Workshop: Afro-Mexican Food Culture in Four Plates

So what's it going to be about? Afro-Mexican Food Culture in Four Plates is this summer’s exploration of the African presence within Mexican food history, and how African communities profoundly shaped the ingredients, techniques, labour systems, street foods, and everyday cooking traditions of Mexico. Across four sessions, the series traces the development of Afro-Mexican food culture through colonisation, migration, slavery, urbanisation, and contemporary identity. Through specific dishes, historical narratives, artworks, oral histories, music, and storytelling, the workshops aim to understand the origins and evolution of Afro-Mexican food traditions, and how they developed through centuries of movement, exchange, resistance, and cultural transformation. Each session explores how African influence became embedded within regional cuisines, public markets, working-class cooking, and contemporary Mexican food culture. The series also reflects on how Afro-Mexican identity has historically been erased, minimised, or excluded from dominant national narratives in Mexico. Following post-revolutionary ideas such as José Vasconcelos’ concept of La Raza Cósmica, Mexican identity was often framed primarily as a mixture between Indigenous and European heritage, overlooking the role of African communities in shaping the country’s culture, labour, music, language, and food systems. Who Is This Workshop For? This workshop is open to anyone interested in learning more about ingredients, techniques, and the history of Afro-Mexican Food Culture through food. Session 1: Conquest, Slavery & Survival Hernán Cortés, African slaves & the beginning of colonial Mexico 🍽️ What We Will Eat Arroz a la Mexicana with Fried Plantain and Salsa Tatemada Focus An introduction to the arrival of Hernán Cortés, Spanish soldiers, and enslaved Africans during the conquest of Mexico, examining the role African communities played in labour, cooking, agriculture, and survival during the early colonial period. Key Themes to Consider The conquest of Tenochtitlán African slavery in New Spain Food systems during colonisation Rice, plantain, and migration Labour, survival, and adaptation Early mestizaje and cultural exchange Session 2: New Spain, Castas & Culinary Exchange Food, hierarchy & everyday colonial life 🍽️ What We Will Eat Pancita served with tortillas and salsa Focus Exploring colonial caste systems, kitchens as spaces of exchange, and the culinary knowledge developed between Indigenous, African, and Spanish communities during colonial Mexico. Key Themes to Consider The caste system in New Spain Kitchens as spaces of cultural exchange Offal and working-class cooking Coconut, sugar, and tropical trade Food and social hierarchy Colonial markets and everyday eating Session 3: Street Food, Migration & Popular Culture Hibiscus, tamarind & urban Mexican food culture 🍽️ What We Will Eat Hibiscus and Tamarind Bolis (Frozen Ice Pops) with Chamoy Focus A discussion on urbanisation, migration into Mexican cities, street vending culture, and the popularisation of ingredients such as hibiscus and tamarind through public markets and everyday food culture. Key Themes to Consider Jamaica and tamarind in Mexican food culture Informal economies and street food Street desserts and childhood nostalgia Food accessibility and democratisation Migration and urban working-class culture Session 4: Afro-Mexican Identity in Contemporary Culture Resistance, visibility & global food culture 🍽️ What We Will Eat Fried Fish Taco with Plantain and Salsa Macha Focus A conversation about Afro-Mexican identity today, racism and invisibilisation in Mexico, cultural resistance, and the role of food in shaping contemporary Afro-Mexican representation within global culture. Key Themes to Consider Contemporary Afro-Mexican identity Racism and visibility in Mexico Food as resistance and cultural preservation Afro-diasporic connections across the Atlantic Migration and hybrid food cultures Duration: 4 sessions Starts: 16 July 🗓 Dates: 4 Thursdays: 16 July /23 July/30 July / 6 August 🕕 Time: 6:30 PM – 8:15 PM 📍 Location: 14 Exchequer Street, 2nd Floor, Dublin 2 💶 Price: €55 (includes all 4 sessions and food) 📌 Format: In-person workshop 🎥 Can’t make it to a session? We can provide a recording upon request. Taught by: Erick Gustavo Carrillo Ortiz Erick studied a Bachelor's degree in Psychology and a Master's in Psychoanalytic Psychotherapy at Centro Eleia in Mexico. For six years, he dedicated himself to clinical psychotherapy and teaching. He also co-founded the magazine Inverosímil, where he collaborated with emerging artists to create hybrid articles focused on everyday experiences. Additionally, he coordinated art and literature workshops at Invernadëro, where he also led workshops on topics such as "art and psychoanalysis," "walking to get lost," "art and aesthetics," among others. He currently resides in Ireland, where he completed a Master's in Visual and Critical Studies at TU Dublin, writing a dissertation on the representation of the microbus and its relationship with New Spanish Baroque churches. He is also a co-founder of the cultural project Fondita Mestiza, which merges art, gastronomic experiences, and critical thinking.