Sunday 26th September

13:00 - 16:00

In collaboration with Gran Colectivo Pantitlan, Raúl Saldarriaga, Mariana Martinez Balvanera with nvited expert: Nixtamaíz

Nixtamal:

Nixtamalization, is a Mesoamerican ancient technology to process maíze by improving its nutritional quality and maleability. In the Aztec language Nahuatl, the word for the product of boiling corn with lime stone is nixtamalli or nextamalli (pronounced [niʃtaˈmalːi] or [neʃtaˈmalːi]), which in turn has yielded Mexican Spanish nixtamal ([nistaˈmal]). The Nahuatl word is a compound of nextli "lime ashes" and tamalli "unformed/cooked corn dough, tamal".

How to embody, transmit and share knowledge beyond the linear processes of learning?

In this workshop and learning action, we will experiment with the process of Nixtamalización led by Nixtamaiz a small entrepreneurial tortillería in Amsterdam. Making visible the relationship between body and “masa”, the corn dough that is the base to many mesoamerican foods, we will shape the masa in it’s endless typologies: Tamales, tortillas, tlayudas, memelas, tlacoyos, tostadas, chalupas, panuchos, gorditas. The embodied knowledge that is embedded in the process of shaping the masa by hand will be taught, imitated, and mastered in the making of a collective corn based meal.

Please shoot an email to contact@foursistersproject.nl to take part, so we will have enough materials for everyone.

Also walk in on the same day is possible. The workshop is free and suitable for everyone.

Gran Colectivo Pantitlan Gran Collectivo Pantitlan is a Mexican collective based in Amsterdam creating bridges through informal exchanges by creative programming, enhancing dialogue, and cultural exchange. ( Insta @colectivopantitlan - www.colectivopantitlan.nl )

Mariana Martinez Balvanera is a designer/artist based in the Netherlands and Mexico. She develops projects that stand in the intersection between spatial, social and participatory art/design practices aimed at creating catalysts for exchange, understanding and collective sense of place. In her latest quest she investigates the role of art and design in the shaping of food systems, and initiates programmes in collaboration with farmers, scientists, cooks and creatives in Mexico and the Netherlands. (www.marianambalvanera.com - www.colaboratorykitchen.com )