Mexican Women Made a Cookbook to Pay Tribute to Victims of Violence

By Mary Anne R. (staff@latinpost.com) First Posted: Jan 11, 2021 10:51 PM EST

View of abandoned graves without flowers as part of the 'Day of the Dead' celebration on November 2, 2020 in Tijuana, Mexico. Known as one of the most representative traditions in Mexico, the day of the dead takes place during November 1 and 2 when peole remember those who have died with offerings, family gatherings and vistis to cemeteries. Due to the Covid-19 pandemic, massive celebrations are not allowed and graveyards will remain closed this year. (Photo : Francisco Vega/Getty Images)

A group of women in Mexico has worked together on a new project to help commemorate their loved ones. They created a cookbook, featuring their missing loved ones' favorite dishes.

Each dish has the name of the person it was made for and the date that they disappeared. The idea came from Zahara Gómez Lucini, who is a Spanish-Argentine photographer.

Lucini has documented the group of women since 2016, according to a We are Mitu report.

Missing loved ones' favorite recipes

One recipe was from Mirna Medina Quiñónez, which she named in honor of her dead son. Quiñónez's recipe guides the readers to the preparation of a braised beef and shredded cheese quesadilla, with a light salad, chunky salsa, and refried beans.

The dish was called Pizzadillas for Roberto, which appears in a new cookbook created to raise money for women in search of their missing relatives in Mexico, according to Los Angeles Times report.

Quiñónez said it is a very simple meal but it was her son's favorite meal.

He called them 'pizzadillas' because I'd use two tortillas, instead of just folding one in half. Then, my son would cut it into four pieces, just like pizza slices," she was quoted on a report.

Quiñónez's son was named Roberto Corrales Medina. He was 21-years-old when he disappeared in the northwestern state of Sinaloa in 2014.

Quiñónez is a retired schoolteacher and founder Las Rastreadoras del Fuerte.

Miriam Violeta Maldonado Valdez also contributed a recipe for her 23-year-old daughter, who disappeared in Sinaloa in 2014.

Valdez called the recipe Ceviche for Marian, which includes lots of Serrano peppers and salsa huichol, which is a hot sauce known in the area.

Valdez said that she had been searching for her daughter when she joined the rastreadoras.

"And I found my daughter the very day I joined them. They were digging when I recognized her shirt," Valdez was quoted on a report.

Las Rastreadoras del Fuerte

The group is composed of about 130 mothers. They are among the many collectives that have been established across the country, where more than 73,000 people have disappeared in the long cycle of violence and impunity by drug traffickers, corrupt public officials, and members of the military and police.

For her group to stay afloat, Quiñónez said it takes about $1,450 dollars to do that. The cost covers the expenses for office space and internet access to maintain their databases, according to Yahoo News report.

The expenses also include money for gasolines, which is needed to get to places, from mountainsides to country sides, to search the remains of their missing relatives.

The collective began selling the cookbook this summer, which comprises of 30 recipes all dedicated to their loved one.

The cookbook can be purchased on their website for about $22.

Most of the members of the organization wear white T-shirts with the photos of their missing loved ones. On the back, the shirt read: I'll search for you until I find you.

Meanwhile, those who have found their loved ones wear green T-shirts, which read: Promise fulfilled.

Quiñónez was informed in 2017 that her son's bones had been found in a mass grave. Since then she started wearing green.

Tags cookbook, Mexico, missing, loved ones