▲ In the second Corn and Milpa Fair they sold products that were considered non-existent.Photo Javier Salinas Cesáreo
Javier Salinas Cesareo
Correspondent
La Jornada Newspaper
Monday, September 30, 2024, p. 11
San Salvador Atenco, Méx., For the inhabitants of the Atenco region and its surroundings, products such as ahuautle, spirulina algae, tequesquite, earth salt, brine shrimp, water flea or simply young corn cobs They were almost non-existent, but with the resurgence of the lagoons and the protection of the lands in the protected natural area of Texcoco, where the new airport was planned to be built, they promote their production, consumption and sale.
Insects, minerals and plants were offered by the farmers at the second Corn and Milpa Fair, held on the Atenco esplanade, which was promoted by the People’s Front in Defense of the Land (FPDT) and the organization Manos a la Cuenca.
At the exhibition there were conferences, exhibitions and musical events with the aim of promoting the products of the countryside and demonstrating that after 23 years of struggle by the FPDT, its resistance continues to work the lands and conserve them.
Máximo Nopaltitla Pineda, originally from San Cristóbal Nexquipayac and considered the last producer of earthen salt, a trade he learned from his father, declared: All our ancestors are gone, we are the only ones who are working with earth salt and preserving its production is a source of pride for the wisdom that my father gave us, it is an ancestral teaching
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He explained that the process to obtain this consists of going to the lagoon to collect the soil and from there taking it to his workshop in Nexquipayac.
We mix the collected soil with clean soil and a little ash. Afterwards, the mixture is placed in conical piles, with this it is filtered and after a while it begins to drain and we take it to the pan where we have an oven; Then it is boiled so that it crystallizes and what is salt comes out.
he detailed.
There is a future in the area
Alejandro Pineda Contla, originally from Santa Isabel Ixtapa, producer of ahuautle and spirulina algae, believes that there is a future in the area of Lake Texcoco to rescue ancient foods and where they are organizing to form cooperatives and production on a commercial scale.
He announced that the collection of spirulina algae begins with the storage of rainwater in the lagoon and when it has the appropriate salinity the algae grow, these are collected and later taken to be washed.
We are from the indigenous peoples and we are rescuing our foods because they are more than a thousand years old, this lake is more than 3.5 million years old; Therefore, spirulina algae is that old and today it is considered one of the most nutritious foods on the planet.
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He highlighted that the ahuautle, which is endemic to the area, occurs in the rainy season when the larva begins to grow, which later becomes an adult mosquito or chinchilla and begins mating or after spawning.
Adán Espinoza, leader of the FPDT, assured that the Athenian movement remains in the fight for the defense of its lands. In addition, residents are working to replant the mountains, clean the rivers that converge and build wetlands to reactivate the lake system in the northwest of the Valley of Mexico.
