So if you think that this global cross mixing of cultures is a recent thing, guess again. It seems that a Sicilian in the 1890's moved to Butte Montana where there was a huge copper mine as well as other mines in the surrounding area, and started making tamales, but not Mexican tamales- the family called them Phillipine tamales although they are made of cornmeal and beef and any Phillipine tamales I've seen are made from banana leaves and all kinds of exotic ingredients not resembling corn or beef. Perhaps Mr. Truzzolino was just inventive and came up with a fast food item that was easily transported into the mines by the workers. In fact what the tamale looks like is more of a Chicago style tamale that was popularized at the Chicago worlds fair in 1893. The company is still alive today and making their brand of tamales in Butte Montana which does not have a very big Latino community. They also happen to distribute their tamales to our local supermarket here in Idaho which is where I was able to snag a photo and start this curious journey into the History of a Butte tamale. Aye Dios Mio, It's an interesting world out there, and probably has been for quite some time.- Apparently the hamburger, the cracker jack and juicy fruit gum also came out of the Chicago world's fair in 1893
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Talk about the cross-pollination of culinary cultures, but isn't Mexican food the result of the fusion of the Old World and the New? My, my, what delicious results!
ReplyDeleteFascinating Lorena,
ReplyDeletethis is a good read. They had a world fair here where Iive now in 1988 called Expo 88! This I am sure impacted enormously on this city... it ran for 6 months I think... it brought so much cultural awareness to this city - far more than I would have given it credit for. It introduced a love of al fresco dining and cafes to the locals and various food specialties really took off in a big way.
Brisbane was a colonial anglo outpost still in some respects so this was a huge event with large consequences... positive from what I gather.
hope you are enjoying the days warming up Lorena..
best,
Sophie
The overlapping of food,art and customs-- (family) has always been interesting to me. I particularly like the similarities between Chinese and Mexican art.
ReplyDeleteAlso, The Worlds Fairs were famous for "bringing" native peoples from all over the world to be gawked at by the fair goers. For a historical account of a Filipino tribe brought to The St. Louis Worlds Fair in 1904 check out the film: Bontoc Eulogy.
Hi Elizabeth Thanks for your visit and the tip on the film, I'll look into it.
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