The Mexican Revolution is a historical period that undoubtedly leaves traces and echoes in various political, artistic, social, and cultural manifestations in Mexico. What can we say about the influence of this period on our ways of eating?
Let’s first contextualize with the Porfiriato. That era of significant industrial progress for our country, such as the arrival of the railroad, was imbued with an ideology that took French civilization as a model of progress. Don Porfirio was a staunch Francophile—a declared fan of anything that looked, smelled, appeared, or was thought of as French. This affinity was not gratuitous, since at that time, the French model of civilization was imposed worldwide as a synonym of supposed progress. During Díaz’s dictatorship (1884-1911), France was establishing its Third Republic, after having gone through constitutional monarchies, republics, and two empires. In contrast to what was happening in Mexico, this period in France was marked by a strong democratic sense and laws that would change secular education, the right to strike, and a series of other social reforms.
Although Díaz’s dictatorship went down in popular history as one with anti-democratic values, the influence on the arts and lifestyle of the most privileged classes was dictated by France. In this sense, with the emergence of the first fine-dining restaurants in Mexico City, meal services were marked by French dining times. The first service consisted of a potage, hors d’oeuvre, appetizer, and relevé; the second service included the main course, salad, an entremets, and dessert. Some of these terms are now obsolete, but in the presidential banquet menus of the Porfiriato, it was common to find all these French terms and dishes inspired by that culture.
Meanwhile, the industrialization of some cities in the country brought about strong migratory movements toward the major urban centers. In Mexico City, more than half of the inhabitants came from peripheral towns, seeking job opportunities. All these migrations led to irregular settlements where homes lacked kitchens. Historian Jeffrey Pilcher notes that this fostered a kind of proletarian cosmopolitanism regarding cuisine in the city: in the neighborhoods, clandestine stalls selling antojitos and samples of regional cuisines from the migrants’ origins could be found. To ensure the supply of regional ingredients needed for these preparations, the railroad played a decisive role.
In the years following the Revolutionary War, what would be known as “Mexican cuisine” would never be the same. The integration of the taco and street snacks as national heritage, cutting across socioeconomic strata, was a consequence of all these social movements. Likewise, the project of a strong nationalist movement aimed at unifying a country divided in the postwar period used “Mexican cuisine” in various ways as the unifying element with which a large part of the population could identify.
Originally published in El Economista
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— This article was originally published in Spanish by Liliana Martínez Lomelí. Translation generated with AI from the original text.