I have a modest personal mission to eat all things strange in Mexico. So far I’m doing pretty well – aside from strange delicious things like
Chiles en Nogada, I’ve had strange nasty things like Tacos de Sesos (brain tacos), Chapulines (fried crickets), and chicken-spine soup. I haven’t yet tried Tacos de Cran (cow dick) and I’m not sure I will
Eating strange things is a little like the old philosophical idea about knowledge: the more you acquire, the less you realize you actually know. So I’ve given up my hope of eating strange things from all around the world, though I’ve done pretty well so far with Balut in the Philippines (a chicken embryo inside a hard-boiled egg), San-Nak-Ji in Korea (still-living, moving octopus tentacles), and raw jellyfish in China.
But my true mission is to eat strange in Mexico, and not strictly disgusting things. So what better way to get closer to my obviously unattainable goal than by visiting the Feria del Alfeñique in central Toluca, a five-minute walk from my apartment.
The Day of the Dead takes place on Nov. 2nd. It’s a celebration where Mexicans remember their dead relatives by placing a shrine in their homes full of fruit, sweets, and sometimes booze. If Grandpa used to like a special tequila or whiskey, then in the shrine it goes – along with Grandma’s favorite snacks and candies.
What’s even cooler is that at night they visit the cemetery, sometimes sleeping there. I haven’t yet made a cemetery visit. Maybe I’ll get a chance but for now I’m enjoying the food associated with the event.
The month before the Day of the Dead about a hundred vendors set up in the Portales and sell all things related to the holiday. This is the Feria del Alfeñique, a great way to sample cool, strange Mexican candies. Even if they look a little weird, they are still covered in sugar and will probably taste good.
It seems like anything can be candied. The green things on the right in the picture below are candied nopales, large cactus leaves:
Here are limones stuffed with coconut. You eat the whole thing:
There’s quite a bit of variety in the stands. You can buy candy by the kilo:
This stuff is good:
And of course don’t forget the sugar skulls:
Notice the chocolate bones on the left:
The stands run through all three sides of the portales. You can spend plenty of time checking out each stand, sampling the odd things and getting a good stomachache.
Aside from candies you can also get a lot of little craft things. My favorites are the calavaritas, little skull figures. They are great gifts, buy the one doing the job or activity of your friend:
Maybe like me you are too busy to visit a cemetery on the Day of the Dead, but if you are near Toluca the month beforehand then you can get a taste, literally, of the tradition right here in the center of town.
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