Festival on the Zócalo

Last week I went downtown to the Zócalo to see the12th annual Festival of Indigenous Cultures.

The plaza was filled with large tents where native people from different parts of the country were selling handicrafts and food.

I had attended the festival last year, and this year's event was about the same.  There was an enormous quantity of traditional clothing and handicrafts of varying quality for sale.  I restrained myself and only bought a couple of small items as gifts.

I actually spent more time in the food tent.  I was feeling a bit hungry and was trying to decide what to eat out of the many options.

I definitely did not want "chapulines"... grasshoppers.

There were a lot of stands selling "tlayudas", which I refer to as Oaxaca's version of pizzas.

They are large corn tortillas covered with toppings.

I like them, but a whole "tlayuda" was more than I wanted.

There were a few stands selling my favorite dish "chiles en nogada".

However, that is something I prefer to eat at our favorite restaurant which serves exquisite "chiles en nogada".

I finally decided to buy a "tamal" (the singular of "tamales" is not "tamale") from this lady from the state of Oaxaca.

"Tamales" from Oaxaca are wrapped in banana leaves rather than corn husks.

I ordered one filled with chicken and green sauce.

It was a bit spicy, but it was so delicious that I ordered another one, one filled with "mole".

My hunger was satisfied, but then I saw a stall selling "tlacoyos", an oval shaped cake of corn dough filled with beans and cheese, and cooked on a griddle.

  

I love "tlacoyos", but it's not something you often see on restaurant menus.  So I ordered one of them.

I didn't do much handicraft shopping, but I definitely went away with a happy tummy!