Here's How Xalisco Sabor Azteca Will Spice Up Your Cinco de Mayo Celebration in Argentina

It's Cinco de Mayo, and what better way to celebrate this day than with Mexican food? Of course, Argentines don't celebrate Cinco de Mayo as it's a Mexican holiday. But there are a few that are aware of the holiday and celebrate it symbolically by eating Mexican food and drinking tequilas, just like we do in the States.

Unfortunately, the only authentic Mexican restaurant in Cordoba City that serves actual Mexican food (so far) is Mex Resto-Bar, It's in Avenida Recta Martinolli 8794. Under normal circumstances, we would jump at the chance to check this place out. Unfortunately, it's a bit far from where we live and we still prefer to social distance ourselves from the locals until we get our vaccinations. But all hope is not lost.

Recently, we discovered a Mexican specialty store in Luis Braile 1855 called Xalisco: Sabor Azteca. They offer wheat tortillas for tacos and fajitas as well as chips, cheese dips, and spicy salsas with a Mexican twist. So we decided to share some of the goodies that we bought in case any other expat living in Cordoba gets a craving for Mexican food.

Corn tortillas for burritos or soft shell tacos

Now, let me just say that most Argentines we've encountered over the last nine years had a low tolerance for spicy foods. In fact, we've bought chips at the local supermarkets that claimed to be spicy but weren't really spicy at all. Maybe growing up in a country with Chipotle, Taco Bell and Papa John's, which provided a fresh jalapeño in each pizza box, made us more tolerant to spicy foods. Who knows? But we worried that the sauces from Xalisco wouldn't be as spicy as they claimed. 

Thankfully, we were wrong!

The Frida Dulce y Picante sauce is equivalent in spiciness to Taco Bell's mild sauce. The Salsa Picante Barbecue is a spicy smoked barbecue flavored sauce. And the Adobo Pastor is the mildest sauce and really oily, too, like olive oil. So, I would only recommend this sauce to season a salad.

I recommend the Salsa Cheddar Ranch sauce on the left as a salad dressing only. I tried it on a sandwich and on one of the tacos we made, and the flavor didn't really blend well for either meal. However, the Salsa Cheddar Jalapeño was a real winner in spiciness and taste.

Now, I foolishly thought that heating these cheese sauces up and using them as dip for the nacho chips would work. It didn't and here's the reason why. When I nuked the Salsa Cheddar Jalapeño, it altered the taste of the sauce in a way that it felt like I was eating spicy oregano. But the cheese flavor was gone. Of course, that doesn't mean that we were ready to throw the sauce away. Instead, we tried again without heating the sauce up, and it was actually amazing!

So, here's what our menu looked like for Cinco de Mayo 2021.

Yes! I know. You're probably wondering where the lettuce and tomatoes are. We're not really big on vegetables. I'm not dogging anyone who likes it, but it's not our thing and we didn't feel like spending ingredients on things that we would end up picking out of our food.

We're still holding out hope that Taco Bell and Chipotle will come to Argentina, specifically Cordoba City, someday. In the meantime, we'll make do with the tasty ingredients of Xalisco: Sabor Azteca, particularly their sauces that offer quite a kick but will put a smile on most spicy lovers' faces.

Here's How One LGBT Friendly Bakery in Cordoba City Came Through For Us

Let me tell you... No! No! Let me show you why Anana Postres has some of the best cakes in Cordoba, Argentina.

We were first introduced to Anana Postres when we ordered from a restaurant called D'Lucas. D'Lucas is a Venezuelan restaurant in Cordoba City that offers all kinds of delicious food options, including some fabulous burgers.

As it turns out, they also offered enormous cake slices for dessert, which they got from Anana Postres. And unlike the cakes from the popular Argentine pastry company, Franceschini, Anana Postres offers cakes that are fresh, moist and delicious.

So, I contacted them through Instagram to see if they could send us their menu, which you can check out here, and the selections were mouthwatering. After sifting through their online menu, we decided to order a cake for our 9-year wedding anniversary.

We opted for a medium sized red velvet cake, which offers about 20 slices for $1,800 Argentine pesos (plus $160 for delivery). The staff was so kind that they offered to add the number 20 to the top of the cake to commemorate our special day. But why 20 and not 9, you might ask? We chose 20 because 2021 will mark 20 years that the hubs and I have been together, and we felt that this number was more appropriate.

Side note: Anana Postres is LGBT friendly and have made pride cakes for clients in the past. But what we really needed was a mini-version of a wedding cake and they didn't disappoint. Now, before I show you what the cake looked like, let me give you some backstory.

It started in 2012, and before we got married, we sent invitations out to about 25 of our "closest" friends and family. We only heard from three people. We didn't have a ceremony because we were saving money to move to Argentina. So, we got married in City Hall. Still, there was an open invitation and no one came except for Zach's aunt and uncle, who were our witnesses.

A few months earlier, a sister and a niece of my hubby's uncle told us they were going to throw a bash for our wedding. We were gullible. In reality, they were just making fun of us and laughing behind our backs. To make a long story a bit shorter, we didn't get a wedding cake or a reception. My best man or best woman, was my future "cousin-in-law," but she bailed because she said she "had something to do." Not having her there broke my heart. Also, my hub's aunt and uncle treated our ceremony at City Hall like an errand that they put behind them as soon as it was over. I didn't think there was anything anyone from my hub's side of the family could do to make the memory of our wedding any worse, but I was wrong.

Last year, something happened that pissed us off. When the hub's aunt called him, he told her we were celebrating. Much to his dismay, she asked "What are you celebrating?" This woman was at our wedding, and she didn't even remember our special day! But I'll bet if you were to ask her if she remembers any of her other family member's wedding anniversary, she would have no trouble remembering. But you know what? Whatever! The important thing is that we finally got our wedding cake, and all I can say is that it was about time. So without further to do, here it is.

It was pretty big for a medium size cake. Then again, it was just the two of us at home. We didn't invite any of our Argentine friends over because we're still observing social distancing until we're vaccinated. But who knows? 

Maybe a year from now, things will be different (and hopefully better), so we can celebrate our 21-year anniversary with them.

There's a Hurdle to Jump Through If You're a Foreigner Registering for the Vaccine in Argentina

As I mentioned in my previous post, the number of Covid 19 cases have been on the rise again since March 2021, and we, like most people, want to get vaccinated. But the health administration is still vaccinating people ages 60 and up. We're 38 and 43, so it looks like we'll have to wait a while. And while I'm certain I'll get the vaccine at some point, I wasn't so sure about the hubs. 

Before I tell you what issues we ran into when registering for the vaccine, let me give you a little backstory for those of you who aren't familiar with my blog. I have dual citizenship, meaning that I am a citizen of both Argentina and the United States. But I spent my entire life in the United States and only moved to Argentina in 2012. So technically, I've only been living among the locals for what will be 9 years this coming June, and I consider myself 100% American. But I'll admit that the Argentine citizenship came in handy as it allowed me to register for my vaccine appointment on this website. 

But in order to do that, I had to first create what is known as a CIDI or Ciudadano Digital account here. When my time comes, I will receive a text and an e-mail letting me know what day, time, and location I have to report to for my vaccine. But I'm not expecting this to happen any time soon. In fact, it could be months.

Anyway, after following all of the registration procedures, I went ahead and created a CIDI account for the hubs, who is a permanent resident (not an Argentine citizen) of Argentina. Everything went smoothly during this stage. 

But when I went on the other website to register him for the vaccine, I received an error message claiming that his DNI (which is like the social security number in the States) was not on file and I was prompted to fill some information on his behalf like his DNI, phone number and the reason why he wanted the vaccine before they could process the request. Yes! It sounds crazy. I mean, the reason should be obvious. I even stated that in the comment section. 

Well, to make a long story short, two months had passed and we had not heard anything back about when he could register for his appointment.

Then on March 30, 2021, I learned that foreigners are required to validate their DNI before they can receive the vaccine. The process was detailed in this article, but we couldn't make heads or tails of it. We did call an 800 number for assistance, but the rep was mean as a snake. And I'll admit that I was worried.

Fortunately, my parents, who also have dual citizenship and retired to Argentina a few years back, have received the first dose and are doing fine while they eagerly await for their appointment for the second dose. But it seemed unfair that I would be next in line to get the vaccine and the hubs couldn't even register for his. Then, we got some good news.

On April 9, 2021, the website finally allowed me to get the hubs in the system and now it's just a matter of waiting for a text, a call or an e-mail for our vaccine appointment.

COVID Cases Are Spiking in Argentina in 2021

Most people wouldn't know what common sense was if it walked up and shook their hand. You can count some of the people in our host province among them.

For months, Argentines have enjoyed low daily numbers of Covid 19 cases. I'm talking days where the numbers barely reached two thousand and the death rate had dropped significantly. This led some locals, including some of our friends, to believe that this Covid insanity was almost over and that life was about to return to normal. They were wrong.

As of this post, people at high risk, mainly people 60 and older are the only ones getting the vaccine. There are, of course, a few exceptions such as police officers, hospital staff and some government officials, like the Argentine President Alberto Fernandez, not that this did him much good.

Despite having received both doses of the Sputnik V vaccine in late January and early February, President Fernandez revealed he had contracted Covid 19 in April 2021. This led Argentine health officials to clarify that the vaccine doesn't prevent people from getting the virus. It just reduces the risk of patients going critical and dying.

But even before news broke out about the president's health, Argentines were already violating the social distancing protocols and partying without masks. Even bars, like Johnny B. Good were forced to close for violating health protocols and allowing an excess number of people inside their restaurant. And yet, people have continued to throw caution to the wind. But what's even scarier is that some locals aren't even bothering to wear masks at all, like these lovely examples below.

The hubs and I only go out when it's absolutely necessary like when we need to buy groceries or medicine from the pharmacy. We try to avoid human contact as much as possible because we are well aware that this pandemic is unpredictable and we have to ensure that we minimize the risk of infection. As a result, we don't socialize with our friends. We don't go to the movie theaters (which recently reopened) and we rarely sit down at a restaurant together or with another person unless it's a special occasion like a birthday or a holiday. We do, however, venture out to pick a food order but we come right back.

Our friends have called us paranoid and have teased us for being overly cautious. One person has gone as far as to post photos (and boast) about how often they go out and hang out with their other friends. But if the photos above are any indication, we are being smart.

I was hoping people would have been more understanding, but they haven't been. In fact, recently, an Argie friend of mine and I got into an online argument over my extreme anger over people who don't follow protocols. She told me that she knows people who have been extra careful and still gotten sick. But common sense tells me that even the most careful person runs a higher risk of catching Covid 19 if the people they come into contact with are not being safe.

Suffice it to say, we reached an impasse and had to agree to disagree.

Meanwhile, other mutations of the virus like the UK variant have crept their way into Argentina because of local and international tourism. This has forced the Argentine government to place travel restrictions to reduce the number of these cases. But it seems as though the easing of restrictions that began a few months ago have had dire consequences. 

On March 26, 2021, the amount of daily infected rose to 12,936. By March 29, 2021, the numbers rose to 14,014. By March 31, 2021, the numbers rose to 16,056, and in Cordoba province, the number of cases were at 1,260. And within a week, the number of positive cases of Covid 19 had risen by 21 percent in Cordoba alone. By April 6, 2021, the numbers jumped to 20,870. 

At this point, Cordoba businesses, particularly restaurants, feared that another quarantine was emminent, but claimed they wouldn't have enough finances to bounce back should this happen.

On April 7, 2021, the number of cases rose to 22,039. But while the national government has been willing to add restrictions to reduce the spread of the virus, Cordoba government officials seemed to have little regard for human life and have agreed to restrictions from Midnight until 6 a.m. Monday through Friday and on Saturdays from 1 a.m. to 6 a.m only. At least, for now.

On April 8, 2021, the numbers jumped to 23,683 nationwide and in Cordoba the numbers were at 2,156.

I think the hubs and I would feel a lot better if we were vaccinated. Unfortunately, we ran into some issues registering for the vaccine. But I'll get to that in my next post.

Here's What Cordoba City Looks Like in 2021

A lot can happen in a year, especially if you've been living in isolation because of the pandemic. The last time, we were in Nuevocentro Shopping (which is a mall) in Cordoba City, Argentina, was around February 2020. Then the quarantine hit a month later, and the malls were shutdown for a couple of months. But even after they had reopened, we decided to stay away from indoor areas with large crowds. Then the number of cases in Cordoba City started to drop in late 2020, and although they've started rising again, we felt it was safe enough to head to Nuevocentro Shopping. And we had some specific reasons for going, too!

Some of the difficult items we knew we could find at this mall are:

• Malta - My hubby loves this
• Swiss Miss Hot Cocoa
• Act II Butter Lovers Popcorn
• Old El Paso Taco Shells and Old El Paso related products
• Dilled Pickles

But importing international products has been tough on businesses like Mundo Gourmet and Almacen de Mario, which sell international foods. So we were worried that we were in for a major disappointment. Still, I decided to make the best of it and filmed some clips of what Cordoba City looks like in 2021. You can check out the video below. 

I also took a few photos along the way. 

I was actually quite surprised by how empty the city was and that the people that we did see were wearing masks. It recently came to our attention that some locals believe that the pandemic is over, and a lot of them have stopped wearing masks or are using them as chin masks. As infuriating as that is, let's get back to the subject at hand, which was our mission to find these international products and replenish our depleted stock.

Once we arrived at Nuevocentro Shopping, a security guard took our temperature and sprayed our hands with alcohol. Then, as we started window shopping, we noticed that the floors had pink and blue arrows to indicate which direction shoppers had to go. This was done to reduce the number of people congregating in the same area. Unfortunately, there were some people that defied such basic instructions. I don't know why some people here have such a tough time following rules, especially when they've been implemented to save lives.

We also found these alcohol dispensers throughout the mall. They have sensors so all one has to do is wave their hands under the dispenser and it will squirt out a generous dose of alcohol gel. And yes! We used it like crazy as we headed to our first pit stop in our search mission.

Now this is what the international food section at Falabella used to look like before the pandemic.

And this is what the section looked like when we visited Falabella in 2021. You might not be able to see it in my better half's face, but he was very disappointed and so was I. Then we headed to Disco, which is a supermarket located inside the mall. They often have a section dedicated to international foods, but unfortunately, it was a bust, too. So, we drowned out our disappointment at Burger King.

Burger King practiced social distancing rules by marking the seats with red tape. This allowed people to sit a booth apart to reduce the risk of spreading anything. 

Our next stop was to the mall's Hoyt's Theater. Yes! It was closed, but we were certainly not surprised. From what I understand, there aren't a whole lot of movies being released. We watched "Wonder Woman 1984" on VOD and it sucked. The only good thing about the film was Lynda Carter's cameo. 

And with the exception of "Monster Hunter" starring Milla Jovovich, my list of movies to watch is virtually empty. I'm not sure when the theaters are set to reopen in Argentina, but for now it seems that one of our favorite pastimes will have to wait.

One place I was pleasantly surprised to see still open was the Starbucks in the mall.

We didn't actually sit and order anything this time, but it's nice to know that it will (hopefully) still be around the next time we come to Nuevocentro Shopping.

Sheraton in Cordoba City 2020

One place we won't be coming back to however is the Sheraton Hotel that's right next to the mall. It's hard to believe that we celebrated the arrival of 2020 at the hotel a year ago. Sadly, the hotel has been shut down.

But in spite of a couple of disappointments here and there, we still enjoyed our day out on the town. Hopefully, we'll get to go out more frequently as soon as they start administering the vaccine to everyone. Right now, they're only giving them to health workers, and the elderly are reportedly next in line. I still have no idea when they'll get to the rest of the population, so for now, remaining cautious is the smartest way to stay alive.

F U 2020! Hello 2021!

We did it! We all made it to 2021 and I'm sure you're as relieved about it as I am. I'll admit that when we watched the ball drop in Times Square via livestream, I lost it. I don't know why. Maybe the stress of everything I've endured finally caught up with me. I'm not sure. But I had a moment where I couldn't stop crying. Then it passed and I hugged the hubs tightly before I took a sip of champagne.

But whoever said that things wind down on the final day of the year is lying because we had a lot of prep work which began on Wednesday, December 30th.  As you can see from the photo below, we ordered pizza... lots of it from Chicago American Bar! The reason we didn't order it on the 31st was that the restaurant wasn't going to be open on the 31st and we wanted things simple. Side note: My hubby said there was no way in hell he was going to turn on the oven in this summer heat. But you'll see later that I forced him because I needed my desserts (j/k It was a mutual decision).

But these aren't your average size pizza slices. Let's just say, Becky, this isn't a diet house, okay? We ordered 8 in total and when I got home, we put them together on the table to create one full circle. 

Then, on the 31st, we made BBQ pulled chicken sliders, which were delicious. But I have to say that finding barbecue sauce during the last week of 2020 was a nightmare. I must have gone to 10 stores before I found one that sold the damn sauce. But don't even get me started on what happened next. When I got home, I showed my husband the barbecue sauce and he had the nerve to say, "That brand?" I had to hold myself back because you know... it's the end of the year and I had to be nice.

We also made pull apart garlic balls with marinara sauce, which are shown in the photo below. Even a nun would have these balls in her mouth. That's how good they were. But we couldn't say goodbye to 2020 without some tasty desserts.

So, we made a brownie cake with a message that reflects pretty much how everyone feels about 2020. We also made green appletini jello and added a couple of festive sprinkles. And the square shaped dessert is coconut pudding that you would literally fight over.

I don't know what the new year's going to bring but at least there are a few vaccines that have or are about to become available. Who knows if life is going to return to normal in 2021? But we're hoping that it will. The best part is that we left the old year behind together and we entered the new one together as well.