(Mexican) Miguel Iwadare. Sabores del Barrio. Identidad culinaria de Santa María la Ribera

Illus. with photographs. Pictorial boards. First Edition. Mexico: inSite/Casa Gallina, 2018. In Spanish.

Sabores del barrio. Identidad culinaria de Santa María La Ribera (Flavors of the Barrio: Culinary Identity of Santa María La Ribera) compiles twenty-five stories of small family-owned food establishments (fondas) in Santa María La Ribera.

inSite/Casa Gallina commissioned Miguel Idaware, researcher of popular, traditional, and ethnic cuisine, to develop the publication. Idaware had coordinated cooking workshops for inSite/Casa Gallina. He also visited, offered tastings, and had long conversations with numerous neighbors who are involved in local gastronomy to gather their stories and their relationship with the barrio’s gastronomy. Neighbors also shared favorite recipes that are regularly offered at their businesses. Many derive from the culinary traditions of their hometowns in states such as Oaxaca, Veracruz, Guerrero, and San Luis Potosí, which are known for their diverse flavors and ingredients.

The food available for younger generations is increasingly limited to processed products, unrelated to Mexico’s rich culinary landscape. The purpose of this book is to reconnect everyday cooking with traditions that use fresh and nutritious ingredients found at local markets in Santa María La Ribera. The book aims to entice readers to appreciate the barrio’s culinary offerings, whose variety reveals the diversity of the people in the neighborhood as well as their cultural heritage. Fine.