000078 Visit since
As I mentioned before, there were
a lot of booths selling foods around the Main Square.
In the evenings when it was dark, the booths were lighted
sith oil lamps. The favorite dish was fried chiken cooked
on Comales (flat iron skillets) on top of a charcoal
fire. In particular, Las Polleras were a group of women
who sold delicious fried chicken. Their outdoor booth
always looked clean. Every day before opening, the women
would bring tables and wood benches from home and scrub
them well with soap before setting the tables with beautiful
starched, impeccably clean tablecloths. Las Polleras
would wear beautiful cotton aprons embroidered with
an array of printed colorful flowers, butterflies and
birds. They would start the fire between laughs and
gossip, fanning the stove with a hand fan made from
palm frond to ignite the fire.
The patrons, who were people of all
social levels, sat elbow to elbow on the benches to
enjoy the traditional open range fried chicken from
Las Polleras. The chicken was served with finely chopped
cabbage, sliced radish and a special delicious salsa
that nobody but las Polleras knew how to prepare. The
dish was accompanied with hot, delicious, homemade “gorditas”
(thick tortillas) and the traditional Tomatlán
salsa.
Las Polleras knew how to cater to
their patrons. They were easy going women who made people
laugh with jokes. I specially remember Luisa Castillón.
She wore her hair up in a bun, slicked back and big
hoop gold earrings. Her hair was naturally curly, but
she straightened it with gel when she pulled it back.
An ornamental Spanish comb completed her hairdo.
I remember Natalia Michel, a short
petite woman employee of Las Polleras. Although she
was very serious, she would make people laugh telling
jokes while fanning the fire and stirring charcoals.
Zenaida, another employee, was tall, skinny, and her
back was slightly arched. She mastered chopping cabbage
fast. Another of the Polleras was Modesta. She was shyer
than the aromatic coffe. There were some other names
I cannot recall. Las Polleras stayed open after hours.
The late night crowd was mainly drunkards who came back
from dances or nightclubs. People who had too much to
dring and hangovers. Stray hungry dogs looking for food
added a rustic touch at Las Pollera’s place.
The tradition of Las Polleras passed
through generations of hard workingwomen who have sent
their children to college with their earnings. Although
Las Polleras have gone through little change over the
years, they did move their location to a renovated area
by the Municipal Market.
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