Back corn cake race to pay tribute to Mexican women

[Global Times Special Reporter Xie Jianing in Mexico] Pu Ela, Mexico recently held a unique "Back Corn Cake Run" (pictured). About 400 people from Tavan in the state participated in the competition. They were all women. They ranged from the age of 7 to 60. They carried corn cakes to participate in this interesting game.

The "Back Corn Cake Run" began in 1993. It has been held for more than 20 years to pay tribute to women handmade corn cakes in the local area, expressing the recognition of their hard work and efforts. At the same time, the local purpose is to promote the traditional culture of the region through such an interesting competition and promote the local economic development. This event has been identified as a cultural heritage by Mexico. Due to the epidemic, the competition was forced to interrupt for 2 years and just recovered this year.

"Back Corn Cake Run" requires participants to put on local traditional clothing, including embroidered shirts, various wide skirts with similar apron -shaped shapes, with shawls on their shoulders, and they have to raise their braids and wear Huala on their feet. Qi (a hand -woven sandals). In addition, the competition also requires the weight of the corn cake on the back. Depending on the age of the contestants, the weight of the corn cake ranges from 1 kg to 5 kg.

On the day of the competition, all the contestants gathered early on Tavan's municipal square, and the corn cake was called back. The shawls on their shoulders they wear play a great role. Its back part is wide, and it becomes a large cloth pocket. After weighing, the corn cake can be placed inside. The front of the shawl is relatively narrow. You can tie a knot on your chest like a bib, or cross the chest and then go behind the tie, so that the corn cake is firmly fixed on the body.

With a order, the game began. Participants rushed out, and the scene was spectacular. Participants departed from municipal square and reached the end of about 5 kilometers. During the game, there were those who ran quickly, and some jogging all the way, and some running and slowing down. The audience cheered and applauded for them along the way. They are incentives. The locals believe that whether it is running or walking, it is the best as long as you insist on completing the game.

Many of the contestants of the corn cake competition have participated in many consecutive veterans. They love their traditional culture and pride to become traditional participants. When asked why he participated in succession, the 17 -year -old youth group Aleutic Karella Ramarez said: "This is a mission for me because young people must inherit our tradition."

Tavan is the "cradle of corn". As early as the 1960s, archaeologists found corn cores from more than 7,000 years ago in the KS Carterland cave in the Tavan Valley. It is determined that Tavan is the "cradle of corn" in China and even the world. Today, corn has become the basis of many ethnic groups in the Americas, and corn cakes have evolved into the main food on the dining table in the long history of the history.

There is a town named San Maria Copan, known as the "capital of corn cakes". More than 50%of women here are engaged in the production and sales of corn cakes. The traditional corn cakes made with cooked corn dough are very popular.

Over the years, Tavan has become the main source of handmade corn cakes in the surrounding area markets, restaurants, hotels, and blocks. During the annual "Back Corn Cake Run", the orders of corn cakes in various places are flying like snow slices. The sales of corn cakes have become important sources of income from local women and their families, and they have also led to a certain extent.

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