The Latin American & Iberian Institute, UNM Continuing Education and the Universidad del Claustro de Sor Juana, offer an opportunity to experience "Mexican Cuisine & Culture: Pre-Hispanic to Modern Times," June 15-22. The trip is open to the public. To learn more, attend the upcoming information session on Wednesday, March 19, at 6 p.m. in UNM Continuing Education, south building, room 106.
This seven-day trip explores the food landscape of Mexico, focusing on its incredible variety, complexity and historical richness. Learn about the history and culture of Mexican foods from the pre-Hispanic period to today while studying at La Universidad del Claustro de Sor Juana, a university housed in an old convent in the historic center of Mexico City. Faculty from the nationally acclaimed gastronomy program provide lectures and hands-on culinary instruction each morning. Afternoons are spent dining at restaurants that feature exemplary food and dishes that represent the various historical periods discussed in class, as well as touring local museums, food markets and nearby archaeological sites.
Participants stay at the Hampton Inn Centro Histórico, located in a former 18th century monastery that is registered with UNESCO's World Heritage Sites.
"The program offers a mix of history and cuisine. La Universidad del Claustro de Sor Juana is in the center of Mexico City, near the Xocalo. It once housed the famous Mexican writer Sor Juana Inés de la Cruz. It became a public institution in the 1970s when the Mexican government claimed and restored its historic buildings," said Marie McGhee, Continuing Education senior programming manager. "We are offering an incredible culinary program, featuring everything from Pre-Columbian goods, the trilogy - corn, beans and squash - to post modern foods. Pre-Hispanic foods represent the cuisine of the people before the Spanish brought sugar and other staples, will be sampled and taught. Contemporary Mexican and Spanish cuisine round out the program," she added.