iHolbox Pocket Guide Book Summer 2018

T his culinary jewel, first emerged in 1938 as a craving creation by Mr. Vicente Mena “Polito”, who used to sell ice cream at the Santiago park in Merida. During the summer, the business flourished, but during the winter the ice cream sales took a dramatic downfall. Once he and his wife Doña Carmita Mendoza were not able to get any food supplies due to bad weather conditions, they only had ice creamwafer dough and cheese for dinner (Dutch cheese that they brought from Chetumal) - which, at that time, was a luxury-. In order to take advantage of the wafer dough, Doña Carmita asked her husband to add dutch cheese to the wafer, without knowing that the sweet and salty mixture - would be worthy of a Marquis’s palate. In the early beginning Marquesitas were only made during the winter and were sold on weekends at Santiago park in Merida. Her most frequent clients were the children and grandchildren of the Hacendados (owners of the large hen- equen plantations) who studied at the Colegio Americano (American School), which was very close to the Santiago park, and every day after school, they would come looking for that special treat made with Dutch cheese shreds stuffed into a sweet and salty cookie roll. When they saw them, Doña Carmi- ta used to say ... Here come the children of the Marquises! There are many speculations of the ori- gin of the name, the truth is that Mario Mena, son of Don Vicente, in addition to improving the cookie dough, gave it the name. Originally it was called Mar-quesitos which was later changed to Marquesitas. This unique dessert has become mas- sively popular thanks to Sergio Mena “Polito”, the third generation of Marque- seros (people who make Marquesitas), and proud heir of the original recipe. He took his ancestors creation to the fair of Xmatkuil, where the Marquesita boom began. The good response encouraged him to take the Marquesitas throughout the Yucatan Peninsula, passing through Cancun, Playa del Carmen, Cozumel, Chetumal, the Belize Border and Holbox Island. The original Marquesitas recipe can be enjoyed at Holbox’s Main Square, you just have to look for Polito’s cart. The raspberry Marquesita, with cream cheese and dutch “Edam” cheese shreds, obtained the Golden Fork Award as the best dessert during the 1st International Gastronomy Fest in Holbox Island. iHolbox Magazine • 37