Amidst buildings and vibrant style, agriculture isn’t the first word that comes to mind when thinking of Mexico City, yet its inhabitants continue to farm in this land. The Corn and Agrobiodiversity Fair, held at the Monument to the Revolution, recognized the municipalities of Milpa Alta, Tláhuac, Xochimilco, and Tlalpan, who keep agriculture alive in this vast city.
The Corn Fair ran from September 26 to 28, where more than 250 producers offered their products and crops in the heart of the city.
Sopes, corn on the cob, esquites, chocolate, snacks, and other products were offered at small stands with clear signs indicating which municipality the vendor was from. Thus, national and international visitors who decided to share this space had the opportunity to discover and enjoy these Mexican products, as well as meet the people who work the land with so much effort and love.
As its name suggests, this fair was not only dedicated to corn; it also had an educational component, with facilities such as an open-air museum on the importance of biodiversity and conservation areas in the city, as well as the screening of short educational videos in the Digital Dome installed on the platform of the Monument to the Revolution.
A festival can’t be complete without music, and the main stage was graced by the presence of the Children’s Mariachi “Schools for Life,” from the Tláhuac municipality. Under the tutelage of director Abraham Hernández, the young musicians delighted the audience with chamber music and ranchera songs sung by talented young people from this district.
Schools for Life is a Mexican government project to create conditions for human development through art and sports.
Later that afternoon, participants from various Mexico City municipalities were invited to the stage for the corn-husking contest, which tested the speed of the contestants in removing the kernels from a number of ears of corn in the shortest possible time. With prizes of between two thousand and five thousand pesos divided into two categories: by hand and with an “olotera,” the municipalities of Tláhuac and Milpa Alta took first place, respectively.
As night fell, attendees were treated to the Roots & Dub Reggae band Sangre Maíz, who roused everyone’s spirits.
To close things out with a flourish, Rayito Colombiano took the stage. This band from the municipality of Iztapalapa combines Mexican sensibilities with the Colombian musical heritage that has given rise to immortal cumbias like “Muchachita Consentida” and “Besar tu Piel.”
Thus ended the night, amid prepared corn on the cob, esquites, and cumbia by Rayito Colombiano. The event reminds us of the richness of Mexican culture and how proud we should be of our producers who give us the most important food of our land: corn.
Related: Mexico Celebrates National Corn Day: Identity, Culture, and Food Sovereignty
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