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Review by Lalita Arogyaswamy

Review of the October 24,2007 meeting of the Multinational Liaison Club focusing on Mexico

The October 24, 2007 meeting of the Multinational Liaison Club concentrated on Mexico from the perspective of both its traditional and present-day culture, music, cuisine and architecture. Appropriately, the monthly meeting was held at the El Canelo Restaurant, 2740 Erie Blvd, Syracuse, a well-appointed, pleasantly decorated eatery serving authentic Mexican cooking.

The fairly well-attended gathering was warmly welcomed by Wendhel Elias, the Vice-President of the Club and equally by Susan Jarmel-Mollica.

With the mellow music of Mexico in the background, the members enjoyed the refreshments served by the pleasant staff of the restaurant. After a short interval, Ms. Jarmel-Mollica encouraged the members to participate in the raffle which drew much applause and excitement especially from the young daughter of one of the members. Shortly after, the dinner was served and the members were invited to the buffet pleasantly arranged at one side of the main restaurant.

It was quite a lavish spread indeed. There was a choice of beef and chicken quesadillas, beef or chicken burritos, enchiladas of both verde (vegetable), chicken and beef. There were also chimichangas of both beef and chicken. In addition, there were plain tortillas, beans and rice. Naturally, the ‘piece de resistance’ was the tasty guacamole and the salads of lettuce and onions.

Towards the end of the meal, Ms. Jarmel-Mollica introduced the cultural speaker of the evening, Ms. Luisa Alonso Ruiz.

Ms. Ruiz has been a high school teacher of Spanish in Syracuse for a number of years. She is also a federal court interpreter and owns an internet business as well. Ms Ruiz began her presentation with some excellent slides of her native country, Mexico.

Her engaging commentary on the slides eloquently both explained and described the interesting culture of her country. The members were impressed by her interesting observations on the architecture, culture, cuisine and by the vibrancy of modern Mexico. She not only spoke of a rich culture which is influenced by the history of the Spanish and the Mesoamerican past but also extolled the innate pride of the Mexican people in their heritage from both the Spanish and their indigenous forebears. Besides describing the culture of Mexico, she also gave the members a great deal of information on the present day political and business climate of her homeland. The interesting lecture ended with a round of applause.

Later, while enjoying the excellent desserts, Mr. Fernando Luna with his guitar, entertained the members to a medley of charming Spanish songs evoking the culture of the Latin world of the Americas.

Soon after, the evening drew to a close with the drawing of the raffle. A round of  applause and thanks followed for both the vice-president and for Ms. Jarmel-Mollica. Ms. Jarmel- Mollica graciously thanked the members for helping to make a successful meeting.