Photo by Axel, Flickr
Elote
(Corn)
History: The origins of corn is debated amongst the scientific community because a specific location can not be pin pointed or accredited as being the first to cultivate corn. There is a consensus that this domesticated crop originated in Meso-America. Most scholars suggest that the crop originated approximately 7,000 to 9,000 years ago in Central and Southern Mexico. This domesticated crop is said to have evolved from a wild plant named Teosinte, native to this particular region in Mexico. Currently corn is cultivated around the world, but like most domestic plants it is attributed to the ingenuity of the ingenious people of Meso-America. Corn in particular is said to have been domesticated by the indigenous people of Mexico. Since there hasn’t been any evidence to debunk or discredit this theory, so I agree and accept this theory as true.
Cultural perspective:Corn is of great importance in the Mexico. Most of Mexico’s population relies heavily on the cultivation of corn. Corn is considered the cash crop for people of lower socio-economic status. Its abundance, fast growth and adaptation mechanism allows people to achieve both food security and monetary gain through the cultivation and redistribution of corn at a local level.
Socioeconomics: Indigenous people of Meso-America have a spiritual connection to corn because it provided them with of a peace of mind. Corn takes on a spiritual connotation of spirituality for the Native people of the American continent. Most view this crop as a savior of some sort because they can rely on it for food. Corn is used in almost everything in Mexican culture. A lot of what we eat contains some sort of ingredient that derives from corn.
Symbolism: Symbolically corn has had a big impact on my family. My maternal grandfather cultivated maize all his life. He owned a large plot of land, on which he harvested corn. This was all achieved thanks to his migration to the United States in 1930’s ,with the rest of the Mexican migrant workers who boarded trains to the United States during this time period.
Back tracking to modern day Central Mexico (Aguascalientes, Mexico) circa 1930-1960. My maternal grandfather Patricio Martinez Gallardo boarded a rail-road train to the United States with a massive group of Mexican Laborers referred to as the Braceros. My grandfather left behind my grandmother and their children in their native Pueblo of Calvillo. He arrived to California and worked in the agricultural fields, where he was exploited for cheap labor. He returned to Mexico after years of working in the fields. He went back to Mexico with enough money to purchase various plots of land. He decided to cultivate the most precious cash crop (Maize) known to Mexicans. He harvested corn and other crops for approximately fifty to sixty years in our small pueblo in Calvillo.
He provided for his children and wife through the cultivation of corn and guayabas. He distributed his crops locally at the markets of both small and large pueblos across Aguascalientes, Mexico. He was well known amongst the pobladores ,that when he passed away in 2001, hundreds of people from across the municipal of Calvillo came to his funeral to pay their respects. After his death, the land was plowed by local sharecroppers. Fast-forwarding to present day 2018, the land and its harvest continues to be of great importance to my family. My mother’s only brother and his sons continue to plow and harvest the very land that sustained my mother and her siblings as children. Our family and extended family have all built homes on the property. My mother’s home sits ontop of a small section facing the large corn fields. During the day we can stare out the windows and glance at the fields full of corn. It is amazing how much corn has given to generations of my family’s blood line.
My fondest childhood memories include my grandparent’s hometown.So the significance of corn is a core memory for my siblings, cousins and I. I recall that on my visits there, my grandfather would stop by our little house to pick my older sister and I up ,so we could accompany him to pick out corn husks with him in the fields. We would later return home with a costal full of elotes to cook. Mind you that Elotes/corn is a main ingredient for everything in my region in Mexico.
Which brings me back to as why I am a corn vendor enthusiast. I love everything about corn. Corn on a stick and corn in cup are two of my favorite Mexican snacks. It doesn’t matter which way the corn is prepared. I’ll eat it. Corn vending in Los Angeles is a societal trait. It is not unusual for Angelinos to associate corn vendors to South Los Angeles. Whether you are Latino,African-America,Asian American, or Pacific Islander, we can all or most can relate to the feeling of euphoria hearing the horn of the local corn vendor. Street vending is embedded in Los Angeles culture.
Personally, the corn vendor is my favorite vendor because it carries a symbolic undertone for me. Ironically, the first bond between my first child occurred during pregnancy.The bond was made through food. The first food craving I had while I was pregnant was for corn in a cup (Chaska). Since then, my son and I share this connection. As a matter of fact he loves corn more than I do. He’s eaten corn on a stick since early infancy. He was approximately 10 to 11 months when he first bit into a corn and he’s loved it since. I believe he loves corn more than his father and I.