4th Annual Feria de Los Moles: Best Mole (‘moh-leh’) Gastronomical Showdown on October 9, 2011

06 Oct 4th Annual Feria de Los Moles: Best Mole (‘moh-leh’) Gastronomical Showdown on October 9, 2011

4^th Annual Feria de Los Moles

 

Best Mole (‘moh-leh’) Gastronomical Showdown:

Puebla vs. Oaxaca 

October 9, 2011 at Olvera Street in Los Angeles, CA 

Special Ribbon Cutting Ceremony at 4: 00 p.m. 

An exquisite event of Mexican cuisine, taste and tradition gathering more than 20,000 people of all ages offering the best styles and flavors of the traditional Mexican mole sauce, family attractions and traditional activities, a kids area, folkloric performances and art.

Vesper Public Relations. Los Angeles, October 6, 2011. – The rich flavor, folklore and color of the 4^th Annual ‘La Feria de Los Moles’ Puebla vs. Oaxaca (The Mole Fair) will once again feature the celebration feast with delectable sights and flavors on Sunday October 9^th at the historic La Placita Olvera in the city of Los Angeles.  

La Feria de Los Moles, Puebla vs. Oaxaca will start at 10:00 a.m. – 7:00 p.m. at Olvera Street. The flavorful, family friendly event will have FREE admittance and food will be available for purchase at a reasonable price. 

A special ribbon cutting ceremony will take place at 4: 00 p.m. where Luis Javier Cue President of CANIRAC (National Chamber of industry of Restaurants and prepared foods) of Puebla, will deliver special recognition to The Poblanos Exterior Union (UPEXT) for promoting Mexican cuisine abroad/to the US. 

*For media that will be covering the event, there will be an exclusive VIP area available from 3:00 p.m. to 5:00 p.m. Please confirm your attendance before October 7, 2011. 

An all-day event with a record of more than 20,000 in attendance last year, will feature an array of over 13 different Mexican Moles ranging from sweet and savory to hot and spicy, providing the opportunity to taste the best of the best in mole between the states of  Puebla and Oaxaca, two states known specifically for this renowned and traditional sauce. 

La Feria de Los Moles 2011 (Mole Fair), will feature important assistance of local & Mexican dignitaries:

• David Figueroa (General Council of Mexico)
• José Huizar (City Council 14 ^th District, Los Angeles)
• Rafael Von Raesfeld (Local Deputy of Puebla)
• Luis Javier Cue (President CANIRAC, National Chamber of industry of Restaurants and prepared foods of Puebla)
• Alfredo Gómez (President of UPEXT, The Poblanos Exterior Union)
• Pedro Ramos (Founder of Feria de Los Moles, Puebla)
• Gabriel Cruz (President of AON, Oaxacan Business Association)
• Pablo Castro Zavala (Vice- Presidente The Las Vegas Walk Of Stars) 

Fair participants will experience an array of tasty food stands showcasing a diversity of flavors of mole

(pronounced “moh-leh”), a delicious dish that offers a unique flavor that represents the richness and diversity of Mexican culture and cuisine, combining its indigenous essence and Spanish ancestry. 

Introducing some of the participants that will delight us with their rich mole cuisine, are:  

Mole Doña Socorro from Puebla, based in Los Angeles owner and independent who last week, she opened her doors of her home to the public, in where bloggers and media witnessed the step by step of culinary heritage of her mole and who enjoyed this delicious dish.

Juan’s Restaurante located in the community of Baldwin Park, with Chef Juan Mondragón, who will bring a pre-Hispanic culinary heritage of Mexico with his vegetarian mole, with fresh, organic and healthy ingredients. 

Tacos Manzano Restaurant was founded in 2002 by the Manzano family who hail from the state of Oaxaca, Mexico. Their concept of regional home-style cooking manages to convey an air of nostalgia both to those who grew up with Mexican food as well as those with the most demanding palates. Among the restaurants many honors is their nomination to The Los Angeles Business Journal’s “Latino Business Awards 2011” in the small business category alongside some of Los Angeles’ top businesses. Some of the restaurants signature dishes are the Tacos Manzano Oaxacan “Tlayuda” [Oaxacan Pizza] and their variety of red and green Moles which are made from scratch. Plus mole Doña Kalita, a special tradition from Los Angeles and many more participants that will deliver us a range of different delicious moles that will be served with a delicious rice and tortillas to enjoy. 

Art in the Mole Fair:

As a delighting visual taste, on this edition of  Feria de Los Moles, opened a special space to promote art and painting of Latino artists in Southern California, traditional food and Latino art are a source of culture and inspiration. 

Feria de Los Moles (Mole Fair) was established in order to introduce the Mexican cuisine and its heritage, with the goal to support education, health and the causes that affect the immigrant of Puebla and Oaxaca, communities that it is professionally organized by local immigrant communities from both States. 

In 2010, Mexican cuisine was recognized by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) in the list of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity, a remarkable testament to the culinary repertoire of Mexican recipes in which the traditional Mexican mole sauce is a big part of. 

History of La Feria de Los Moles:

Puebla and Oaxaca, two states rich in gastronomy, united via The Poblanos Exterior Union (UPEXT), an organization that then invited the Oaxacan Business Association (AON) to join forces and present the first Mole Fair, which was titled “De Mole A Mole” (“From Mole to Mole”) and took place at Placita Olvera in Los Angeles, California, on October 12, 2008 (Columbus Day), marking an unprecedented event. 

La Feria de Los Moles is organized by the immigrant community of Puebla and Oaxaca residing in United States and is sponsored by City Councilman Jose Huizar and the Los Angeles Council of Mexican Federations in North America (COFEM). 

History of the Mole:

Ancient chronicles tell the tale of the discovery of the tomato, cocoa, vanilla and spices, as well as the “molli”, an ancient Nahuatl word for an important dish of salsa. With this and taking into account that most of its ingredients come from Mexico, and that its preparation involves an important ancient utensil called “metate”, made of stone used to chop and mix all of the condiments for this sauce, it is easy to determine that mole is a dish that was born prior to the arrival of the Spanish conquistadors. 

Later, during the colonial era, more ingredients such as cinnamon, cloves, pepper and almonds were added to the indigenous molli, giving birth to a new version of the dish in the state of Puebla, one that was then named “mole poblano” (“Puebla-style mole”) which combined culinary elements and flavors from both indigenous and Spanish ancestry. 

After the arrival of the Spanish in the 16th century, a wide range of recipes emerged from the fusion of the Spanish and indigenous cultures. Much of the success of Mexican cuisine is due to the indigenous people’s taking special interest in the various condiments brought over by the Spaniards from the old continent, some which they successfully integrated into the traditional molli. 

Thus was born a unique hybrid dish: the mole. The most famous version is the Mole Poblano, created in 1680 in the kitchen of the Convent of Santa Rosa in Puebla de los Angeles. It is said that, during the visit of the Viceroy of New Spain, the nun Sor Andrea de la Asunción had to honor him by presenting him with a stew of her own creation. 

By order of the Bishop Manuel Fernández de Santa Cruz, Sor Andrea de la Asuncion had to invent a dish so special that the Viceroy would be amazed, and so the nun decided to sum up all of the luxuries of New Spain in one culinary creation made with the poblano Baroque spirit of the time. Sor Andrea de la Asunción mixed several ground chiles, spices imported from Europe, chocolate, tortilla, tomato and onions, among some 100 ingredients, resulting in what became the homogeneous mixture of the brilliant dark red mole. 

Oaxaca is a state where the most variety of moles exist, counting seven main versions  of the Republic of Mexico: Negro (black), rojo (red), coloradito (colored), mancha manteles (table cloth staining), verde (green), amarillo (yellow) and chichilo. 

Consejo de Federaciones Mexicanas

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