The art of making tortillas

It seemed as if everywhere I looked as the wedding preparations proceeded, there were women making tortillas.  There must have been thirty working at it Saturday morning, the day before the wedding.

These are large hand made tortillas and creating each is a labor of love and an art.  If you have ever tried to make one, you know what I am saying.  I asked all the men if they could do the simplest part, just transferring the tortilla from the press to the comal without messing it up and they all said no.  I have tried it many times and can never believe how effortless and easy the women made it look.

On Thursday, the great aunts of the bride were sorting the corn, which had been grown in a field adjacent to the house.

 
Certain kernels for tortillas, others for atole and still others for other uses.

Here ia the comal before starting.  It will get coated with a lime paste to prevent sticking.

Note the clay sides upon which the comal will sit.
After sorting, the nixtamal, which is the dried corn kernels that have been cooked with a little lime to allow the skin to be removed, is ground into masa.  Using a stone matate is a real workout.

After the masa is the right consistency, with each forward thrust, a tiny amount is pushed over the edge, which is collected in large mounds.
Here's mother of the the bride, Emilia going through the process necessary to make one tortilla.
Her setup.

First she grinds the masa again.

Then a small amount is patted between the hands to form a patty,

which in turn goes on the press.  Each is rotated and pressed a few times between the plastic sheets on the press.

Then it is peeled off the plastic, no mean feat, and deftly put on the comal.

Not only can the women make this look easy, but they can fix any flaws with a mere pinch of the fingers.

The tortilla is flipped and then removed and placed vertically up against the comal to toast to a crispy brown.

I would bet there were close to a thousand tortillas made.  Each one a work of art.