Ice Cream South of the Border
Courtesy of University of North Texas Libraries
In the 1990s I spent several summers as a graduate student living in Guadalajara, Mexico studying Spanish. Eating paletas de Michoacán (popsicles from Michoacán) represented one of my favorite memories. Paletas are indigenous to the region of Michoacán, Mexico. These are water or cream based popsicles made with pieces of fresh tropical fruit like coconut, lemon, guava, strawberry, mango, Kiwi, and pineapple. Coconut still remains my favorite; it’s like eating chunks of coconut in coconut creamed milk frozen solid. The hot Guadalajara sun quickly softens the coconut treat enough so one can eat it. Just thinking about it makes one's mouth water. Around 2005 Mexican street venders pushing small white freezer carts advertising paletas de Michoacán started appearing on the streets of Harlem and the South Bronx in New York City. Their presence is a good indicator that the population of Mexican migrants had increased significantly in New York City and the variety of ice cream in the big apple has improved.
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