Step One is is to catch an octopus!

Good luck with that. (Actually, it’s pretty easy these days to find good quality frozen octopus any decent fish seller.) The Four Seasons is lucky enough to have a bunch of local fishermen who catch the fresh octopus in the ocean in front of the resort (or somewhere thereabouts). 

Step Two is optional. Personally, when I’m cooking octopus, I prefer to kneed it to remove a bit of its natural liquid. Chef Sandoval doesn’t do this. He prefers that slightly gooey texture which results from the octopus’ natural juices. I prefer my octopus a bit less gelatinous, so here’s an easy next step that’s not actually included in Sandoval’s recipe below. Take the octopus and put it in the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with a dough hook, and turn it on. Let it kneed slowly, like bread dough, until the octopus becomes really, really frothy. You’ll be amazed at how much sudsy liquid the octopus will release. Once it’s nice and frothy, remove the octopus, rinse it well, and follow the rest of the recipe as it’s written below. 

Grilled Pacific Octopus with Cactus Pico de Gallo

2 Octopus (octopi?)

½ cup Mirepoix (chopped celery, onion and carrot)

5 or 6 Guajillo chiles, soaked until softened

2 Tbsp. Chipotle puree

1 Tbsp. Garlic

1 tsp. Oregano

1 tsp. Cumin

½ cup Soy sauce

1 tsp. Salt

2 Tbsp. White vinegar

⅓ cup Oil

½ tsp. Black pepper

½ cup Cactus paddle, peeled, salted and rinsed

½ cup Diced tomato

½ cup Diced red onion

½ cup Crumbled panela cheese

¼ cup Cilantro, chopped

1 Serrano chile, seeded, chopped

1 lime, juice of

⅓ cup Olive tapenade

¼ cup Lemon juice

1 Tbsp. Honey

¼ cup Champagne vinegar

½ cup Olive oil

Extra lemon juice

2 cups Arugula

1. Catch an octopus

2. Optional octopus prep (see above)

3. Wash the octopus, rinsing it several times. Bring a pot of water to boil and add the octopus, letting it cook until any last bit of foam comes to the surface. Remove the foam with a strainer. Add the mirepois and bay leaf, reduce the heat, and simmer for about an hour, more or less, until nice and tender. Remove from heat and allow to cool. Cut off and reserve the tentacles. Fire up the grill. 

4. While the octopus is cooling and grill is heating up, make the marinade: In a blender, combine the chiles, garlic, oregano, cumin, soy sauce, salt, 2 Tbsp. vinegar and ⅓ cup of olive oil. Puree until fully blended and smooth. Add the octopus tentacles and toss well. 

5. Make a salsa by combining the cactus, tomato, onion, cheese, cilantro, serrano, lime juice and olive tapenade.  

6. Now make a vinaigrette by whisking together the lemon juice, honey, ¼ cup vinegar and ½ cup olive oil. 

7. Cook the octopus on a very hot grill until it begins to char around the edges, but being careful not to overcook all the way through. (It’s already cooked; the idea here is to reheat it by charring it over the flames.)

8. Squeeze a lemon over the octopus, and serve it over the arugula, topped off with the salsa. 

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It’s a scene that repeats itself each week, to the delight of hundreds of fans; but even if you’re not a big fan of wrestling, it’s still easy to get caught up in the excitement and spectacle of it all. Lucha Libre (Mexican wrestling) matches are a favorite attraction for visitors to Mexico City and routinely attract a large and diverse crowd made up of people of all ages, nationalities and economic backgrounds.

Lucha Libre, literally “free fight,” is the term used to describe professional Mexican wrestling. Lucha Libre emerged in Mexico in the 1930’s and grew in popularity over the next couple of decades, fueled in large part by the advent of the television and the emergence of luchadores as pop culture icons. In fact, lucha libre is so popular in Mexico that many masked luchadores stay in character outside of the ring as well; posing for photos, giving interviews or appearing in public wearing their masks.

The masks, or máscaras, help to define the character and personality of the luchador and getting unmasked by an opponent during a match is the ultimate insult. One of the most popular luchadores to ever fight in Mexico, the silver-masked El Santo (The Saint), first took to the ring in 1942 in Mexico City, and his career spanned nearly five decades. He continued to wear his mask after retirement and his character has since acquired folk hero status, having gone on to appear in comic books and movies. You’ll often see fans wearing the mask of El Santo at sporting events, parades and even protests.

Lucha libre matches are staged between tag teams, or groups made up of two, three or four members who take turns in the ring. It’s almost always the good guys, or técnicos, versus the bad guys, or rudos, and the técnicos almost always win. A typical match lasts just over two hours, during which time there will be four or five individual fights each consisting of several rounds. Not unlike professional wrestling in the U.S., there’s lots of comedy, drama, suspense and high-flying aerial maneuvers.

The excitement of attending a lucha libre match begins before you even enter the stadium. The luchadores often head out into the street to pose for photos with fans and there’s an open-air market that sets up outside the entrance to the stadium where you’ll find stall after stall of masks, t-shirts and other lucha libre paraphernalia. Plan to get there early and leave yourself plenty of time to browse the market; the tequila bottle toppers in the shape of luchador masks make great souvenirs!

If you go: There are two lucha libre venues in Mexico City, Arena México and Arena Coliseo. The 17,000 seat Arena México (Dr. Lavista 197, Doctores), hosts weekly matches every Friday night at 8:30pm. The smaller, but more centrally located Arena Coliseo (República de Perú 77, Centro Historico), hosts weekly matches every Sunday at 5pm and Tuesday at 7:30pm. At both stadiums, tickets can be purchased directly from the box office before the start of the match and range in price from 45 pesos (about $3.60) for balcony seats to several hundred pesos for ring side seating. Expect to pay around 90-100 pesos (about $7.20-$8) for good seats; close enough that you’ll be able to see all the action, but far enough away that you won’t have have to worry about a luchador landing in your lap.

Considerations: Cameras are not permitted at either of the venues. If you bring one you’ll be asked to leave it with security and pick it up at the end of the match. Don’t forget! If you’re not comfortable being separated from your camera then the best option is to leave it behind. Cell phones, even those with cameras, are allowed inside and are your best bet for taking photographs during the match.

For schedules and information about upcoming events visit CMLL.com.

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The top Mexican athletes will have a strong presence in London this summer, as more than 80 competitors will represent their native country in almost two dozen events. Mexico’s success has been recognized throughout the history of the Olympics, and its athletes have won a total of 55 medals in the past. Mexico has forward momentum coming into London after several successful campaigns back in the 2008 Olympics. Both Guillermo Pérez Sandoval and Maria Del Rosario Espinoza took the gold in men’s and women’s Olympic taekwondo in Beijing, and Paola Espinosa Sánchez and Tatiana Ortiz Galicia together won the Bronze medal in the Women’s Olympic diving synchronized 10 meter platform. 

For the 2012 London Olympics, Mexico is a medal contender in Taekwondo, diving, track and field, boxing, and soccer. Mexican athletes in other disciplines will also be fighting for a spot on the podium come late July to bring their names into the history books. Be sure to keep up with Mexico Today’s in-depth coverage of the 2012 London Summer Olympics. We will be giving you a bird’s eye view on everything happening in this year’s games, and will keep you up to date on the statuses of all Mexico’s competitors.

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