Mestizo Dish

During and post-Mexican Revolution, the history of mole is rewritten to make it a symbol of mestizaje (mixed European and Indigenous race). In order to make what up to now was considered poor, peasant food and acceptable dish, it would need a history with more Spanish influence. The new tale that was circulated was that in a covent in Puebla a nun in a bind and expecting a visit from the archbishop, put together the ingredients she had on had on hand and in this way created the dish. Basically, the only credit given to indigenous folks for their dish was that the ingredients used were pre-hispanic foods. These stories were so pervasive that you can find murals in México depicting colonizers creating mole (Wolff 2018). This idea of Mexico as united force of blended europeans and indigenous races helped to secure the support of some indigenous groups in the revolution. However, the offer often only extended to those indigenous groups who assimilated to Spanish culture and language. Those who did not, like the Mayans, were seen as rebel groups.