Foodscapes, Foodfields, and Identities in the Yucat}}}}n [Hardcover]

The state of Yucat?n has its own distinct culinary tradition, and local people are constantly thinking and talking about food. They use it as a vehicle for social relations but also to distinguish themselves from Mexicans. This book examines the politics surrounding regional cuisine, as the author argues that Yucatecan gastronomy has been created and promoted in an effort to affirm the identity of a regional people and to oppose the hegemonic force of central Mexican cultural icons and forms. In particular, Yucatecan gastronomy counters the homogenizing drive of a national cuisine based on dominant central Mexican appetencies and defies the image of Mexican national cuisine as rooted in indigenous traditions. Drawing on post-structural and postcolonial theory, the author proposes that Yucatecan gastronomy - having successfully gained a reputation as distinct and distant from Mexican cuisine - is a bifurcation from regional culinary practices. However, the author warns, this leads to a double, paradoxical situation that divides the nation: while a national cuisine attempts to silence regional cultural diversity, the fissures in the project of a homogeneous regional identity are revealed.

This substantial book is the result of years of field and bibliographical research. The author certainly knows what he is talking about, as he is dealing with his own culture&This elaborate and original work brings new elements of reflection not only in the anthropology of food, but in anthropology at large. As a bonus, it is very pleasant to read. I strongly recommend it. ERLACS  European Review of Latin American and Caribbean Studies

Mexicans recently celebrated UNESCOs recognition of their cooking as an intangible cultural heritage of humanity, but who defines the boundaries of a cuisine? Steffan Igor Ayora-Diaz's vivid account of Yucatecan culinary nationalism offers a timely reminder of the hegemonic reach of Mexicos natil