Historic Santa Fe Foundation (HSFF) is excited to announce our annual holiday fundraiser with San Miguel Chapel! This year, we invite you to join us at San Miguel Chapel for a presentation on the history of chocolate by Deputy State Historian Nicolasa Chávez. HSFF has also arranged for a tasting at Kakawa Chocolate House following the lecture. Seating for the tasting is very limited, so please register today to reserve your spot! Read more about both the salon and tasting below.
ABOUT THE SALON
Chocolate holds sway as one of the most popular food items in history. Most popular as a sweet or delectable treat, it is also considered an antioxidant, or sometimes an aphrodisiac. Dating centuries before European contact, chocolate was used by Central American cultures for spiritual, medicinal, and nutritional purposes. Mayan warriors took bars of chocolate, said to sustain one for an entire day, on the road. It was then brought to Europe by the Spanish where it was incorporated into alchemical experiments and elaborate recipes by monks and chefs of royal courts. Traditionally served as a thick frothy beverage, it was eventually produced as a candy. In recent years traditional Mexican drinking chocolate and variety of new Mexican or New World inspired recipes have been on the rise. What is it about chocolate that we humans find so alluring, so comforting, and in some cases, so addicting? And why have these early recipes returned to grace our tables and warm our bellies? This lecture traces the history of chocolate beginning with its use in the pre-Colombian Americas, the Spanish Colonial Southwest, and its introduction in Europe and rise in popularity around the globe.
ABOUT THE SPEAKER
Nicolasa Chávez, a fourteenth generation New Mexican, is a historian, curator and performance artist, whose work concentrates on the rich multicultural heritage of New Mexico and the connection between New Mexico and the Spanish speaking world. Her exhibitions include New World Cuisine: The Histories of Chocolate, Mate y Más, The Red that Colored the World, Flamenco: From Spain to New Mexico, and Música Buena: Hispano Folk Music of New Mexico. She is the author of The Spirit of Flamenco: From Spain to New Mexico (MNM Press). She is also a singer and dancer. Her CD, Villancicos Flamencos, features the traditional holiday songs of Spain and she can be seen performing and giving lectures and demonstrations around the state. She currently serves as the Deputy State Historian for our great state of New Mexico.
ABOUT THE TASTING
Enjoy a little time traveling with your palette at Kakawa Chocolate House!
After a peek into Chocolate's long and varied history, enjoy a tasting of four distinct periods in that timeline. Learn about the lowland Maya and the extensive herbs, flowers, and spices including chilies that they favored in their drinking chocolate. Next travel to the late 1700s and Marie Antoinette, one of the most famous chocolate lovers in Europe, to enjoy the subtleties and softness that the addition of sugar added. Next will be a custom blend inspired by the modern Central American cultures, particularly in Mexico, nods to their heritage and yet with modern flair. Finally, we will visit today's Santa Fe, tasting the Tzul (the Mayan word for Dog) that inspired our donation blend in support of the animal shelter here in Santa Fe. As we like to say "Chocolate cheers!"
Admission to the salon only: $10 per person for HSFF members and $20 per person for non-members
Admission to the salon followed by a chocolate tasting at Kakawa Chocolate House: $65 per person for HSFF members and $75 per person for non-members
Donations in any amount are accepted in addition to the admission fee.
Your name will be checked at the door before entry. HSFF staff will be on-hand at 5:15pm for check-in.
Tickets available at https://www.historicsantafe.org/nicolasa-chavez-salon...