The Museum of South Texas History presents the Sunday Speaker Series Online presentation, “Nochebuena: Lard, Spice and Everything Nice,” featuring chefs Melissa Guerra and Adán Medrano at 2 p.m. Dec. 13 on Facebook Live.
The virtual panel discussion will present the history and traditions of holiday foods in the borderlands, specifically from South Texas and northeastern Mexico. This presentation is part of the Fiesta de Nochebuena Online programming, which started Friday, Dec. 11, with a presentation on Mexican hot chocolates. Visit mosthistory.org/fiestadenochebuena for recordings and recipes.
According to Guerra’s Kitchen Wrangler website, Guerra is an eighth generation Texan, born and raised on a working cattle ranch in South Texas. She is a self-taught culinary expert and food historian, specializing in the food ways of the American continent, especially Texas regional, Mexican and Latin American cuisine. Her second cookbook, “Dishes from the Wild Horse Desert: Norteño Cuisine of South Texas,” was a finalist for a James Beard Award in the category of Foods of the Americas, and for an International Association of Culinary Professionals award in the same category. The “Texas Provincial Kitchen” was her first cookbook, and was self-published.
According Medrano’s website, Medrano is a chef and food writer, author of “Truly Texas Mexican: A Native Culinary Heritage of Recipes.” His most recent book is “Don’t Count the Tortillas – The Art of Texas Mexican Cooking.” Both are peer-reviewed books published by Texas Tech University Press. He is also an award-winning filmmaker and holds a Master of Arts degree in Radio, Television and Film from the University of Texas at Austin. In 1976 he founded the San Antonio CineFestival, the first and now longest-running Latino film festival in the USA. His book “Truly Texas Mexican” is currently being screened in the festival circuit before it’s future public release.
The presentation will broadcast at facebook.com/MOSTHistory/live. Guests are encouraged to interact panelists with questions and comments posted on the live chat. The presentation will also be recorded and posted for public access on the museum’s website at mosthistory.org.
This program is made possible by the generous support from the Carmen C. Guerra Endowment. Mrs. Guerra was committed to educational causes in the Rio Grande Valley. This named endowment was created by her family to honor her memory and to continue providing educational opportunities for the community.
About Museum of South Texas History
The Museum of South Texas History is accredited by the American Alliance of Museums. It is located downtown Edinburg at 200 North Closner Boulevard on the Hidalgo County Courthouse square. Founded in 1967 as the Hidalgo County Historical Museum in the 1910 Hidalgo County Jail, the museum has grown over the decades through a series of expansions to occupy a full city block. In 2003, following the completion of a 22,500 square foot expansion, the museum was renamed the Museum of South Texas History to better reflect its regional scope. Today, the museum preserves and presents the borderland heritage of South Texas and Northeastern Mexico through its permanent collection and the Margaret H. McAllen Memorial Archives and exhibits spanning prehistory through the 20th century. For more information about MOSTHistory, including becoming a FRIEND, visit MOSTHistory.org, like us on Facebook and Instagram, follow on Twitter, find on YouTube or call +1-956-383-6911.