The Easter Bunny Doesn’t Speak Spanish
My First Semana Santa in Mexico
My sister and I leaned forward, urging our little brother to start into a ribbon tied, five-pound, solid chocolate Easter bunny—a present from his godfather. “Eat the ears first!” cheering my brother on so we could share the bounty.
I don’t know what my brother’s godfather was thinking with such a present, but decades later I cringe at the thought of giving little kids that much sugar and caffeine. It also made me wonder if Easter candy excess was the norm here in Mexico, where the week-long religious holiday is called Semana Santa. The best way to find out seemed to go grocery shopping.
The banners outside the supermarket said ‘Cuaresma’ which translates as Lent, the 40-day period where believers refrain from eating meat, except fish on Fridays, in preparation for Easter. Right away I could tell it was not such a commercial event; there were no Easter baskets or toy rabbits placed as bait for kids shopping with mom. But the candy must be here somewhere…
Strolling my cart through the aisles, I scanned the shelves…aha…. found it. Hershey’s, M&Ms, Snickers, … even expensive Lindt, Cadbury, and Almond Roca. But where was the Easter candy?
Looking to flex my Spanish, I asked an employee, “Where is the Easter candy?” The shelf stocker looked at me in confusion. It must be my pronunciation. “No importa,” I said with an embarrassed smile, and moved to the checkout line.
The woman in front of me mentioned ‘Pascua’ (Spanish for Easter) while speaking to her daughter so I lurched out and asked about their traditions in my best Spanish. She looked to her daughter for help. “You want to know about Easter here, right?” said a younger copy of the woman.
Nodding, the girl went on. “I know about Easter in America. We have family there and they tell us about the candy and Easter baskets and new clothes. But here in Mexico we don’t do that. We have traditional food without meat for 40 days during Lent, and then on Easter Day we have roast beef, lamb, or goat with special Easter dessert.”
The mother pointed to ingredients in her shopping basket and the daughter translated. “Easter dessert is called Capirotada. It’s made with bread, raisins, apricots, dried plums, banana, orange, apple, pineapple, walnuts, peanuts, cane syrup, tortillas, butter, and fresh cheese.” Looking up she explained. “Bread is the body of Christ, and the syrup is Christ’s blood. Cinnamon sticks are the wooden cross, the raisins its nails. The melted cheese on top is the Holy Shroud.”
Capirotada - Semana Santa Tradition
A little stunned at the depth of the symbolism, I thanked them and began placing groceries on the conveyor for checkout. Glad I didn’t ask about yellow marshmallow chicks.
This is my first Semana Santa in Mexico. In town there’s spring cleaning in front of homes, workers sweeping streets, and men painting new lines on the roads. Muscled men shimmy up tall palms to trim fronds, and food trucks park along the beaches to serve hungry crowds.
A few days before Easter Sunday, the action moves to the beaches. Families and friends erect sleeping tents along the dunes with covered cooking areas, volleyball nets, and toys for building sandcastles. Men and boys race each other barefoot up and down the beach as women cheer them on. The scene is complete with boogie boards, fishing rods, kayaks, paddleboards,… Jet skis pull yellow, banana shaped boats straddled by kids laughing as they bounce off in the waves. Vendors sell tamales, burritos, and seafood mounded in shells of cracked coconut. An entire community springs up on the dunes for five days of holiday.
Early this morning I had the very same beach mostly to myself. Rows of tents, toys and sandcastles looked like props, with everyone sleeping in after playing into the night. In a little while the little kids would wake and start another day of sand castles and fun on the beach.
It got me thinking about how different their memories of Semana Santa will be from my own childhood version of Easter. Mine was dressing up in new clothes and having pictures taken with a towering, costumed rabbit that looked so eerie it made little kids cry. Then, decorating eggs and on Easter day hunting them in the back yard with a basket filled with yellow marshmallow chicks and jellybeans. As for my brother’s five-pound chocolate rabbit, it gave us days of running around in a sugar rush.
Is one version better than the other? I think that surrounding yourself with love, family, and friends, is the best way to celebrate anything. May you make your own wonderful memories this Easter.
If you want to make something special this year for Easter.
Capirotada — Traditional Semana Santa dessert in Mexico
Ingredients
For 6 to 8 servings
- 4 bolillos (Mexican sandwich rolls) or 1 large sturdy baguette cut crosswise into 1.5 cm / 1/2-inch slices
- 4 slightly dry tortillas
- 6 Tbsp. butter, melted or 3 Tbsp. butter and 3 Tbsp. vegetable oil
- 250 ml / 1 cup dried fruits such as raisins, golden raisins, dried apricots, prunes, or other dried fruit
- 250 ml / 1 cup fresh fruits such as banana, apple, chilacayote (Mexican squash)
- 250 ml / 1 cup nuts
- 250 ml / 1 cup shredded mild cheese, such as Anejo Cheese, Cotija Cheese or queso fresco to stay local or Monterey Jack, Colby, or mild cheddar
Syrup
- 500 ml / 2 cups water
- 2 large piloncillos (cones of unrefined brown sugar), or 325 ml / 1 1/2 cups dark brown sugar, packed
- 4 cinnamon sticks
- 8 whole cloves
- 1 orange zest
Method
Brush bread slices on both sides with melted butter.
Place on a baking sheet and bake 8 minutes and then turn over to bake 5 more minutes. The bread should have a deep golden color. Set the bread and any remaining butter aside while you make the syrup.
Making the syrup
In saucepan, bring the brown sugar, cinnamon sticks, cloves, orange peel and water to a boil.
Reduce the heat and simmer until syrupy, about 5 to 10 minutes.
Remove from the heat to cool slightly before straining out the cinnamon sticks and cloves. Set aside.
Making the Capirodata
Preheat the oven to 180 °C / 350˚ F.
Heat the tortillas in the microwave to soften them, then arrange on the bottom and sides of the greased baking dish so that the bread used in the pudding never directly touches the dish.
1st layer: Cover the bottom with buttered bread. Strew a mixture of dried fruits, fresh fruits, peanuts or nuts and cheese atop the buttered bread.
Slowly pour the syrup over the bread, making sure the bread absorbs the syrup. Don't be too generous since you need enough syrup for all the layers.
Repeat layering as needed to fill the dish. If you have melted butter or syrup left over, pour it over the final layer before ending with cheese.
Cover the dish with generously buttered aluminum foil.
Bake for 30 minutes; uncover and bake again until the cheese is browned and bubbly - around 15 minutes.
When the pudding is baked, remove from the oven, and allow to sit for a few minutes before serving. Serve slightly warm.