Xochiquetzal: Mexico's Goddess of Love

Every ancient culture has one - a goddess so beautiful and alluring that mortal men fall to their knees in awe of Her; and wars are fought to gain Her hand.

To the Greeks, She was Aphrodite; to the Romans, She was Venus; in the misty dawn of Britain, She was Gwenhwyfar; and to the Norse, She was Freya. She is the Goddess of Love and Fertility and, in Aztec Mexico, Her name was Xochiquetzal.

Xochiquetzal (pronounced shOw-chee-KET-sAl) was responsible for all that is beautiful in Mexico. The white sand beaches; the towering pyramids; the breath-taking canyons, gorges and waterfalls; the glorious dawns and sunsets; the lush greenery of the jungle; the grace of the cloudy mountains; the sweeping vistas of its deserts; the mystery of its deep caves and cenotes; and the warmth of the Mexican people, all come under Her domain. If it is beautiful and Mexican, then Xochiquetzal has cast her eye upon it.

Her name translates broadly as 'sacred flower' or 'flower feather'. Xochi is Nahuatl for 'flower'; while the second part, 'quetzel', references the strikingly colored birds that still live in the highlands of western Mexico. In Nahuatl, 'quetzelli' means 'brilliant tail feather', which describes these vibrant birds very well. The goddess wore those same feathers in Her head-dress; and She was followed everywhere by an entourage of birds and butterflies.


'Xochiquetzal' by Midnightstouch
Every eight years, the Aztecs held a festival in honor of their Goddess of Love. All those attending it would wear masks replendent with feathers. They represented those birds and butterflies that would trail Xochiquetzal. Each year, this deity was the guardian of the 20 days of Xochitl. During this period, beauty and truth reigned. People would take care over their appearance; and would share compliments, but only if they were truthful. It was a great time for an ego boost!

Her holy days were times of celebration and dancing, as well as the more carnal activities. There was no judgement here. Xochiquetzal is the patron of all who love; She is the guardian of prostitutes. Every time the wild dance causes lovers to catch each other's eye, then look for the presense of Xochiquetzal. She is human desire; She is the dance; She is the romantic meal and the whispered words.


But this Aztec goddess doesn't leave when the union is made. She was also there during pregnancy and childbirth. She was the patron of young mothers everywhere.

However, this was the Aztec people, so some aspects of Her worship appear horrific to the modern sensibilities.

As the Goddess of Beauty, Xochiquetzal claimed the artisians, sculptors, craftspeople and silversmiths amongst Her people. Every seven years, this sector of society would meet to select the most beautiful young woman they could find amongst the population. She would spend a year living in luxury, as the very personification of Xochiquetzal. People would confess their darkest secrets and deepest desires to her. Her every need would be attended to; and she would wear the most wonderful clothes and precious jewels.

Then after the year was up, she would be ritually sacrificed, during the festival of Xochiquetzal. It is believed that her skin would then be flayed from her dead body and stitched into an outfit. This was worn by the chief, male artisian, while he wove his own craft. This would bring the Goddess into the beauty of his weaving and bless their community for another eight years.


Amongst the pantheon of Aztec deities, Xochiquetzal has a twin brother: the flower prince, Xochipilli. She had many lovers and husbands. The first was Tlaloc, the Rain God, as rain and beauty make all of the wonderful vegetation in Mexico. She was also famously abducted by Tezcatlipoca, a central God in Aztec religion. He created the whole world, until a jealous quarrel with Xochiquetzal's son, Quetzalcoatl, led to the destruction of it all. Fortunately for us, Quetzalcoatl then recreated the Earth, thus we have the planet to live on!

(Incidentally, when the Spanish attempted to convert the Aztecs into Christianity, they found resistance. The Aztecs, ironically, found the notion of a crucified deity to be distasteful. Those evangelizing friars only made headway when they learned about Tezcatlipoca, the sacrificed God. They were able to link Him with Jesus Christ and Xochiquetzal with Mary, His mother. Hence the Aztecs were Christianized.)

Mexico is a truly beautiful country, with some of the most exquisite arts and crafts in the world. It is certainly a setting for romance and love. Xochiquetzal may now be merged entirely with Mary, Mother of God, but, as the Mother of Quetzalcoatl, She always was. Next time a magnificient Mexican landscape opens up before you, and you are hand in hand with your lover, nod towards the nearest bird or butterfly. Xochiquetzal has you blessed.

Chocolate: Quetzalcoátl's Gift to Mexico and the World

With the approach to Easter, many people are out there buying up chocolate eggs or chocolate bunnies. Beyond the religious aspect, Easter means chocolate in homes throughout the world. But have you ever wondered where it came from? The clue is that it was once considered a gift from the god, Quetzalcoátl, and only the Atzec ruling classes and priests were allowed to consume it. It was not a candy for mere mortals. Yes, chocolate comes from Mexico.


A Maya chief refuses chocolate to a commoner
Chocolate is a Spanish rendering of the Atzec word xocolātl, meaning sour (xococ) drink (ātl). An alternative theory is that the word was Mayan. Here it would come from hot (chokol) drink (ātl). As either interpretation highlights, chocolate was always used as a beverage in Mexico. It was only after the Spanish took it into Europe, that it became more commonly seen as a solid block.

The legend goes that, in 1519, Hernán Cortés, the Spanish conquistador, was granted an audience with the Atzec Emperor Moctezuma. This took place in Tenochtitlán, which is the modern day, Mexico City. Cortés and his men entered to find Moctezuma sipping xocolātl from a cup. As honored guests, the group were all served xocolātl. It was reported that the drink had 'a very exciting nature'. Forget the gold! They had just discovered chocolate! Thus Mexico's secret was out and its Fate was sealed.


Chocolate literally does grow on trees in Mexico. At least the cacao beans do, which are then ground up and treated to create chocolate. Cacao trees have been cultivated since around 1400 BCE. The Olmec appear to be the first to have created their sacred bitter drink from its ground beans. The Maya were next, with archealogical evidence showing that they were drinking chocolate from about 400 CE. Cups have been found, with a chocolate residue, dating from this period. Digs, at their historical settlement sites, have shown cacao trees being grown in their backyards.

The Atzec people saw chocolate as a divine drink. It was a gift from the feathered-serpent god, Quetzalcoátl, who had fetched the cacao beans from the Garden of Life.

As such a holy thing, chocolate was initially reserved only for the most ceremonial occasions. It was ritually prepared and drunk only within sacred areas.

Over the years, this was relaxed so that the higher echelons of society could imbibe it. However, it never lost its association with deity; so much so that, it was later at the center of a Christian scandal. The Catholic Church was brought into Mexico by the Spanish. It eventually become strong enough to start to eradicate the items and practices of the religions it had usurped. One bone of contention was that converts would bring chocolate drinks into Mass. The congregation were using it to honor the Catholic God, not Quetzalcoátl, but it made no odds. It was deemed as breaking the fast, in a Pagan way, and so the Church hierarchy banned chocolate outright.


Cacao tree with pods full of beans
This did not go down well. As each Catholic priest prohibited chocolate, then the congregation would up and leave, moving onto more lenient institutions. It was a battle of wills that eventually resulted in the Bishop of Chiapas threatening excommunication to anyone drinking chocolate. (He was killed, shortly afterwards, after he drank a cup of poisoned chocolate. It was handed to him by the same group of noble women, who he had just banned from drinking the very same.)

Finally, in 1662, Pope Alexander VII had to personally intervene. He ruled, "Liquidum non frangit jejunum!" (For those with rusty Latin, that basically says that liquids do not constitute breaking the fast.) In short, the Mexicans could drink all of the hot chocolate that they wished and still be regarded as fasting. The church's chocolate ban was lifted!

Of course, now the Catholic Church is firmly on the side of chocolate. In Mexico City's Metropolitan Cathedral, there is a 16th century sculpture of Jesus Christ. It is called El Señor del Cacao (The Lord of Cacao).


El Señor del Cacao
The error has now been firmly corrected. It was not Quetzalcoátl who gave chocolate to the world, via Mexico; it was Christ Himself.

Chocolate became popular, on a global scale, after a group of Mexican nuns thought to add vanilla and sugar to the chocolate mix. Overnight, it stopped being a sour drink and started becoming very sweet instead.

It is also a major ingredient in the Mexican national dish: Mole Poblano; as well as a stable of drinks, such as champurrado, and dips, to be used with churros.

Chocolate is still widely produced in Mexico, with cacao plantations stretching for miles. The World Cocoa Foundation estimates that 50 million jobs, internationally, rely upon cacao trees and the chocolate industry. Forget Willy Wonka. The real chocolate factories are scattered all over Mexico. Nestlé, Hersheys and Barry Callebaut are amongst the companies that create their confectionery here, before exporting them into shops near you. Chocolate is also created, straight from the tree, in many Mexican homes.

Mezcal

Ask anyone to name a Mexican alcoholic drink and the answer will come back, "¡Tequila!" Ask for a second and the response is most likely to be, "¡Mezcal!"


The two tipples have many similarities, not least that they are both exported around the world, as Mexico's contribution to drinks cabinets globally. (The Prague Post, in the Czech Republic, is currently featuring a Mezcal based cocktail recipe: 'From the Bartender: Mezcalihna'.) The USA and Japan remain the biggest buyers of Mezcal from Mexico.

Tequila and Mezcal are also both distilled from the agave plant. In fact, the name Mezcal is derived from the Nahuatl words, 'Melt' and 'Ixcalli', which translate as 'oven-cooked agave'. In this way, tequila is a form of Mezcal too, though it tends to be considered separately. This is where the drinks start to diverge. Tequila is made from blue agave and it is twice fermented. Mezcal is made from maguey agave and it is only fermented once.


Milking a Maguey Plant
The maguey agave plant is huge. It can stand up to 2m (6.6ft) tall, with thick, spreading leaves reaching out another 4m (13ft). When it is in flower, the petals stretch a further 8m (26ft). With such a towering structure, even the younger plants can dwarf a human being. It's an impressive sight and it has attracted its legends and folklore too.

Maguey is often referred to as the Divine Plant; in great part because it was born from the remains of the Goddess Mayahuel. The story comes to us from the Atzec people, who honored her as one of their most important deities. There are carvings of Her in the Great Pyramid of Tenochtitlan (now Mexico City). She is associated with truth, fertility, nourishment, inner journeys and, of course, the agave plant.

Mayahuel lived in the sky, with her Tzitzimitl grandmother. The all female, warrior Tzitzimimeh were seen as stars, particularly those only apparent around the sun, during a solar eclipse. This was also when they were most dangerous.

Ordinarily, the Tzitzimimeh were the protectoresses of women; but they also created all mankind. Particles of stardust reached the Earth and formed themselves into humanity. (Interestingly enough, it is now scientific fact that life on Earth is possible because of the elements forged in the stars.)

However, when there was a solar eclipse, the Tzitzimimeh could descend to Earth and devour human beings.

Mayahuel grew up amongst them, but She, Herself, was not Tzitzimitl. Yet, from Her home in the starry paradise of Tamoanchan, She could watch all that happened below and all who lived there. She could also see the Gods and Goddesses. In particular, She spotted the feathered serpent God, Quetzalcoatl. Mayahuel fell in love. At the very next solar eclipse, as the doors of Tamoanchan opened to emit the Tzitzimimeh on their deadly pillage, Mayahuel rushed out too.

The lovers met and ran away together, determined to live out all eternity in each other's arms. But no-one had asked the permission of the Tzitzimimeh and they saw everything. The couple transformed themselves into trees, side by side, to escape notice. It was too late. They had been seen. The star deities swooped down and tore Mayahuel limb from limb.

Quetzalcoatl tearfully took her remains and buried them in the ground. Immediately something began to push back through the soil. It was the first, mighty maguey plant, with a glorious flower reaching back towards the skies. Mayahuel lived again, anchored into the ground from Her roots, and filled with the divine love of Quetzalcoatl.


Mayahuel by Ehecatzin
Mayahuel is a dark goddess now. She saw all from the stars and She is the beloved of a God. She can see inside our very souls and give us visions to access our spiritual journeys. It is said that She grew 400 breasts to nourish rabbits with Her milk. The first drink made from the sap of the maguey was pulque. It was the ritual draft used in Atzec ceremonies, inducing wild hallucinations and the ecstatic dance.

This same milk is now distilled to create Mezcal. Despite common misconception, it does not contain mescaline nor any other hallucinogenic substance. It's produced in an entirely different way to pulque.

While on the subject of misconceptions about Mezcal, let's deal with the worm. For a start, it's not a worm. It's the lavae form of a moth. Hypopta agavis is the correct name for this moth, which lives, feeds and breeds in the manguey plant. This is usually at the distress of farmers, as the presense of the moth means that there is an infestation and the crop is ruined.


A worm in the Mezcal!!11!!!!1!!
During the 1940s, some bright spark in Oaxaca apparently had the gift of the gab. Who knows how the lavae got into the Mezcal? Perhaps it fell in during the bottling process. Perhaps someone tried to sabotege the sale. Perhaps it was someone's idea of a joke. Maybe it was even a warning. However it happened, the lavae was in this batch of Mezcal, which was already of lower quality than normal, because of the infestation. Yet he managed to sell it. Bravo the salesman!

Except now no-one can sell Oaxaca Mezcal without a lavae in it, because the urban myth is that the 'worm' adds to the flavour and proves that it's fit to drink. The distillers have to collect tubs of the insects, from infested farms, in order to drop a lavae into bottles of their own high-grade Mezcal. It has long since become one of the most successful marketing ploys ever. It doesn't add to the flavour. It doesn't do anyting. It's killed, scrubbed, sanitized, sterilized and dropped into alcohol. There it stays, mostly for the shock value and people daring each other to eat it.

The Oaxava Annual International Mescal Fair takes place in July. This year's arrangements haven't been made public yet, but they will be announced on official website. It regularly attracts over 50,000 visitors; and it is an excellent place to be introduced to the country's finest Mezcal. ¡Salud!

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.

Christmas in Mexico: Deck the Halls with Poinsettia

There is a legend told in Mexico about poinsettia. Two young children, Maria and Pablo, were walking into town. They had heavy hearts. In the center of town was a nativity scene, where everyone was going to leave gifts and tokens of their esteem for the Holy Family. Maria and Pablo had nothing. They were too poor. But they wanted to give something.



Then Pablo had an idea. All along the side of the road were weeds, ubiquitious to this part of Mexico. He picked an armful of them, explaining to Maria that, as long as their gift was given with love, it would be alright. It had to be alright. What else had they got?

So the children continued into town, to where the people were amassing around the nativity. As Pablo and Maria passed through them, eyes turned to what gift they had brought to honour the Christ child. Nudges and sniggers filled the space around them. The children had brought weeds. Weeds! Pablo straightened his shoulders, raised his chin high and refused to cry. He was doing what he could. That was all.

They reached the manger, wherein lay baby Jesus. Mary and Joseph smiled down kindly. The shepherds, wise men and angels watched them. The livestock crowded in. Here Pablo and Maria took their time arranging the weeds around the manger, hemmed in by the richer, better, prettier offerings of everyone else. Those people who tittered with derision, pointing to what the children thought was a worthy gift.

Once they had finished, Pablo whispered, "We give this with love." Then he took Maria's hand and turned with her to face the townspeople. Head held high against their jeers, they were in a perfect position to see the changing expressions on those staring back. Smirks gave way to dropping jaws and wide eyes. Giggles turned to gasps of awe and shock. The children turned slowly around, to see what was happening behind them.



The topmost leaves of the 'weeds' had transformed into beautiful, star-like flowers. All in vibrant red. The most wonderful flowers they had ever seen. The plant became known as Flor de Noche Buena (Christmas Eve flower) in Mexico. For some, it is called the Star of Bethlehem Flower. Most of the world knows it now as poinsettia.

At this time of year, many homes in Mexico are festooned with poinsettia. It is easy enough to find, as the plant is native to the country. We have vast fields and mountain-sides filled with them, as far as the eye can see. When they are in bloom, they are a breath-taking sight.


Poinsettia overlooking Baja California

It was vistas like this which so entranced an early American ambassador to Mexico. In 1829, Dr Joel Roberts Poinsett was touring Taxco del Alarcon (modern day Taxco, in Guerrero), when he spotted the flower. He fell in love with it. In fact, he started shipping cuttings of Flor de Noche Buena back to his mansion home, in Georgetown, South Carolina, USA. When he returned home, in 1831, he was amazed to discover that the whole town now had the flower blooming in their gardens. They were already calling it after him. The poinsettia is still the name used for the flower outside Mexico.

Poinsettia was already well known before the coming of Christianity. The Nahuatl called it Cuitlaxochitl (star flower). They prized it for its curative properties (great for heart problems) and the red dye that can be extracted from it. (It is an urban myth that poinsettia is toxic, as endless tests in American laboratories have proved.)

Today, it not only grows wild around Mexico, but is used in many Christmas tableaus and as decorations in homes and plazas. Anyone visiting Mexico, this time of year, is bound to spot it everywhere.


Poinsettia around a nativity scene in Mexico


Poinsettia as Christmas lights in Mexico City