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RE: [ranchos] More about Nopales

 
 
    Alicia, I have thoroughly enjoyed your tidbits of "nopaleslore".  Your ensalada de nopales is very similar to my mom's, with the exception of the queso fresco.  I will have to add that next time I make this dish.  I love having this over frijoles del olla, and the queso would only make them better. 
 
    Joseph, ves lo que te has perdido.  Next, you need to try tunas if you haven't already!   
   
    I have also heard the _expression_ regarding un nopal en la frente.  My folks used it all the time to refer to someone who tried to hide their Mexican ethnicity.  My folks are both from Jalisco, but it seems that some branches (Lomeli--1600's) came from Nochistlan.  I'd love to visit Nochistlan some time.  My mom even recalls her dad visiting a cousin or two there.  I remember seeing a Nochistilan web page too. 
    Fortunately my folks "forced" us to speak Spanish at the table too.  Both of my folks are bilingual, but we always speak to them in Spanish to this day.  It seems strange to speak to them in English.
Irma
-----Original Message-----
From: Alicia Carrillo [mailto:alliecar@...]
Sent: Tuesday, June 01, 2004 11:06 PM
To: ranchos@yahoogroups.com
Subject: Re: [ranchos] More about Nopales

Here's more on Nopales
 
My family originates from Zacatecas, specifically Tlachichila from the Municipality of Nochistlan. As we all know many people have migrated to the Norte or Los Estados Unidos or as many say El Otro Lado. I grew up in the US of A in San Jose Calif in an all Anglo community and one thing I didn't want to be was different from the rest of my class. However different we were. We had to speak spanish at home which for one who doesn't want to be different or admit to anyone that you're different this was a tough one to hide.
 
When we brought friends home we had to speak spanish to my parents and if someone stayed over for lunch or dinner we had tortillas, nopales, salsa, mole etc etc.( trying pretending that you're not Mexican). Our parents knew that we were ashamed and a famous saying was "what are you trying to hide, anyone who sees you can see the nopales on your forehead and hanging on your ears. Translation "De que to escondes, se te ven los nopales en la frente y los traes colgados de las orejas". When I was young I couldn't understand this saying having been raised here since I was two and not knowing what Mexico looked like. The first time I went in 1977 I finally understood what they meant by Los Nopales on the forehead. Nopales grew wild everywhere in that region. They even fed nopales to the cows when there was nothing else to feed them during the dry season. They would burn or scald off the thorns then feed them to the cows, how's that for a recipe for nopales.
 
Just a little Zacatecas family story.
Alicia