by Nancy Sep£lveda
Daily Lobo
Long before Dunkin' Donuts and Little Debbie, Latino families were perfecting the art of making pastries.
Flour, eggs and heaps of sugar were whipped together to produce breads, cookies and cakes - confections to complement a morning cup of cafe con crema or an afternoon snack.
Today, these traditional treats can be found in panaderias, or Mexican bakeries.
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Student Linda Mejia said she visits panaderias regularly.
"It's not at all like what you would find in a grocery store's bakery," she said.
Mejia said she likes to buy Mexican bread to have with coffee or hot chocolate.
She said her family always has sweetbread on hand, in case friends or relatives visit. Mejia said many Mexican households are well-stocked with treats to share during such visits because family is an important part of the culture.
"You usually won't find yourself eating your bread alone," Mejia said.
Hector's Panaderia, at 921 Old Coors Drive S.W., is family-owned and offers an assortment of delicacies.
The heady aroma of cinnamon mingled with vanilla greets incoming customers, and trays of empanadas and sweetbreads are displayed behind the glass
counter.
Tables and booths line the walls, and patrons can sit and nibble their goodies or read the newspaper.
Hector Enriquez Jr., whose father opened the panaderia in March 2000, said the bakery can prepare cakes for weddings, birthdays and quincea§eras, but most customers simply stock up on a week's supply of sweets.
"We have our regulars," he said. "They come in and buy dozens of cookies and breads."
There is no price list because the daily selection varies, but in general, esponjas - or bread items - are 50 cents each, and reposterias - or pastry items - are 65 cents each, he said.
There are a few basic items offered, like doughnuts and muffins, but most are customary to Latino culture.
Panes de esponja are round, miniature loaves of white bread coated with vanilla, strawberry or chocolate confection.
Yoyos are rounds of strawberry sponge cake sandwiched around gooey vanilla custard and rolled in coconut flakes.
Jubiletes are thickly sliced bread chunks smeared with honey butter and sprinkled with pecans and sesame seeds.
Hector's Panaderia has a baking room connected to the market area. Enriquez said everything is handmade from scratch, and the food, still piping hot, goes straight from the oven to the buyer.
"Nothing is frozen or canned, and we don't use any machines," he said. "We use traditional methods of baking, so we maintain an authentic Mexican taste."
Business picks up during Christmas and around Mexican holidays like Dia de los Muertos, Enriquez said.
One holiday many Latinos celebrate is Dia de los Reyes, Mejia said. Held the first week of January, it commemorates the three kings who brought gifts to an infant Jesus.
Mejia said panaderias will sell Roscas de Reyes, large loaves of bread with a plastic baby doll baked inside. They are about $20 per loaf.
"The doll represents baby Jesus," she said. "Whoever finds the doll in their slice of bread is supposed to host a party within the next month."
Mejia said she has seen an increase in the number of ethnic markets in Albuquerque.
Students should take advantage of cultural stores and goods, she said.
"I think anybody would enjoy visiting a panaderia, not just Latinos," Mejia said. "They're also good places to have meetings, a nice alternative to Flying Star."
Hector's Panaderia attracts customers from a variety of backgrounds, including tourists from other states, Enriquez said.
"You don't have to be Mexican to enjoy good food," he said.
A trip to a panaderia is about more than buying baked goods. It is an outing, often a family event, and offers patrons the chance to linger, laugh and gossip.
Panaderias, like other Mexican markets, connect the Latino ethnic community to its cultural traditions. They are also an interesting and tasty venture for those not familiar with them.
Dunkin' Donuts ain't got nothin' on that.
