Those of you who have been reading our blog over the last few months will have seen the competition that we ran to send one festival loving author to Mexico to report back on the Guelaguetza festival in Oaxaca. Last month we chose a winner and right now Mark Weir, is getting stuck into a few tacos and (hopefully) donning an elaborate headdress whilst joining the carnival atmosphere as the parade winds through the streets.

We had loads of entries in the competition and were truly impressed with the quality of the reports we received. It made it really difficult to choose a winner, but it was Mark’s descriptive style and ability to get himself into and out of various scrapes whilst exploring the back end of the Czech Republic that singled him out as a man who should be jumping on that plane to Mexico. Have a look and let us know what you think:

Language, lyrics and getting lost at the ‘Rock for People’ music festival in the Czech Republic.
By Mark Weir

It’s quite a beautiful feeling. That you can still experience a foreign land without having to download an app for it, surviving on a big smile, a polite nod and plenty of hand gestures instead. It’s humbling too, wandering from stage to stage like a mute, relying on the patience of others, the fortune of getting someone at the bar who takes the time to talk in broken English. I’ll return again soon, Hradec Kralové. You won’t be any easier to pronounce, but at least I’ll know where to find you.

Watch out for more of Mark’s writing coming your way as he takes up the position of our roving reporter telling us all about his trip to Oaxaca in the next edition of OLA LONDON, which will be ready for you to ogle at in October.

Thanks once again to The Mexican and Oaxacan Tourist Board, British Airways and Hostal de la Noria for helping us send Mark to Mexico.

Tomorrow, February 2nd, the Dia de la Candelaria festival will be celebrated across Mexico. The tradition goes that whoever is lucky enough to find the small baby Jesus figurine in their Rosca De Reyes cake on the 6th of January should treat all of their friends and family to a meal of tamales on February 2nd. Anyone eagle eyed enough to have read about this year’s winter menu will have spotted that Tommi was hugely excited to be able to put two types of tamales on our menu for the first time. And very delicious they are too!

So, never one to let up the chance to have a bit of a party, tomorrow, we’ll be giving free tamales to anyone who comes in with a small baby Jesus figurine. OK, that might be a bit tricky. We’ll be giving free tamales to anyone who comes in with a picture of a baby Jesus figurine, and funnily enough, we’ve put one just here:

So, if you feel like getting into the Mexican party spirit, print out this picture, and head over to Wahaca any time tomorrow and get your tamales on!

Here’s some Ts and Cs:
One free tamale dish offered per printed picture, and no more than one per customer.
Offer only valid during restaurant opening times on Februrary 2nd 2011.
Anyone found not having fun may be evicted from the restaurant at any time, or asked to stand in the corner with a bag on their head, it’s a party after all.

Last year’s Wahaca Scholarship was won by Jo, our assistant manager in White City and so she packed her bags and off she went to Mexico! Here’s her report on her trip, the sites she saw and the things she ate. It’s enough to make the rest of us very jealous. Over to Jo…

When I won the Wahaca scholarship and was rewarded with a trip to Mexico I knew there would be a lot to discover, but what I saw totally exceeded my expectations.

Places, people, smells everything was new for me and so exciting.

We started our journey in Cancun where we met our Mexican/ Mayan tour guide Victor. Victor has grown up in the Yucatan Peninsula so we were assured he would show us the real Mexico. A few hours later as I was sitting in my hotel room, margarita in hand, it seemed like a good chance for a rest, but Victor had different plans.

Our hotel was situated in a very small village next to Chichen Itza so Victor decide to give us a tour around Maya-land.
That day he introduced us to a whole population of Iguanas and explained how they would become our friends as they can be found in pretty much all of the archaeological sites we’d be visiting over the following 7 days. After a little bit of a safety talk, we felt much more at ease around them. In fact, later that night we discovered they were also living in our building… I have never heard Kate screaming so loud before!

Our week of touring would take us throughout the cultural sites in our region, listening to Victor talk about Mayan history. I felt like I was in a totally magical world.

From standing in front of the third biggest pyramid in the world CHICHEN ITZA, (one of the seven modern wonders of the world and such a beautiful way of showing the Mayan calendar), to EK BALAM a huge Mayan city which overwhelmed us with its immense size and spectacular views. We were totally moved by the archaeology that we were shown and will never forget the sites that we visited.

After a whole week, thousands of pictures and even more stories my mind and my heart has been infected with one thought: will we ever be able to truly appreciate the true depths of Mexico’s heritage? Victor, in his 35 years of experience has seen more and more of his culture, restored every year. Even in this region there is so much yet to be uncovered, and I’m sure it’s just a question of time and money until the 8th wonder of the world is revealed!

After each long day there was time for food and drinks – something that working for Wahaca has made me really passionate about. I was desperate to try as much Mexican food as I could and compare it to the different tastes in Wahaca.

My aim was to find as many dishes we selling in Wahaca as possible, so that I could then tell our customers what taste better, worse or just different.

At first I struggled with the menu as it was all was in Spanish, but after a while familiar words started to appear, one in particular that I knew I had to try in Yucatan Pibil!

Yucatan is a heart of pibil country and we proudly sell lots of pork pibil in Wahaca so I was very excited when I tried my tender, juicy pork taco and absolutely couldn’t tell a difference! They looked, smelled and tasted the same as ours!
Thoughout the trip I tried some amazing food. I had Guacamole every day, chicken tinga tacos, lots of frijoles, quesadillas, sopa de lima (which I think we should add to the menu, it was so tasty!) and all of it tasted just like the dishes I had got to know at home.

And even though every night we ate in different restaurants, for pudding we always had the same – Flan! And trust me when I say it was heaven.

After that trip I knew Mexico would be one of the places I would always want to come back to. There’s so much more to learn and so many more dishes to try! I hope it’s not too long until I can return to continue my Mexican adventure.

We’re celebrating the 200th anniversary of Mexican Independence Day this week, with a Modelo Especial on the house for any table that brings a Mexican flag to the restaurant on Wednesday 15th or Thursday 16th. There are 200 bottles available, one for every year since the original Grito de Dolores – The shout which started the uprising that led to Mexico’s independence.

We want to make sure as many people as possible can join in the celebrations, so don’t worry about bringing a full size flag along, all you have to do is bring anything that shows the Mexican colours and crest in a vaguely flag-shaped way and we’ll give everyone on the table a beer. If you’re feeling artistic, you might even want to draw one.

If you’re coming along for a beer, then we hope you’ll take the opportunity to try out some of the delicious dishes on our summer menu – It might be the last chance to see some of the summer favourites from this year (you only need to look out of the window to see that autumn is fast approaching). If you’re feeling like really getting behind Mexico, you could try one of our street food specials, 20p from each dish sold goes to ednica.org.mx, a UNESCO charity helping to educate street kids in Mexico City.

We’ll look forward to seeing you down here, we’re off to put the beers on ice.

1 beer available per person on every table that shows a mexican flag. Whilst stocks last on Wednesday 15th and Thursday 16th September 2010.

Wahaca hasn’t made it down to see this play by Humberto Robles yet but would love to hear what anyone who has seen it thought. Frida Kahlo was and still is such an important person in Mexican culture so we are glad to see a play on this subject in London.

Here is a little info on the production:

Art. Passion. Obsession. An explosive on-stage portrait of the woman who gave birth to herself. Sharp, witty and bursting with colour, this play has left audiences stunned on both sides of the Atlantic.

It is the day of the dead in Mexico, Frida comes back to her house to make fun of death and celebrate life. Through the journey she remembers her turbulent relationship with painter and companion Diego Rivera, her disagreements with the surrealists, her affair with Trotsky and so on. Based on fragments of her biography, letters, extracts from her diary and interviews that were made with Frida and her closest friends, the play recreates the intimate life of a passionate woman; an artist who managed to transfer her colourful vibrant culture and her deepest dramas onto the canvas.

Performed by Gaël Le Cornec who was pointed by The Stage newspaper as “one of the rising stars to keep your eye on this year”, Frida Kahlo Viva La Vida has already collected two fringe awards in the UK (Argus Angel Award of Artistic Excellence in Brighton 2009& Universal Arts Best actor Award in Edinburgh 2008) and has played to sell out audiences at the Edinburgh fringe Festival, The Tron, the Oxford playhouse, Trestle Space and Brighton Festival.

Buy your tickets at www.ovalhouse.com

OVAL HOUSE THEATRE, 20Th OCTOBER – 7th NOVEMBER