Comida y cultura en el mundo hispánico/Food and Culture in the Hispanic World - Ana M. Gómez-Bravo
Tradiciones Nativas Americanas: Incas, Aimaras y Mapuches (Native American Traditions: Incas, Aymara and Mapuches
Comida y cultura en el mundo hispánico/Food and Culture in the Hispanic World - Ana M. Gómez-Bravo
Ana M. Gómez-Bravo [+]
University of Washington
Description
The chapter presents two case studies on the relationship between geography and food practices. It introduces the concept of the Columbian Exchange and presents the New World foods that were introduced in Europe and from there to other parts of the world. It also discusses the foods that Europeans introduced into the Americas and the way in which this exchange shaped cultural developments such as that of the cow and horse-centered gauchos and vaqueros. In this vein, the chapter discusses the relations between foodways and ways of life as illustrated by the vaqueros, gauchos, huascos, and charros. Along the same lines, the chapter discusses how whole national cuisines are now identified by New World foods, cases in point being Italy and the tomato, Ireland and the potato, India and the hot chilies. The chapter further explains the ways in which new crops were introduced in new parts of the world and how, when introduced as monocultures, caused an agricultural failure and starvation that was at the root of massive migratory movements. Some of these migratory movements, such as the failure of the potato crop in Northwestern Spain (Galicia), caused many Spaniards to go back to the Americas, this time as poor immigrants. The chapter discusses some representations of this phenomenon in the cinema of the period, and includes some recipes so that the students can cook them at home while they acquire pertinent vocabulary. Este capítulo trata sobre los incas, quienes formaron uno de los grandes imperios en el sur de lo que hoy llamamos América. Sus formas de cultivo y de producción de alimentos presentan un sistema innovador e inclusivo. Celebraban ritos que agradecían a la Pachamama o diosa de la tierra sus regalos. Los ritos incaicos podían incluir la coca, hoja sagrada, y el cuy, un animal que era también apreciado por su carne. Países latinoamericanos como Bolivia continúan hoy las tradiciones incas y de otros grupos nativos como los aimara. En Chile se ve la influencia de los mapuche, que han dejado sentir su influencia en la cocina. El amaranto es alimento muy apreciado en la zona andina, además de en zonas de Norte y Centroamérica habitadas por aztecas y mayas. Su importancia se demuestra en su uso en fiestas y ceremoniales.