Uncovering Mexico

Uncovering Mexico

Jeremy Schwartz is the Mexico correspondent for Cox Newspapers. He is based in Mexico City.

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The entry titled "A telenovela star helped me with my veggies."

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Home > Uncovering Mexico > Archives > 2008 > August > 08 > Entry

A telenovela star helped me with my veggies

By Jeremy Schwartz | Friday, August 8, 2008, 11:35 AM

Last month I was in Tepoztlan, a magical town south of Mexico City, working on a story about a man who has one of the world’s largest tequila collections. He invited me to his home, where he has more than 3,600 bottles of tequila, to take a tour and have lunch with an assortment of other guests. A woman at the table looked extremely familiar and I racked my brain wondering if I had met her somewhere before. She was the wife of the tequila collector’s son and was there with her two young children.

During the meal, one of the dishes was huauzontle, a Mexican plant that is covered with cheese, battered with flour and egg and served in a delicious tomato sauce. Apparently you eat it by running the herb across your mouth, scraping off the yummy buds with your teeth. I, of course, had no idea how to go about eating it and made quite a fool of myself trying to figure it out. The familiar-looking woman finally ran out of patience, came over to my seat and gave me a quick huauzontle-eating lesson.

It wasn’t until I returned to Mexico City and turned on the TV that I realized who the mystery woman was: Mexican soap opera star Michelle Vieth, whose big hits include “Amigas y Rivales” and “Clase 406.” Not only can she carry a TV show, but Vieth cuts a mean huauzontle.

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