Eating chocolate used to be a spiritual act. Sometimes we forget that "the spiritual" refers to the spirit, the substance of things. Less like a "disassociation" from matter, practicing the spiritual is looking for "the true substantiality". This translates, in the act, to experiencing things deeply with the body. A spiritual person, in that sense, could be the one who lets himself be possessed by the experience that is happening to him. He let's himself be overwhelmed by it and erases his own limits by doing so.
The cocoa was consumed like this. The preparation of drinks with the grains was a ritual and the tree was sacred. Mayans, Aztecs and many others allowed the drink to produce an alchemical effect on their bodies; it was because of the fantastic feeling that it left them after taking it, that they had certainty of its magic. We already know that cocoa has important health benefits (even if you do not consume it while you are concentrated in a spiritual manner); particularly that it is good for blood circulation.
But, incredible as it may seem, Mexican chocolate is disappearing. And maybe it's because we've taken it for granted; we have relegated it to an ancient history and we are far from receiving it or imagining it as a sacred element. But there are still guardians of cocoa.
"An Act of Resistance" (Mirra Fine, Daniel Klein) is a short documentary that immerses us in this panorama. He introduces us to a Mexican chocolatier, who -resistant, but with a bit of sadness- tells that the production in this country has declined considerably. It is attributed to the fact that the young heirs of the cocoa planting do not want to dedicate themselves to agriculture, because to them it represents poverty. And this is not an arbitrary assumption; life in the field and its products have lost value; but, to a large extent, it is because we have taken the away from it. However, in this video, a woman dedicated to the cultivation of cocoa, tells us her close relationship with trees. She professes a deep affection and speaks to them. With a lost look - as if it were the last - she says goodbye, warning them that when she leaves them, "the cacaoitos" [little cacaoitos] will also leave this world.
But we can experience chocolate again as a spiritual experience. Let us enter into the experience of Mexican chocolate. Sweet or bitter, definitely its flavor excites us. But we could allow it to overflow us. Mexican chocolate must be found again; eat it; give rise to contemporary recipes; try your ancestral face for the first time. If we give it back its value, we may not have to let it go.
When the documentary ends and we have already finished, he throws in a quote from the writer Ernest Hemingway: "The world breaks them all and then some are strong in broken places." Mexico, undoubtedly a fragmented place, manages to reconcile its pieces. Let yourself go through the roots of your sacred beliefs. A more humble way to put it: almost everyone loves chocolate; to keep it alive, you just have to keep enjoying it.
Más de MX
The Perennial Plate
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Consumir chocolate solía ser un acto espiritual. Y, a veces nos olvidamos de que “lo espiritual” se refiere a la sustancia de las cosas. Menos parecido a un “desanclarse” de la materia, practicar lo espiritual es buscar “lo sustancial”. Esto se traduce, en el acto, a experimentar las cosas profundamente con el cuerpo. Un sujeto espiritual, en ese sentido, podría ser aquel que se deja poseer por la vivencia que le está aconteciendo. Dejarse, incluso, desbordar por ella y corromper sus propios límites al hacerlo.
El cacao se consumía así. La preparación de bebidas con los granos era un ritual y el árbol era sagrado. Mayas, aztecas y otros tantos permitían que la bebida produjera un efecto alquímico en sus cuerpos; porque sólo por la fantástica sensación que les dejaba después de tomarla, tenían certeza de su magia. Sabemos ya que el cacao tiene beneficios importantes para la salud (aunque no lo consumas concentrado en lo espiritual); particularmente que incentiva el flujo sanguíneo.
Pero, aunque parezca increíble, el chocolate mexicano está desapareciendo. Y tal vez sea porque lo hemos dado por sentado; lo hemos relegado a una historia antigua y muy lejos estamos de recibirlo o imaginarlo como un elemento sagrado. Pero aún hay guardianes del cacao.
“An Act of Resistance” (Mirra Fine, Daniel Klein) es un corto documental que nos sumerge en este panorama. Nos presenta a un chocolatero mexicano, que –resistente, pero con un poco de tristeza– cuenta que la producción en este país ha decaído considerablemente. Se lo atribuye a que los jóvenes herederos de la siembra de cacao, no se quieren dedicar a la agricultura, pues esta representa pobreza. Y esto no es una suposición arbitraria, la vida en el campo y sus productos han perdido valor; pero, en gran medida, es porque se los hemos arrebatado. Por otro lado, una mujer dedicada al cultivo del cacao, nos relata su estrecha relación con los árboles. Les profesa un cariño profundo y les habla. Con una mirada perdida –como si fuera la última– se despide, advirtiendoles que, cuando ella los deje, “los cacaoitos” también dejarán este mundo.
Pero podríamos experimentarlo de nuevo desde lo espiritual. Dejarnos permear por la experiencia del chocolate mexicano. Dulce o amargo, definitivamente su sabor nos emociona. Pero podríamos permitir que nos desborde. Al chocolate mexicano hay que volver a encontrarlo; comerlo; darle lugar en recetas contemporáneas; probar por primera vez su cara ancestral. Si le devolvemos su valor, tal vez no tengamos que dejarlo ir.
Cuando el documental termina y ya estamos desprevenidos, nos arroja una cita del escritor Ernest Hemingway: “El mundo los rompe a todos y, después, algunos son fuertes en los lugares rotos.” México, sin duda un lugar fragmentado, logra reconciliar sus piezas dejándose atravesar por las raíces de sus creencias sagradas. En otras palabras, tal vez más humildes: a casi todos nos encanta el chocolate; para mantenerlo vivo, sólo hay que seguir disfrutándolo.
Más de MX
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