Anthropology and Hispanic Studies: Hispanic Food and Culture and How it has Changed

The effects of colonization on food and culture.

Que Vivan los Tamales!: Food and the Making of Mexican Identity (BOOK): by Jeffrey M. Pilcher

This writing on the history of Mexico examines how food has affected and mirrored the development of nationalism in the country. Pilcher describes the early colonial conflict between the Mexican natives' consumption of corn and the European use of wheat. Tracing this conflict through the colonial period into the 20th century, he shows periodic attempts by Mexican elites and governmental officials to define Mexican culture and identity through a Europeanization of foods. That process essentially ended in the 1940s when the popular foods of the country were proclaimed to be the Mexican cuisine, resulting in a fusion of the two traditions. This well-written book highlights the interaction of the regional and national and the role of women in developing a national identity. Of interest to most academic libraries, it belongs in many public libraries as well. - Mark L. Grover, Brigham Young Univ., Provo, UT