Abstract:

Corn tortilla is an exquisite food prepared on the basis of corn dough obtained through a process of “nixtamalizacion”, has a social significance and nutritious substantive. The handcraft production of tortillas in the community of Urireo in Mexico, is prior to the Spanish conquest. Over time have been built, shared and conveyed knowledge, material values and cultural rights for families with indigenous background. Nowadays, handcraft production of tortillas in this community is threatened by various factors, such as, the influence socio-economic and cultural from other places, the reduction of domestic units, the emigration of men to the United States, the lack of young women to continue this activity, the high costs, the lack of institutional support, etc. There is a loss of knowledge and socio-cultural values of maize and tortilla, viewed as a way of life and to see the world. For women, there is no school to replace their skills learned from very young, they learned from their mother to attend the men of the house, i.e., learn to serve, they spend the years taking care of their brothers, while their fathers crops and their mothers sale tortillas in the city. We conducted field observations and interviews, to learn the process and marketing of these products and the manner in which knowledge is transmitted and built from a gender perspective.

Keywords:

Learning, Tortilla, Woman, Gender.