking and preserving methods mentioned that we normally think of them as just Spanish, but are in fact of Arab origin. And this is my cue to tell you about the cultural origin of a very famous form of pickling. Now, you might have heard about Perú's ceviche, which is both a dish and a method of pickling fresh fish and seafood. Well, ceviche is, in fact, very popular all across Latin America, and even in Mexico, we have dozens of ways to prepare it, which doesn't necessarily means that it has a direct relationship or connection with Peruvian versions. So it turns out that the Royal Spanish Academy has established that the word ceviche has indeed a shared etymology with the word esgabecche, which means pickle, and it is thought to be the hispanicized form of the masarabic Iskabec, that refers to food cooked or preserved in vinegar. Now, here's where things get complicated. Because in ancient casual language, indigenous people from Perú called fresh fish, ceviche, which of course adds up to the linguistic entanglement. But here is one last thing, lime and onions, which are a modern staple to pretty much all ceviche, were not part of the Latin American diet until Spaniards introduce them. Another famous case of a food that was transformed is gaspacho. And although obviously it existed without the addition of Mesoamerican tomatoes, this was actually a white potuch made with ground almonds, breadcrumbs, vinegar, egg whites, fava beans, oil and water, often served with apples. Interesting. And of course, the staple and comforting albondigas, yummy or albonduk, which are none other than meatballs cooked in thick sauces and broths, and the many variations of fresh and salted fiches, stews, and mincemeat or bicarthius cooked with abundant amounts of olive oil, garlic, onion, parsley, and often seasoned with raisins, capers, saffron, almonds, pine nuts and even plums. The introduction of large-scale cultivation of rice in Arabic's pane led to the rise of new dishes, so popular that variations of then made it all the way to the Americas. And that's how we can establish links between paella, baguilla, in classic Arabic, that refers to a dish made with leftovers of meat, poultry or game and rice. There are many similar variations of stews and caldos, pucheros and soups and other dishes like arroz alatumbada in Latin America and Mexico that contain rice and, of course, fishy versions. The heavy use of spices, dried fruits, nuts, in sweetened savoury dishes is also one of the strongest features of Arabic influences still present in many of our recipes. But indeed, mmm, not all was honey over buñuelos in the al-Andalus and, as you might anticipate, now the life of the Arab rule came to an inevitable end. After the union of the houses of Castile and Aragon, with the marriage of Isabella and Ferdinand in 1469, the main focus of this couple was to consolidate their power and consummate the reconquista or reconquest of Spain by dismantling Muslim power, which ended with a fall of the Nasrid Sultanate of Granada in 1492. And this was followed by the mass expulsion of Muslim and Jewish populations while also carrying out forced mass conversions. And when it comes to their foreign policies, they were determined to join the race to secure maritime trade routes in the Far East and expand their domains. So the true sense of urgency of the newly unified kingdoms of Castile and Aragon was heightened by the fact that other European nations had a clear advantage over them in terms of maritime exploration, trans-Oceanic trade and expansion, and one of their clear rivals was none other than Portugal. The Portuguese crown had invested itself for generations in becoming a maritime superpower, developing advanced nautical science, securing the control of trade routes to Asia, establishing colonies in North Africa and leading the exploration of the Atlantic-African coastline, which saw the rise of new and reliable navigation charts and technology. And of course, all of these factors were inextricably tied to the eventual rise of large-scale slave trade. 3. Note on the origins of slavery from Roman Hispania to the new world. To bridge the following sections, let me give you some brief context on the role of slavery in the history of Spain, that will explain why mass trade of enslaved people became an attractive opportunity in the exploitation of natural resources in the American colonies between their 15th and 18th centuries. Now let's begin by saying that forms of human slavery have existed for thousands of years across cultures and civilizations. Indeed, the capturing of enemies and forms of subjugation have been an appalling constant in our human history. According to the book "Slavery Medieval and Early Modern Iberia", in Roman Hispania, the percentage of slaves was just less than 30% of the population. And slaves in this period endured conditions of forced work as household servants and part of the workforce in artisan and manufacturing activities. Also, the use of slaves on large agricultural enterprises, such as mines and on public works, were all very common. After the fall of Rome in the early Middle Ages under the Visi Gods, forms of slavery were still present. And after the Islamic invasions and creation of the Al-Andalus, practices of enslavement continued, people were captured in the north of Africa and brought into the Iberian Peninsula, where there were also Christian slaves. As the Islamic laws allowed the enslavement of infidels. They're speakable? Yes, but this wouldn't have seems strange back then, because across the medieval Christian kingdoms of Iberia, the ownership of slaves and laws to control them were just part of their social dynamics. By the 1300s, merchants from Barcelona had engaged in the slave trade of people from sub-Saharan Africa and other parts of the Mediterranean. As a French historian, third non-Broadale puts it. Slavery? was a structural feature of the Mediterranean societies for many centuries. In the mid-1400s and the Lucy nobles, merchants and ship owners competed with Portuguese slave traders. By the eventful year of 1492 when Columbus arrived in one knee, in present-day Bahamas, as many as 35,000 African people had already been enslaved and traded back in the Aberian Peninsula. And this number only continued rising in the next centuries. By 1750, there were more than 700,000 enslaved African people in Portugal and Spain. Maritime historian Edward Collins explains that the Portuguese slave trade was rapidly built on the promise of quick returns on investments for merchants and nobles. All of which only occurred thanks to a series of international treaties and payable bulls, which were decreased issued by the Vatican, granting permission to the Portuguese crown to conduct such businesses in return of bearing the cost of building churches, sending missionaries and establishing ecclesiastic pressings in the newly acquired lands. Some of these famous documents are the treaties of Alcosavas issued in 1479, Tordesillas in 1494 and Cintra in 1509, all of which gave Portugal the monopoly over the slave trade. And of course, that didn't stop other nations and needs merchants from entering this lucrative business. And last I want to mention that Mesoamerica was no stranger to various forms of enslavement. By the 1400s, there were forms of legal enslavement throughout the Aztec Empire and other contemporaneous indigenous societies. In these contexts, people could easily become enslaved after being captured in battles, and apparently it was common enough to have the misfortune of being sold by one's parents as a child. There were also extreme cases where people sold themselves as slaves, but perhaps the most common way to be made as slave was as a punishment for having committed a crime. And as it is explained in the third volume of the Cambridge World History of Slavery, not all slaves were equal in the Aztec society, because those with a contractual relationship with their masters were seen as honorable and decent, unlike those who became slaves as a punishment. Well all of this is just an effort to lay out the fact that slavery and the slave trade were terrible, but common enough practices in Spain and in Mesoamerica. Colonian expansion, of course, has no real historical point of comparison, namely because of its key role in consolidating European mercantilism and will the pursue of maximum profit and economic growth at the expense of the exploitation and suffering of millions. Part 4 - The Conquest of Paradise The ports of Abana and Veracruz had a parallel and very intertwined history. Both cities were funded in 1519, but they had slightly different roles in the slave trade. It became the most important entry point of the African slave trade, from where slaves were purchased and taken to different destinations in the Caribbean and South America. Facing the Gulf of Mexico, the port city of Veracruz connected new Spain with Europe, and it also was the main port of entry for free and enslaved people. According to historian Dr. Frank Proctor III, official importation records show that before 1640, over 84% of the enslaved people that came actually entered this coastal city, Veracruz. Between 1525 and 1866, there were at least 36,000 documented transatlantic trips between Africa and the Americas that transported around 11 million people. As slave trade primarily aimed to speed up the production and extraction of colonial commodities, such as sugarcane, tobacco, cotton, and, of course, the mining industry. But historian Leo Garofalo explains that there is also the case of many enslaved West Africans brought into Latin American colonies as personal servants, artisans, sex slaves, and sailors. And there is also the curious case of people who have been previously enslaved and lived in the Iberian Peninsula and spoke the same language as a conqueror, and these people were trained to fight with them. In fact, many Afro-Iberians moved back and forth between the Americas and Europe while serving the Spanish crown as sailors and soldiers, and even quite a few were given recognition and privileges for their service to the Spanish as Black conquistadores, which absolutely changes our understanding of slavery and racial relationships in the complex colonial period. One important fact behind the sudden increase of the transatlantic slave trade in New Spain specifically were the successive outbreaks of diseases like missiles, smallpox, typhoon and hemorrhagic fever among other infectious viral and bacterial maladies brought by conquistadores that decimated the indigenous population of Mexico. By 1570, almost 35% of the workforce at silver mines were enslaved African people. And in the 1600s, between 8 and 10,000 slaves worked at plantations and other activities in the eastern Pacific coast of New Spain. But rather surprisingly, and as I mentioned before, there is a fact also that many enslaved Africans lived in large urban centres as part of the city's workforce and domestic servants. One little known aspect of the adaptation of the enslaved population is how they coped and developed strategies to establish relationships among people living in similar conditions. Many historians have had lighter the fact that the continuous arrival of new slaves who didn't speak Spanish, of course, or any indigenous Mesamerican language for the matter were drawn to other African slaves with whom they shared better chances at communicating with since most of them were extractor from nearby regions in Western Africa, sharing in some cases some linguistic connections. This aspect in itself helps explain why many African-descendant communities created strong social bonds in spite of having been brought from different locations. But they indeed shared the conditions and circumstances that were entirely different to that of other subjugated minorities in the colonies. These distinctions were actively reinforced by New Spain's own legal system. For instance, the ordinances or rules to organize traits and economic activities stipulated that the black enslaved population were only able to join apprenticeships with the condition of not being granted the same rank and rights as maestros or masters. Contrary to this case, indigenous people were indeed allowed to pursue apprenticeships and training with a goal of becoming masters and even own workshops. The reason behind this logic was complex and influenced by class and race politics, but also by the agreements within indigenous lords and allies. Because prior to the mass arrival of African slaves, there already was an able and well-training indigenous workforce that operated under ancient forms of organization and social systems of ranks and relationships. For example, in the construction of my hometown, the city of Puebla, the Tlax-Galteca lords who provided an organized workforce, created organized guiles of builders with specific skills, including the Tetson sake or stone masons and the Shima, which were the stone workers and Ko Shima, which were carpenters. It is clear then that life for enslaved African people and their descendants in New Spain was complex and vulnerable at the face of a colonial system and forms of control that aimed to keep them in a permanent state of subjugation. Understandably, there may be other social and political complexities of the noble Hispanic society only added more tension, and so the inevitable and sad case of many uprisings of slaves ended up in the most horrific way imaginable. And this is the moment when I warn you about the unpalatable description that I'm about to give of the unfolding of events that followed a rebellion and ended with a linting of African and Afro-descendant slaves in the city of Mexico in 1612. Between 9 and 2 p.m., hundreds, if not thousands of people, gathered at the Plaza Mayor in the city of Mexico to witness the public execution of 35 slaves, including at least seven women who had been convicted for the crime of organizing a rebellion of slaves that sent shockwaves in the capital of New Spain. According to Anonymous denounce, the plan was to unite all slaves in the city and murder all Spaniards. The sentence was brutal and sent a clear message to all rebels. The captured leaders were hung. Their bodies left for all to see a whole night. At the following day, six of them were quartered and parts of their bodies were put on spikes and displayed at several locations in the city. The rest of the bodies were the capitated and their heads were also displayed. More than a century later, on August 12, 1763, another famous rebellion brought 50 slaves to the capital, demanding to talk to the vice-roy about the appalling conditions at sugarcane plantations in the city of Guernabaca in the state of Morelos. They walked two days to reach the capital only to be immediately arrested, thrown in jail and beaten. These were not the only rebellions by any means, of course, but there is also the case of some success stories in which prolonged rebellions resulted in the foundation of towns and begrudged recognition of the freedom of these groups who would have otherwise continued presenting a threat. The slave managed to escape were called Simarrones and the legal or illegal settlements that they established were called Balengues, Mocambos or Quilombos. The truth is that each case of rebellion that is studied will cast light on the extreme circumstances that enslaved people were willing to go through in pursuit of their freedom and to put an end to the oppression and inhuman conditions of slavery systems. 'Cause impact, we have not quite yet fully grasped, analysed or understood. However many rebel groups never go legal recognition and it is also fair to say that they were not expecting one. And that is the case of some affordescended communities in the pacific Costa Chica in the states of Oaxaca and Guerrero. Fast forwarding to the war of independence and at the height of this socially complex moment, we know that many leaders like the former priest turned rebel José María de Clomorello Spérez Ipavón gained the invaluable support of affordescendance during his military campaigns. The war ended in 1821. This event indeed saw the begin of a new chapter in the history of Mexico, but things didn't quite change overnight, of course. And there's low transition to a new form of government and the resolution of many historical conflicts still required for many more years and efforts to take effect. But it is incredibly transcendent that it was Mexico's one and only affordescendant president, General Vicente Ramón Guerrero Zaldaña, who abolished slavery on September 15, 1829 in the eighth anniversary of Mexico's victory in the war of independence. But what happened next? Is it even more interesting? Because what it seemed to be an affair between, well, Mexico and Spain had unforeseen and hugely important consequences and international repercussions. You see, our Northern neighbors in the US were 30, 60 years behind Mexico when it comes to the abolition of slavery, which took place as we all know by the end of January of 1865. Well, in the meantime, between 1840 and 1850, at least 4,000 slaves crossed the border from the US to Mexico to pursue the Mexican dream and live a life of freedom. And of course, this event was quickly politicized. And the then famous Republican Senator Francisco Manuel Sanchez that Tagli raised the idea to his fellow congressmen to support the resettling of these immigrants and seek to form alliances with them against the threat that posed American invasions to Mexico. This gave way to several initiatives, including the Crees to grant lands and citizenship to American African descendants and hundreds settled in locations along the east coast of Mexico, including the city of Dampico in the state of Tamao Libas. And the small, well, very prosperous river town of Glacotalpanvera Cruz where former slaves received agricultural lands. This type of situations continued in the Caribbean in former British colonies, even when the proclamation of those slavery abolition out had taken place much earlier in 1833. By the late 19th century, large mobilizations of average descendants from the Caribbean, namely from Jamaica, Cuba and the Bahamas moved to different parts of Mexico pursuing contracts to join in large-scale projects like construction of railways, commercial ports in the Pacific and building the ambitious inter-Oceanic railway of Mexico. But my country had yet to get through many difficult historical moments for invasions, the forced imposition of yet another European rule followed by more wars, uprisings, reforms and well, things were not quite stable. And so the needs and woes of average descendants and minorities became well somehow drowned by the many challenges of a struggling young nation. Part five, the Afro-Andalusse Lockypot. The tantalizing idea of an Afro-Andalusse culinary footprint has been the subject of very recent works, including that of Cuban scholar Rosa Campo Alegre Septien, who has contributed with evocative historical analysis that trace the flow of products, people and the dietary adaptations of coastal towns and islands in the Caribbean and the eastern coast of Veracruz. A key aspect that sets apart the strength and impact of Andalusse cuisine in Mexico and the Caribbean is, well, of course, the fact that it was already deeply embedded into Spain's own food waste. And as I have tried to establish this episode, Spain's cuisine will count be explained without the influence of Arab gastronomic traditions, meaning that after 700 years of Muslim conquest, wherever Spaniards went, they took that heritage with them. On the other hand, the contributions of African slaves into the cuisine of the Americas were very limited and conditioned to the context of the slave trade, their relative social isolation, and geographical education of the places where they were forced to work and live. Their restricted agency precarious economic situation and narrowed freedom to sauce and choose their food. In other words, they did what they could to survive and were dependent on what was provided to them and what they were allowed to farm. There are a few crops, however, that came with them, like yams, which I hasten to say they are not related to sweet potatoes, certain varieties of bananas and a plantain, varieties of mangoes and some types of rice, and eventually, of course, coffee. But for the most part, most of the culinary solutions they came up with were mostly motivated by the need to ensure a high-caloric starch-rich intake to injure their living conditions rather than the result of leisure-led culinary exploration. To this day, the visible legacy of their cuisine is mostly limited to specific micro-regions and largely constrained to the communities of African descendants. In 1565, began operating the trans-Pacific trade route from the port of Agapulco to Manila. And for the next 250 years, their economy, cultural life and food waste of Asian and New Spain and the rest of Latin America, by extent, became deeply intertwined. Among the most valued commodities of Asian origin were, of course, edible, like spices, and many of them quickly made their way from Agapulco to the Gulf of Mexico and the Caribbean. That also came with crops, like the different varieties of mangoes, bananas, coconut and tamarind, among many other fruits, all of them were from Agapulco. which became very quickly familiar flavors in this side of the world. And while rice was a well-known staple in Spain, of course, as I mentioned before, new varieties and cultivars were introduced and rapidly incorporated into the diet of coastal settlements along the Pacific and the Caribbean. Practically, in all of the Caribbean islands and the eastern coast of Veracruz, there are many foods and cooking techniques that have endured to this day, for example, fried, plantain, soft or crispy, to accompany meals. Also, plantain is used in Piccadillus and as part of soups and broths that is caldos and cosydos and stews. Other loves staple is boiled and fried yuca, and I actually have memories of being a young child and having black-refried beans with butter, fried white yuca topped with salsa and cream. And that was one of my granddad's favorites, because he grew up eating a typical diet of the east coast of Veracruz. Another classic is a side dish called moros contra cristianos, that is more versus Christians, or white rice mixed with black beans. And of course, you know, back then, I didn't think anything of this cringeworthy concept. So, it only dawned on me many, many years later. And another popular way to prepare rice by simply steaming it without oil just seasoned with salt is called moriscita. And that's still very common in popular in many places, which of course just the name reveals its Andalusia connection. The mass production of sugar cane and all the byproducts, such as varieties of refined and unrefined sugars, pilonci, joe or jaggery, and tricol or melassa, and all sorts of these stealed alcohol, made with sugar cane juice like rum and arriente, became deeply rooted in the regional culinary identity of the Caribbean and the Gulf of Mexico. And Cuba's carajillo, that is coffee and rum, to toritos from Veracruz, which are rich in, you know, mild liqueurs, made with fruits and even peanuts. There is a wide variety of cocktails, periods, drinks, that blend ingredients from the Americas, Africa and Asia, like root and ginger beer, de bache, not mega liqueur, coffee brandy, and rum poppe. Which are some of the many types of alcoholic drinks that emerged in the colonial period. From a compilation of traditional recipes from the Caribbean, I found a good example that is quite the milieu of flavors, turtle with capers. These two contains, well, of course, turtle, tomato, dried chilis, garlic, red onion, orange, oregano, pepper, saffron, capers, olives, raisins, breadcrumbs, and rum. And if that doesn't scream Afro-ambaluce to you, let's take a look at this other recipe from the book, flavors from the Afromestizo cuisine of Guerrero. And this is a very simple recipe to make ardilla enchilada or spiced squirrel. The recipe calls for seven skinned and butchered squirrels, ten ojillo chilis, peppercorns, cloves, cumin, and salt. This simple yet historically powerful recipe brings together flavors from across the Atlantic and the Pacific. The ingredients are used to make a paste with which the squirrels are marinated and roasted. Part VI, the aftermath, commented terms with a past. Almost 20 years ago, historians Ben Vincent and Bobby Vaughn noted in their book Afro-Mechico, how shocking they found that five hundred years after the Spanish conquest of Mexico, both Mexicans and non-Mexicans seemed surprised to learn about the presence and importance of Afro-descendants in Mexico. But alas, as I mentioned before, the overwhelming amount of events brought by the dismantling of indigenous cultures in the colonial period tends to overshadow other human tragedies that unfolded in these same lands. But indeed, the history of Afro-descendants is also ours, and it is part of who we are today. And recognizing and telling their stories is the only way to keep their memory alive and contribute to attempt to begin restoring their stolen humanity and dignity. The transatlantic slave trade from Africa to Latin America can only be defined as a tragedy with immeasurable consequences for millions of people. And in many cases, as pointed out by UNESCO's project The Slave Root, the economic, psychological, social and political implications continue to this day because, in spite of the many proclamations of abolition of slavery, that did not translate in forms of compensation for the victims who, unlike slave owners, did receive handsome compensations for their quote-unquote losses. And even worse, former slaves and their descendants continued suffering discrimination, exclusion, racial prejudice and violence. Contemporaneous research on this field has shown us new ways of seeing and understanding Afro-Latin American history and also how in the past blackness and black history have been studied and portrayed. And sadly, this has largely occurred under the concept and prism of Mestisache, that is the mix of racial and cultural heritage, which meant a rather simplistic and romanticized view of the consequences of colonialism. There is no denial of course the interethnic unions occurred, but often they were the result of sexual violence, which is, well of course not to say that many of such unions were indeed voluntary, but even these did not prevent the creation of new categories and identities based in colorism and racial status within the caste system. Therefore, the simplistic idea of just embracing a mixed race identity, the Mestizo, became crucial to define the nature and composition of post-colonial societies by conveniently talking about the harmonious melting pot, which only hurt and delayed the recognition of Afro-Decendence. A big shift took place in Mexico with a collaborative research project called the Third Root, which aimed to explore and highlight the nation's black heritage. And soon after UNESCO launched the slave route project in 1994 to foster greater understanding and study of the causes, operation and consequences of slavery in a global scale. And today there is a wide range of initiatives to explore and address not only the past, but also the present and future of Afro-Decendence in Latin America. Now before we finish, I want to share some final thoughts on today's episode. African identities did not and could not survive intact. The ordeal brought by this slave trade and centuries of subjugation. And while these conditions destroyed in most cases, family ties, many new social relationships emerged that were central to the fight for preserving the memory, belief systems and cultural practices of these people that continued giving strength and creating bonds among Afro-Decendence. In two years from now, their United Nations International Decade for People of African descent will come to an end, but not without a lot of criticism about the little impact it has had and how it will mostly serve a diplomatic agenda rather than creating a deep and long lasting cultural reckoning and change that pays fair justice to the more than 15 million men, women and children who for 400 years were victims of the abominable transatlantic slave trade that had long lasting and complex consequences. The idea of presenting these difficult issues on the show is not to victimize blame or shame, but contribute in making accessible these discussions and perspectives through a different lens and to highlight how, once again, food traditions continue offering a clear and loud testimony of our history. (gentle music) Thank you for listening. This episode was researched, produced and presented by me, Rosio Carvajal. If you'd like to explore or revisit some aspects of the history and legacy of Afro-descendants in Mexico, I will refer you to episode 71 of the show called "Mexican Carnivals". Also, on the blog post of this episode, there is a long reading list where I included many of the references that I used in preparation of these episodes, and they're organizing different sections. So there is books, academic papers, blogs and podcasts. The next episode of the show will be a lighter topic, and it is going to be about the history and study of cookbooks in Mexico, which I know many of you will enjoy a lot. So please stay tuned. In the meantime, you can reach out to me, your social media, find me and the show on Twitter and Instagram. The links are on the shows, notes and you can drop me a line if you want to [email protected]. Well, that's all for me today, until the next time. (gentle music)