About

La Feria de los Moles was founded in Los Angeles, California on October 2008 by Pedro Ramos. Mr. Ramos is originally from Puebla, Mexico from the town of Tlacotepec de Benito Juarez but has resided in Los Angeles for many years.

La Feria de Los Moles has project the Mole as the worldwide representative of Mexican cuisine exposing Olvera Street in Los Angeles to different ethnicities.

La Feria de Los Moles is the only festival of food, which preserves the essence of the pre-Hispanic dishes and respects its essence and tradition.

La Feria de Los Moles has been an inspiration to emerge every year more and more Mexican food festivals.

La Feria de Los Moles its founder Pedro Ramos has traveled the Mexican republic especially the province, looking for mole recipes to the delight of those present at the Feria de Los Moles.

La Feria de Los Moles brings color to the city of Los Angeles with its folklore and traditional dances that we teach our diverse cultural richness.

La Feria de Los Moles wrapped with 60 odors of ingredients La Placita Olvera in Los Angeles for a taste treat.

Mr. Ramos tells us: I grew up among the scent of spices like sesame seeds, raisins, almonds, chocolate, cinnamon, bananas, aniseed, cloves and, of course, chile ancho. All of this, in addition to a wide variety of chiles and spices, creates a mix called Mole Poblano. My grandmother, Mrs. Micaela Cortes (Doña Kailita, as she was affectionately known), was the town’s molera. Everyone in town knew each other and at celebrations like weddings, quinceañeras (XV years), baptisms and the famous mayordomías (where a religious saint is celebrated) everyone wanted Doña Kailita to make mole because she was known for her tasty mole.

I remember that as a child I used to steal the sweet tasting raisins, the small golden animal shaped crackers because they tasted delicious and the peanuts. I remember that the cooking pots were very big since they had to feed more than 2,000 people and that it would take one week to fry all of the spices. My grandmother would grind the spices on a metate (mealing stone) or in a grinding mill made out of stone because she says that the mole acquires an exquisite taste when those methods are used. Also, the spices have to be fried using mesquite firewood because the combination of fire, mesquite firewood, and the clay cooking pot is what gives mole the exquisite flavors that made my grandmother’s recipe the preferred one in town and outside of town as well.

I remember some people would visit us from different states but I specially remember a Miss from the Federal District of Mexico that asked to take some mole home since in towns it is not unusual to ask for itacate (pack it to go). This Miss (I don’t remember her name) asked for itacate and took the mole in its paste form so that it would not spoil. She told my grandmother that the mole paste lasted for months because she would only prepare it in small batches and that it was so delicious she did not even share it with her children. That last phrase was what I remembered the most.

When I was older and a student at the University in the city of Puebla I would commute from home to the university for 2 hours on the bus. Every day I would see more and more people hire my grandmother to make mole. I remember I read an article in a magazine that invited readers to send their mole recipes to participate in a contest where they could win great prizes. I thought to myself that I should convince my grandmother to enter the contest because I was very sure that she would win first prize. I forgot to tell my grandmother anything and so time followed its course.

Los Angeles, California

When I arrived in Los Angeles like any other immigrant with a hand tied behind my back and the other hand in front (in other words, without anything) I began from scratch. I only had a dream and a university title from my country that was no longer valid here. I also faced a language barrier because I did not know English. I was able to get ahead and I started a family business. In my nostalgia for the gastronomy of Mexico, in my case, Puebla, I remembered the food of my grandmother. She not only knew how to season her mole well, all of her dishes were delicious. I remember my mom would get mad whenever I would tell her that my grandmother’s dishes were tastier. In all of this, my grandmother Doña Kailita inspired me with her mole and so LA FERIA DE LOS MOLES was born.

Olvera Street Plaza

What better place to initiate a very traditional and family oriented fair than the Olvera Street Plaza? It is located in the heart of Los Angeles and is the birthplace of Hispanicity, that is, the first Latino barrio. In this fair we see many tight-knit families, not just Poblana or Oaxaqueña families that proudly show their children the gastronomy of their culture and their traditions but also people from all over Mexico, Central America, South America, the Caribbean, and Europe in addition to Asian-Americans, Arab Americans and African Americans. Let us not forget that Los Angeles has a high ethnic diversity.

Communities

Like a good Poblano, and where the most famous dish in the world has its roots (Puebla), I invited the communities of, PUEBLA and OAXACA, which is why La Feria de los Moles started as PUEBLA VS OAXACA. We are opening the fair to more states, for example, at the 8th Annual Feria de los Moles we already invited the Mexican state of Guerrero,Tlaxcala,Veracruz.