Tortillas Para Mamá

Each year, at Christmas, I make tortillas for my Mom and friends.

​One of my great memories of my Grandmother Josefina is her tortillas. She had a large table in her kitchen where we would sit and wait for fresh hot tortillas to come right off her comal. Oh how delicious!

And each time us kids were around, I remember the song we used to sing while she made tortillas. 

Tortillas para mamá
Las quemaditas para papá
 
Tortillas for mama
The burnt ones for papa.

Josefina Davalos

​I keep three photos of my Grandmother with me in my booth. It’s important, to me, to pay homage to her. She did teach me how to knit! Actually…I just love having her with me! 

My Grandparents, Eugenio and Josefina Davalos on their wedding day.

My Grandparents onboard their new home, a houseboat in Sausalito.

​This weekend, while at High Hill Ranch, a woman came into my booth and walked straight to a photo of my Grandmother. “Is this Josefina?” she asked? I was so excited to hear her pronounce her name the Mexican way (hose-a-fee-na) as opposed to the American way (“Josephine” like Josephine Baker).
 
We had a wonderful conversation about our Grandmothers, our memories, our heritage and how important it is to keep our stories alive. I told her about the Tortillas song and sang it for her. Her face lit up. “I haven’t thought about that in a while!”

It's me! Making Christmas tortillas. I just love the rhythm of my roller! 

​After spending 15 minutes reminiscing about our families, she left. But a few minutes later she stopped back in and sang me her song.
 
Papas y papas para mamá
Papas y papas para mamá
Papas y papas para mamá
las quemaditas para papá
 
Potatoes and potatoes for mama
Potatoes and potatoes for mama
Potatoes and potatoes for mama
The burnt ones for papa.
 
Keep your family memories and traditions alive, my friends! Es muy importante!