Revolution Day (Mexico) November 20
Madero
The Mexican Revolution brought the overthrow of liberal Army general Porfirio Díaz after 35 years as president of Mexico (1876-1911). In the 1910 presidential election, wealthy landowner Francisco I. Madero opposed Díaz.
Díaz jailed Madero, who then escaped, issuing the Plan of San Luis Potosí on October 6, 1910. In that plan, Madero declared the results of the 1910 election fraudulent, nullified them, asserted that he was provisional president, and called for Mexicans to rise up against Díaz on November 20, 1910.
He wrote “Throw the usurpers from power, recover your rights as free men, and remember that our ancestors left us a heritage of glory which we are not able to stain. Be as they were: invincible in war, magnanimous in victory.”
The commemoration is celebrated in Mexico as an official holiday. Until 2006 and again from 2009 to 2013 the national celebrations were located at the Zocalo in Mexico City. Given the recent political and national tragedies that happened in 2014 the parades were called off at the aftermath of the 2014 Iguala mass kidnapping, (this was the case also in 2015), and the celebrations happened in the Campo Marte in the capital, thus pushing the national parade up to November 23, Navy Day, with only Mexican Navy personnel in attendance.
Thus the national November 20 parades, during the remaining years of the Enrique Peña Nieto presidency, had now been replaced by state level ones, which have been held in major cities all over the nation as per tradition, but in a reduced basis, given recent cancellations due to protest actions on the said date in several state capitals. During the presidency of Andrés Manuel López Obrador, the traditional civil-military-athletic parade was finally reinstated in 2019.
The first crucial revolution during the 20th century was the Mexican Revolution. The Mexican Revolution drove many Mexicans to migrate to America. This greatly affected many Mexican Americans as well as the United States.
Around 1 million legal migrants entered the United States throughout the revolution along with many other undocumented migrants. This occurred four years before the introduction of a patrol between the borders.
The constitution created in 1917, in response to the revolution, established limits on the period of time politicians could be in power. The Constitution also included labor reform laws that covered 8 hour workdays, abolished child labor, and established equal pay.
Mexican Chocolate Sauce
No excuse is usually needed for eating chocolate, but if you should require one, here are a couple to choose from:
- Cacao was first cultivated by the indigenous peoples of Mexico, so it is one of the most Mexican of foods.
- Chocolate was used by ancient Mexicans as both a currency (cacao beans were “money”) and to make a bitter drink enjoyed only by the elite.
This is a basic recipe, a starting place. Don´t be afraid to tweak the ingredient proportions according to taste and/or to the use you will give your chocolate sauce. Increase or decrease the sugar to your liking. Omit the liqueur, if you prefer. Use more cream for a looser, more pourable sauce; use more solid chocolate for a thicker sauce that will harden more upon cooling (for use as a ganache or for making chocolate truffles, for example).
Ingredients
- 6 ounces dark chocolate, chopped or grated, or 1/2 cup dark chocolate chips
- 1/2 cup heavy cream, at room temperature
- 1 teaspoon cinnamon
- 2 teaspoons coffee liqueur, such as Kahlúa
- 1 tablespoon sugar
-
Melt the chocolate. The chocolate does not need to actually cook at all, just melt completely. Use one of the following methods:
Microwave method: Place chocolate and heavy cream in a microwave safe bowl. Cook in microwave for a minute or so, making sure to stir every 20 seconds. Stop microwaving when mixture is smooth.Direct stove-top method: Place chocolate and cream in saucepan over low heat. Stir constantly until mixture is smooth. (Note: Be very careful when using this method, as a moment of inattention can lead to the chocolate’s burning).
Hot water bath method: Place chocolate and cream in a metal bowl. Place the bowl in pan of very hot water in such a way that the water comes one-third to half the way up the sides of the bowl. Stir ingredients gently until mixture is smooth. -
Stir in the cinnamon, coffee liqueur, and sugar. Pour into a serving dish and enjoy.
Any leftover sauce can be stored in a tightly covered glass jar in the refrigerator for a week or so. Reheat before using.
How to Make Bolillos
Bolillos tend to be bought at least twice a day in Mexico City. They taste so good right out of the oven and every bakery keeps baking them all day long.
Only a couple hours later they become stale because they don’t contain any emulsifiers or other ingredients to make bread last. This is quick to prepare clean ingredient bread. Airy with a crunchy crust and a soft center.
If however, you can’t finish them in one sitting you don’t have to throw them out of course. You can still eat them the next day. I recommend storing them (completely cooled) in a plastic bag on the kitchen counter.
To make them crunchier and less stale brush or spray them with water and put them in the oven for 3 minutes at 400F.
Ingredients
Instructions
-
Add dry ingredients to the bowl of your stand mixer and whisk on low until well combined.
-
Add 110℉ hot water. The temperature is crucial! Add colder water and your dough won’t rise, add hotter water and you will kill the yeast. Use a meat thermometor to be certain of the temperature.
-
Attach the dough hook to the stand mixer and knead the dough for at least 20 minutes on low. Longer is even better. You want a very elastic dough (see video).
-
Cover the bowl with a clean kitchen towel and let the dough rise to double its size. Depending on the room temperature this will take anywhere between 25-50 minutes.
-
Once the dough doubled in size, remove it from the bowl and place on a clean floured working surface, sprinkle flour on top as well and then fold from the bottom up and over and from the top up and over, then let rest for 10 minutes, fold again, and let rest another 10 minutes, until the dough becomes smooth and elastic.
-
In the meantime, line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
-
Now cut the dough into 8 equal pieces and roll into “bolillo form”. (See video). Then place on the lined baking sheet.
-
Once all bolillos are formed,make about a 1/2″ deep incision in the middle with a sharp knife and spray or brush all bolillos with water.
-
Cover the bolillos with a clean kitchen towel and let the dough rise a second time until doubled in size.
-
Preheat oven to 450 F (230C) at least 20 minutes before the rolls have to go in the oven. Leave a baking sheet in the oven under the middle rack to fill with water later to create steam.
-
Remove the kitchen towel, spray the bolillos again with a little bit of water, add 1 cup of water to your baking sheet already in the oven, and put the bolillos on the rack on top in the oven for approximately 15 minutes.
-
Let cool for at least 10 minutes and enjoy warm.