COMMUNITY FOOD FESTIVAL MILPA ALTA

Milpa Alta is a region located in the south of Mexico City. People in Milpa Alta still care about their traditions. One of the most observed traditional events is a community meal. It takes place every year in Christmas and it is called La Rejunta.

People cook, serve and eat more than fifty thousand tamales and about twenty thousand litres of hot chocolate. Tamales are basically made from corn, the most typical crop of the region: the name Milpa Alta means ‘High Cornfield’. This meal is traditionally offered to the people who go on the long hike to El Señor de Chalma about 50 kilometres away. It’s an important religious event for local people and about 30,000 people take part in the walk.

The planning and organisation of La Rejunta takes one whole year. Each year, a different group of people are given the responsibility of organising the meal. There’s always a long waiting list to take this responsibility and, the next available year is 2046. This year’s lucky people are Virginia Torres and her husband Fermín Jiménez. They had put their names on the list 14 years ago.

One year before the feast, volunteers go to the woods to collect wood because it has to be dry when it’s used to make the cooking fires. Farmers in the region grow most of the corn and vegetables that will be needed as ingredients. Two weeks before the meal, hundreds of volunteers start arriving to help with the preparation and the cooking. Instant or ready-made foods are not allowed. Everyone knows what they have to do.