Most travelers drive through Hidalgo on their way to the Grutas de Tolantongo without stopping. However, just off that road, in the semi-desert Mezquital Valley, lies one of the least-known sides of Hidalgo food. Hñähñú cuisine is the cooking of the Hñähñú people, built on what the land offers each season: wild herbs, maguey flowers, cactus fruit and edible insects. In the small town of Santiago de Anaya, Mariela Gutiérrez opens her kitchen so visitors can taste it.
On your way to Tolantongo? Explore our traditional cooking experience in Hidalgo.
Who Is Mariela Gutiérrez?
Mariela grew up among wood-fired stoves, watching her mother cook. Over time, she followed her into the kitchen and earned her own place in traditional Mexican cooking. From her mother, she inherited more than recipes. She also inherited a deep commitment to keeping her culture alive.
Today, Mariela runs her own traditional kitchen in Santiago de Anaya, a small community in Hidalgo’s Mezquital Valley. There, together with her family, she preserves Hñähñú cooking and shares it with new generations and with travelers. In fact, her personal story is what draws many visitors to her table in the first place.
What Is Hñähñú Cuisine?
The Hñähñú, also known as Otomí, are an Indigenous people of central Mexico, and the Mezquital Valley is one of their homelands. Because the valley is dry and semi-desert, local cooks learned long ago to use everything the land provides. As a result, Hñähñú cuisine relies on wild plants, flowers, cactus and insects rather than lush produce.
This knowledge has passed from mother to daughter for generations. It also follows the seasons closely. That’s why the dishes on Mariela’s table change throughout the year, depending on what the land offers.
Hidalgo Food Ingredients You Won’t Find in Most Mexican Kitchens
For many visitors, these ingredients are the biggest surprise of Hidalgo food. Here are some you may discover with Mariela:
- Gualumbos: the flowers of the maguey plant, often cooked in guisados.
- Flores de palma: palm flowers with a slightly bitter taste, a seasonal favorite.
- Garambullo: a small, dark cactus fruit from the semi-desert.
- Quelites: wild greens that grow between the crops.
- Xoconostle: a sour cactus fruit that gives salsas a bright, tangy flavor.
- Edible insects: chapulines (grasshoppers), chinicuiles (maguey worms) and escamoles (ant larvae), an important part of the region’s culinary heritage.
Alongside these ingredients, visitors may also taste regional dishes like mole verde with turkey.
Cooking With Mariela and Porfiria
The experience lasts about three hours and starts with a warm welcome from Mariela and Porfiria, another traditional Hñähñú cook. First, they share their stories and their relationship with the land. Then you explore the ingredients of the Mezquital Valley while sipping traditional aguas frescas. If you’re feeling adventurous, this is also your chance to taste edible insects.
Next comes the heart of the visit: cooking side by side with your hosts. Instead of watching a demonstration, you help prepare traditional dishes with seasonal flowers, native plants and herbs. For example, you might cook a guisado with flowers, grind a xoconostle salsa or make fresh tortillas.
Finally, everyone gathers around the table. You taste what you made and share a complete homemade meal with Mariela and Porfiria. It’s a relaxed moment to ask questions and learn about life and food in Santiago de Anaya.
A Stop on Your Way to Tolantongo
Santiago de Anaya is about three hours from Mexico City and roughly an hour and forty minutes from the Grutas de Tolantongo. So instead of a long drive straight to the hot springs, you can break up the trip with a meal that tells the story of the region. Round-trip transportation from Mexico City, to Santiago de Anaya or on to Tolantongo, can be added when you book.
Taste Traditional Hidalgo Food in Santiago de Anaya
If Tolantongo is your destination, don’t just drive through Hidalgo. Taste it. Spend an afternoon cooking Hñähñú cuisine with Mariela and Porfiria, and leave with a side of Mexican food that few travelers ever see. Explore the Traditional Cooking in Hidalgo experience.
Mariela is part of Círculos de Sabor, our program that helps cocineras tradicionales lead their own culinary experiences and earn a fair income. Want to know more about the women behind these recipes? Read Who Are Mexico’s Traditional Cooks?
