Fort Garland celebrates the history — and recipe — of tortillas in southern Colorado
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FORT GARLAND, Colo. — For the first time, the Fort Garland Museum and Cultural Center hosted a tortilla making workshop for adults on November 18. In museum fashion, it came with a history lesson about tortillas in the San Luis Valley.
“It brings us together as a community,” said Antonia Velasquez, the education coordinator at the museum and leader of the workshop.
More than two dozen community members attended the workshop. The attendees ranged from first-timers to experienced homemade tortillas makers.
Video: Chelsea Casabona, Rocky Mountain PBS
Tortillas in what is now southern Colorado predate the Spanish settling in the region, Velasquez said. Indigenous people in the San Luis Valley used corn to make tortillas; when the Spaniards arrived, they brought wheat with them, which led to the creation of flour tortillas, she said.
Denver resident Melissa Muniz attended the workshop because she was in Fort Garland for work. Muniz, whose mother is German and father has roots in Mexico and southern Colorado, said that although she has made tortillas with her family before, the workshop made her feel more connected to her roots.
Video: Chelsea Casabona, Rocky Mountain PBS
“Being able to do stuff with your hands, do stuff in community, it just magnifies the feelings that you get of love and joy and comfort,” said Muniz.
For Velasquez, homemade tortillas are not a new concept. But she only considered herself a decent maker of homemade tortillas later in life, after she had her own family and started her career.
Video: Chelsea Casabona, Rocky Mountain PBS
“I was very good at eating tortillas. I was not very good at making them,” said Velasquez.
The workshop concluded with attendees feasting on their cooked tortillas, accompanied by butter, jams and hot sauces. Velasquez said because of the community interest, she plans to host more adult workshops with the museum.
Type of story: News
Based on facts, either observed and verified firsthand by the reporter, or reported and verified from knowledgeable sources. To read more about why you can trust the journalism of Rocky Mountain PBS, please visit our editorial standards and practices page.
Based on facts, either observed and verified firsthand by the reporter, or reported and verified from knowledgeable sources. To read more about why you can trust the journalism of Rocky Mountain PBS, please visit our editorial standards and practices page.