Ashley Cornell, email: [email protected]

Just seek a few seconds to feel sorry for others. UK public television broadcast last Tuesday a Mexico-focused episode of the famous Great British Bake Off, a reality cooking show in which contestants compete to be the best cake chef. The Mexican cuisine theme seemed like an excellent idea for English prime time, but it turned into a set of stereotypes about Mexicans who had very little to do with their culture. For example, presenters Matt Lucas and Noel Fielding open one of the segments dressed in Guadalajara serapes, hats and maracas in hand. “I think we shouldn’t make Mexican jokes because some people might get upset,” Fielding says while dressing in what a Mexican supposedly looks like. Elsewhere, the same presenter asks if Mexico is a real country. Criticism of the BBC network responsible for producing the program has swept the networks after very sensitive fibers were touched.

Aside from the props and unfortunate commentary from the hosts, the culinary content of the show doesn’t even come close to the richness of Mexican cuisine. The variety of dishes that contestants must prepare are meat tacos accompanied with beans and pico de gallo, sweet bread bowls, and a tres leches cake. The contestants demonstrate throughout the episode that they don’t know how to cut an avocado or that a Mexican cake isn’t exactly a fondant-covered tower. British audiences (including Mexican and Latin American audiences in general) have already cried out to heaven: making tacos on a show dedicated to baking is lazy, they say, since Mexican cuisine has hundreds of recipes dedicated to this one are suitable for the occasion.

More than anything else, the Great British Bake Off over Mexico seems like a missed opportunity to showcase authentic Mexican cuisine. What was declared intangible cultural heritage of humanity by UNESCO in 2010; which has gradually opened spaces in the capitals of the world – first on the streets and then in luxury restaurants -; and which has already received several awards in the most important international rankings. The complexity of the recipes, the variety of ingredients, and the difficulty of preparing them have been neglected in favor of entertainment. Who wants to learn how to make a capirotada when there’s a hard supermarket tortilla and avocado to mix up for the camera?

Mexicans, accustomed to seeing themselves stereotyped around the world – there’s Warner Brothers’ Speedy Gonzales – tend to take cases like the English show with humor and even transfer them into the world of memes without much hesitation. Some critics point out that the Bake Off production could capitalize on the idea of ​​inviting a Mexican chef, one of those plentiful in Europe, to share original recipes with the contestants the way grandmothers teach them. A more accurate portrayal of a Mexican to help British audiences understand why cooking is so important to the country. Mexico is incomprehensible without a good breakfast of chilaquiles, a meal of pozole, and a dinner of esquites: the millennial corn diet. Famed chef Enrique Olvera says that “Mexican food tastes like Mexico” and that there is no need to cross oceans to really get to know it, those who have emigrated have already taken it upon themselves to cross the planet bring.

One of the images promoting the Great British Bake Off, dedicated to Mexico, cites nachos, burritos, hard tacos and American quesadillas as examples of Mexican food. In the United States, the Mexicans practiced a veritable culinary diplomacy that has already spread – at least – to the big cities. A few decades ago, it was unlikely to find a tamale cart in New York, an exquisite plate of birria in Los Angeles, or a lavish tlayuda in Chicago. The show was released this Friday in this country and of course the channels are already burning. Although there are misunderstandings about Mexico even among some Americans, it is undeniable that education about this culture has already made significant strides. Eating as a tool to understand other realities could also serve as the best public television in the world.

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The Russian-controlled Zaporizhia nuclear power plant in Ukraine has lost its last external source of energy due to renewed bombing and is now dependent on backup generators, the IAEA said on Saturday.

The Zaporizhia nuclear power plant, which was occupied by Russia and then annexed, “gets the electricity it needs for reactor cooling and other essential nuclear safety functions” solely from diesel generators, the UN panel added in a statement.

“The connection was interrupted around one o’clock in the morning local time,” said the IAEA, which claims to be based on “official information from Ukraine” and “reports from your team” from four experts present at Europe’s largest nuclear power plant.

Also readZaporijjia: Head of IAEA calls for consultations “this week”.

“The resumption of bombing, which hits the site’s only external source of energy, is completely irresponsible,” said IAEA Director General Rafael Grossi. “I will soon visit the Russian Federation and then return to Ukraine to agree on a nuclear safe and secure zone around the facility. It is an absolute and urgent imperative,” he stressed.

At dawn Ukrainian operator Energoatom wrote on Telegram that “the last interconnector was damaged and disconnected” due to Russian shelling. Although the six reactors are shut down, they continue to require power for vital nuclear safety and security functions. The plant’s diesel generators each have enough fuel for at least ten days.

Also readWar in Ukraine: What you need to know about the “total shutdown” of the Zaporizhia nuclear power plant

Rafael Grossi was in Kyiv on Thursday to discuss establishing a protective zone around the plant, which has been the target of regular gunfire that has already caused several power outages since August and for which Russians and Ukrainians are jointly responsible. “We continue to say what needs to be done, which is essentially avoiding a nuclear accident at the plant, which remains a very, very clear possibility,” he argued.

SEE ALSO – War in Ukraine: Images of heavy damage to the Crimean Bridge

by Claudio Del Frate

Thanks to his contribution, Assad regained control of 50% of the territory. In his career the “blot” of involvement in the failed attempt to depose Gorbachev

A senior officer decorated for the war in Syria, a resume that also showcases aerospace experience, a name already on the “black list” of Western-sanctioned characters. Here’s a summary of the profile of General Sergey Surovkin, the man Putin entrusted today with command of the “special operation” in Ukraine that sees Russia retreating in both Donbass and the Kherson region, and who today suffered the setback the bombing of the bridge in Crimea. News of the change was confirmed by the Ministry of Defense on Telegram. The change in command was sudden but not unexpected, and the Kremlin hopes the new general can turn the tide of a conflict far from Moscow’s original expectations.

Surovkin, 56, Siberian, has a very varied cursus honorum. After first serving in Afghanistan at the rank of captain, the senior officer risked a career break in 1991 when he was arrested (and imprisoned for seven months) for his part in the August coup designed to oust Mikhail Gorbachev, with a pardon from Boris Yeltsin, convinced that he limited himself to obeying orders from above. In 2004 he commanded an infantry battalion stationed in Chechnya.

The “qualitative leap” comes in 2017, when he takes command of the Russian forces stationed in Syria: he is credited with turning the tide of the conflict because, under his leadership, the Queen of Assad manages to regain control of 50% of Syrian territory, which allows him to obtain the title “Hero of the Russian Federation”. As Surovkin continues to oversee operations in Syria, he is appointed head of the Moscow Aerospace Forces.

In June 2022 he became commander of operations in Ukraine in the southern sector and as of today is the number one in the Russian armed forces throughout the occupied territory. The changing of the guard at the head of the Moscow army had been in the air for days, especially after the defeats on the ground in Donbass.

October 8, 2022 (change October 8, 2022 | 17:12)

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Tehran condemned the incident and also criticized the Danish police. It is “unfortunate that in the heart of Europe such an attack has taken place on a woman who is also an ambassador”.

An attacker broke into the premises of the Iranian representation in Copenhagen and threatened Ambassador Afsaneh Nadipur with a knife. It also demolished several cars belonging to the Iranian mission and was overpowered by a mission official, the Foreign Ministry in Tehran said. The ambassador is doing well under the circumstances.

Copenhagen police confirmed the incident and announced that an Iranian national had been arrested in connection with it. He will be taken to a magistrate on Saturday. It was unclear whether the incident was related to system-critical protests in Iran.

Danish ambassador quoted in Tehran

Tehran condemned the incident and also criticized the Danish police. “It is unfortunate that in the heart of Europe such an attack on a woman who is also an ambassador and enjoys diplomatic immunity is taking place,” said Foreign Minister Hussein Amirabdollahian. He also accused the Danish police of not showing up on time despite being notified. This was surprising, said the foreign minister.

The Danish ambassador in Tehran was also summoned to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs on Friday night. According to the Fars news agency, the ambassador was informed of the official protest by the Iranian government. According to the Vienna Convention, each country is responsible for the security of diplomatic missions. Tehran therefore expects Denmark to comply with international regulations in accordance with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

(APA)