Restaurants rediscover centuries-old Mayan cuisine
(11 Jun 2010) SHOTLIST
AP Television
Coba, Mexico, April 25th 2010
1. Close up of a fresh, organic tortilla fluffing up while it cooks on a metal hotplate called comal
2. Wide shot of a Mayan woman cooking tortillas on a wood-burning stove
3. Close up of the hand of the Mayan woman flipping tortillas on the comal
4. Wide shot of the Mayan woman working the dough for tortillas, called masa, inside her kitchen
5. Medium shot of the shaping of a tortilla by hand
6. Wide shot of a young Mayan girl setting up a table with her mother making tortillas in the background
7. Medium shot of plates of gorditas de chaya, thick, corn pancakes stuffed with chaya leaves
8. Close up of a hand pouring lime juice on the gorditas de chaya
9. Wide shot of people sitting at the table to eat a Mayan lunch
10. Close up of a dish with free-range chicken, rice and organic lettuce
11. Medium shot of Yaxche Chef, David Reyes, tasting a lunch at the Mayan community of Nuevo Durango, near the archeological site of Cob�
12. Wide shot of huts inside the Mayan community of Nuevo Durango
AP Television
Playa del Carmen, Mexico, April 21st 2010
13. Wide shot of people walking along the touristy 5th Avenue in Playa del Carmen, Mayan Riviera
14. Medium shot of a man dressed in ancient Mayan garb, greeting tourists along 5th Avenue
15. SOUNDBITE (Spanish), Ramon Lizaola Hernandez, co-owner of Yaxche Restaurant, Playa del Carmen (sitting with a Chaya drink):
Mayan cuisine itself still exists today. It lives on inside all these indigenous communities. You can go there and with them, you will be able to eat a dish the same way they have eaten it for generations passed on from mother to daughter- and that's how it has arrived to present day.
16. Wide shot, tilt down of the exterior of Yaxche Restaurant along 5th Avenue in Playa del Carmen
17. Pan of a selection of Mayan-inspired dishes
18. Close up of various appetizers that were made from Mayan recipes
19. Close up of a Chicken dish garnished with chaya leaves
20. SOUNDBITE (Spanish), Ramon Lizaola Hernandez, co-owner of Yaxche Restaurant, Playa del Carmen:
They were thankful that each meal would bring them wellness, so what's fascinating about this, how we as contemporaries are seeking those roots, and look for that healthful aspect of nutrition.
21. Wide shot of American tourists waiting for their lunch at Yaxche, as waiters bring them their dishes
22. Close up of Tikin Xic, a Mayan-style fish, seasoned with achiote paste and baked with banana leaves
23. Medium shot of four American tourists tasting their lunch at Yaxche
24. SOUNDBITE (English), Richard Hutchens American tourist from Missouri:
Yeah these kind of taste like�how do you pronounce the word, those little small like tahitos (sic taquitos), their little corn, corn crips, but you can buy them in the U.S.
25. Close up of Hutchens cutting one of his tortilla rolled flautas
26. Wide shot of Ramon Lizaola Hernandez talking to Hutchens after his meal
27. SOUNDBITE (Spanish), Ramon Lizaola Hernandez, co-owner of Yaxche Restaurant, Playa del Carmen:
Interest has been growing. As of today, Mayan cuisine as it is, appears in many restaurant guides in the region.
AP Television
Playa del Carmen, Mexico, April 22nd 2010
28. Wide shot of a street with tourists heading towards the beach
29. Wide shot of exterior of Ajua Maya Restaurant as a small truck honks and drives through
30. Medium shot of Ajua Maya Restaurant owner, Jorge Alfaro, sitting next to a customer; UPSOUND (English): OK, I'll definitely have a huge bite right now.
38. Close up of the dish Pollo Pibil
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How To Cook Tikin Xik - Mexican Garlic and Tomato Grouper Fish
Learn how to make Garlic, Pepper, and Tomato Mexican Tikin Xik Grouper for $10 or less using regional ingredients found in Mexico and North America.
Shawna Coronado travels to Akumal, Mexico to learn regional cuisine cooking techniques from Chef Carlos Capistran of the Lol-Ha Restaurant at Hotel Akumal Caribe.
Video produced by 78 Pesos, a production team which is a partnership between Shawna Coronado ( and Mario Salazar (
Special thanks to our sponsors:
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