A Taste of Mexico: Quesadilla!

Many Mexican foods have been exported and found their variants in countries around the globe. Up there in the vanguard is the packed quesadilla, brimming with diverse fillings, based on own personal taste. It can be sampled practically anywhere in the world, wherever a Mexican themed restaurant has sprung up. But, of course, there's only one place to find and enjoy the real thing: Mexico.


The recipe for quesadilla (pronounced kess-a-dee-ya) changes as it travels. The basic idea is there. It has an outer crust, soft or hard depending on the location, called a tortilla. This is folded, in a half-moon shape, around an array of delicious ingredients (mushrooms, vegetables, beans, chicken or beef are favorites), all held into place with melted cheese. Salsa and/or guacamole are usually offered for inclusion too. Nevertheless, outside Mexico, quesadilla rarely tastes the same.

Often this is due to the little changes of convenience and culture made beyond our borders. For example, in Mexico, the salsa is often a matter of honor and pride. It may be a family secret recipe, handed down from a succession of grandmothers, and experimented with until perfection is reached.

In other countries, salsa is just salsa with none of the judgmental values attached. It's ok to just reach for the mass-produced jars of chopped tomato with flavoring and still call it salsa. A Mexican cook would never get away with that. They wouldn't dare produce a bland salsa and hope to escape with their culinary reputation intact.


Also Mexican tortillas tend to be made out of corn. They are rolled by hand and individually formed over smoky comals. In America, Canada, Australasia and Europe, the tortillas are generally made from wheat flour and fried or baked as a batch.

It all comes down to what works and what is acceptable. Corn is more plentiful and cheap in Mexico (it is one of our major exports) than wheat; while the reverse is true for other nations. Those little taste details, as with the salsa, would pass without remark elsewhere, so it makes sense for businesses to take the cheap and lazy option. But all of these things alter the quesadilla too, as it is created across the world. Hence the assertion that, for the real deal, Mexico is the only place to eat one.


Quesadillas are incredibly popular here. Just about every street corner, mercado and food court has vendors selling them. No self-respecting restaurant and cafe would be without them on the menu. The savoury smell whafts out drawing locals and tourists alike. A wedge of quesadilla can be a light snack, to see the hungry through their journey towards their own kitchen. A full-sized portion can (and often is) the full meal itself.

It is universally savoury here, though some have experimented with sweet quesadilla. The 'quesa' part of the name comes from the Mexican word for cheese, 'queso'. Oaxaca cheese is usually used here (another taste difference, as Monterrey cheese is often exported for quesadillas elsewhere). This is white and arrives semi-hard, until it is softened over the comal. Then the cheese becomes stringy and melts with a taste similiar to Italian mozzarella.

The fillings are limited only by imagination and availability. Chicken and beef are standards, though other cooked meat or seafood, like shrimp or crab, can be used. For the vegetarians, many a tasty quesadilla has been made with mushrooms, refried beans and vegetables. So much may go into this mix. Seeds, stew, mole... the list goes on. Just ask and it may happen.

Le Butcherettes: Riot Grrrl a la Mexicano!

We have focused a lot, in this blog, about established artists and bands going into Mexico, but what about those coming out? Mariachi and hot Latino crooners are a big part of the music scene, but they aren't the whole picture by any stretch of the imagination. For a start, there's punk.



Le Butcherettes describe themselves as a garage tapatio punk band. Their sheer energy and angry, young female sound recalls the crescendo of the early '90s Riot Grrrl wave. That could be Bikini Kill, Huggy Bear or L7 reincarnate up there, thrashing about the festival stages in sheep blood and flour. Whatever it is, it's punk at its finest.



The band has quickly developed cult status, spreading out from its native Guadalajara, across the country and into the USA. Formed in 2007, an album, 'Kiss & Kill', followed a year later. They were the winners in both the Best New Artist and Best Punk Record categories of the 2009 Indie-O Music Awards. Indie-O is the foremost Mexican accolade for the Indie scene.

A blistering performance at Hellow Fest 2009, in Monterrey, and opening for The Dead Weather's Mexican dates secured the status of Le Butcherettes as an exciting group to watch. They were nominated for Best Live Act, in 2010, but were pipped to the post by Yokozuna.

Much of the spectacle comes from founding member and singer-guitarist, Teri Gender Bender (aka Teresa Suaréz). She is most often seen in stereotypical 1950s tame housewife attire; though the effect is somewhat marred by the blood-stains down the front. A recent review, in WBEZ91.5, by Jim DeRogatis, read:

(Teri Gender Bender) has more than enough star power of her own. Dressing in ’50s housewife attire as desecrated by a riot grrl, she alternately hammers away on keyboard and guitar while wailing with a throaty, soulful roar that recalls Polly Jean Harvey at her most powerful. She spent as much time running through the crowd or surfing atop its upstretched arms as she spent onstage at the Flamingo Cantina amid the bluesy, chaotic swirl of the band’s arty punk sounds, and while her lyrics rarely directly addressed the topics, it was impossible to mistake her fury at the state of relations between Mexico and America, or between men and women anywhere.
SXSW 2011: ¡Viva la Revolución! ¡Viva Le Butcherettes!

2010 was huge for Le Butcherettes. Their first single, 'Henry Don't Got Love', was released; their second album, 'Sin, Sin, Sin', was recorded; they supported New York based Indie legends, Yeah, Yeah, Yeah, on tour.



This single can be downloaded, for free, from the band's Bandcamp page.

Texas Prog-Rockers, The Mars Volta, have also been vocal in their support of Le Butcherettes. Guitarist Omar Rodríguez-López has produced 'Sin, Sin, Sin', as well as contributing some bass guitar to the recording and occasionally joining them on stage to perform it. He will be facilitating the release of their album, on May 10th, 2011, on his own record label.

Keep up with the force of nature that is Le Butcherettes, through their official site, MySpace, Facebook and, of course, Twitter.

White Lies: 'Ritual' Album

White Lies are a British-based, indie rock band, who are currently taking the world by storm. They have been extensively likened to Joy Division and The Killers, though its members deny that either have been an influence. Last October, they rocked Mexico with their slot at the Corona Capital Festival, Mexico City. In the full knowledge that their album, 'Ritual', was soon to be released, the band looked around themselves and they had an idea.


'Ritual' was released on January 18th, 2011, along with a promotional video. The soundtrack previewed, with snippets, three of the album's songs: 'Bad Love', 'Holy Ghost' and 'Bigger Than Us'. The film itself was shot entirely in Mexico City, intercut with scenes of the band performing in a studio.



The story follows the spiritual shopping trip of two young Mexican women. They collect witchcraft supplies, each precisely prepared before being placed in a box. The box itself is carried as if it is something sacred, as the women process through the market. The box is then taken to the cathedral to be blessed. Finally, the women are at the center of a third ritual, with a shaman dancing up the energies around them. We are never told what the outcome of these endeavours should be. The point is not the reward, but the quest itself and the rituals engaged upon along the way.

The footage was mainly filmed at Mercado de Sonora, a market known for its witchcraft supplies, in Mexico City. Also featured is Catedral Metropolitana de la Asunción de María (Metropolitan Cathedral of the Assumption of Mary), as well as several streets in Mexico's capital city.


In October 2010, Mexico City was their third and final stop, on their short Mexican tour. Previously, they had played at Guadalajara and Monterrey. They managed to grab some time off before their Guadalajara date, in order to spend quality tourist time looking around the city.

White Lies will be back in Mexico in a couple of months time. They are playing at Vive Cuervo Salón, Mexico City, on May 26th, 2011, as part of the North American leg of their world tour.

A Taste of Mexico: Salsa!

You have never tasted salsa, until you've entered Mexico. Just saying. In some countries, the salsa is the dressing. It's something that's plonked on top, that you can take or leave. Not so in Mexico. In Mexico, meals get formed around the salsa. It's never the same twice. It evolves. It's personal. For many cooks, their most prized knowledge is the salsa recipe that got passed down from grandmother. If this is your first time in Mexico, then you must eat salsa. (If it's your second, you won't need telling.)


On a recent trip abroad, I visited a theater complex. Among the snacks on offer were nachos, with hot cheese sauce, jalapeño peppers and salsa. It arrived and I stared in askance at the little, plastic pot of red stuff. "What's this?" "That's your salsa. Enjoy your day." That wasn't salsa. That was a few chopped tomatoes, shoved through a blender, with a spring of coriander. If that is your experience of salsa, then you are in for a serious treat in Mexico.

Admittedly, Mexican salsa does often use tomato (or green tomatillos) as its base. Coriander (or Chinese parsley) does have its place too. But there's more! Even the most basic salsa will have garlic, onions and a choice out of literally thousands of chiles, ranging from the mild to the blow your socks off strong. It never stops there. What gets added next can often be a jealously guarded secret; or it can be up to individual tastes. Chocolate in the mole; carrots; sesame seeds; paprika; nuts; any number of spices; sweetcorn; olives; peppers; fruits (mango is popular); lime juice; you name it and someone in Mexico will have experimented with it.

Making salsa is an art. Some of the fast food restaurants will use a blender for speed, but in the homes, and in the quality establishments, salsa is made in a molcajete.


The molcajete is used just like a pestle and mortar, though it is made out of basalt. It was used as a cooking utensil, in Mexico, way before the coming of the Spanish. The ancient Maya used one. Its very name comes from the Nahuatl language. The Atzec had something similar, though their's was made from ceramic. The point being that when a item has been used for over a thousand years, with no sign of being given up any time soon, you know that there's a reason. And that reason is the taste of the salsa coming out of it.

Each of the ingredients are added in separately and pounded into submission by the cook. The subtle flavors depend upon when they were added, and in which quantities, and how long they were allowed to influence the dish. You just don't get that in a blender.


Salsa, in Spanish, means 'sauce'. Most of these are served cold, though some recipes do call for cooked salsa. It can be eaten on its own, or as a dip with tortilla chips, or as a spread (think tacos).

The actual recipes can differ from restaurant to restaurant, and certainly from home to home. But there are regional variations too. The salsa served in Monterrey may be nothing like that presented in Guerraro.

For more information about salsas, plus some recipes, visit: Mexican Salsas by Luis Dumois.