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Toluca,
capital of the State of Mexico, is the place where sugar is transformed into colorful figures for the Day of the Dead Ofrenda. Artisans start working as early as May to be able
to supply the demand for Alfeñique figures. Alfeñique is the Spanish word used for the technique of working with sugar to produce these little figures.
It is mostly women who create Alfeñique crafts. Doña Refugio Díaz is one
of them. She is a beautiful old lady that has been working since a child in this field.
-My mother used to let me help her, and that’s how I learned the trade.
So, when my children were young we needed extra income, so I
made what I knew how to do…calaveritas…alfeñique.-
She is working on a sugar figure of a hen when she recounts her story.
-Now I keep on working to support myself.
-I have to start early in
the year so I am ready for the Day of the Dead
fiestas. I make all kinds of figures- she
tells me while decorating the little hen with yellow icing-
Calaveras in three different sizes, little deer, hens, flower baskets, ofrendas, coffins.-
She never looks up, totally
focused on her work she goes on - People buy
them mainly for their altares de muerto.-
-Some of the figures I make entirely by hand, and others, like the calaveras ( sugar skulls) I have
to use molds. These molds are usually made of clay. The mixture is poured into the molds, and when the sugar mixture is almost set, I turn them
downwards so that the excess falls of and they end hollow figures.-
-When they dry, I paint them with colored icing. This is my favorite part of the process since I am able to
express myself- she says smiling.
-I
enjoy seeing the children smile when they get one of my calaveras!-
Following is the recipe for Sugar Skulls:
Sift powdered sugar.
Mix the egg white, corn syrup, and vanilla in a clean bowl without a trace of grease.
Add the powdered sugar with a wooden spoon. When almost incorporated, start kneading with the tip of your fingers until you can form a small ball.
Dust with cornstarch on board.
Keep on kneading until smooth
Put dough into a plastic bag and chill. It can be left there for several months.
Paint the figures when they are dry. You can use colored icing.
Doña Refugio uses other ingredients: powdered sugar, lemon,
egg white, and an agglutinating substance known as "chautle", "cormo",
obtained from a flower called earth orchid.
She beats the egg white to a peak, adds powdered sugar little by little, lemon, and last of all, the "chautle".
The result is a soft dough that is then finely sliced. It is laid out in the sun to harden, ground up again, and refined by sifting. Once perfected, it is mixed with water to form a soft mass that
can be colored with vegetable dyes or left white. Seems more complicated than the simple recipe above!
At my children's school, they buy the plain sugar skulls and then have the children decorate them with
colored icing.
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