It's easy to watch this series and only see the food, the calories, how unnecessary it all is. To be fair, that is most of what the series itself shows. While there are small talking head bits with science and humanities specialists explaining the biological and psychological concepts behind these creations, the sociocultural context specific to Mexico is practically not talked about.
Regardless, the context IS there, if you know where to look. Many of these culinary behemoths originated in working class neighborhoods of the country and represent the inventiveness that is often needed to succeed in these communities. Repairing tools and machines with parts that don't belong to them is often seen as resourceful, and so is the unexpected substitution of ingredients in traditional recipes during periods of scarcity (like the infamous canned tomato soup cake).
Then why not celebrate the resourcefulness of adding the snacks to your drink in the same glass (peanuts in Coke, micheladas)? Or putting messy foods inside a dry bread that allows more convenient eating with your hands while on the go?
That being said, in celebrating these overwhelming antojitos, one also celebrates the negatives they represent. With food waste, obesity, malnutrition and their related issues all running rampant, it makes perfect sense to question the celebration of plates that are not realistically going to be eaten in their entirety. And, if they are, they won't be particularly good for their "victims". Considering we live in a time where every act of consumption should probably be viewed as environmental, this questioning is extremely relevant.
The series takes a mostly positive approach to these concoctions, but it does leave lingering questions, with their answers not always being comfortable or clean-cut. In that sense, I think it succeeds as a documentary, where the whole story can't always be told, but the themes remain. Unquestionably, there is room for improvement in its rather superficial treatment of the subject, however.
It should also be pointed out that "Heavenly Bites" are far from a Mexico-only phenomenon. Future seasons could easily show the most outrageous of Scotland's munchie boxes, Australia's halal snack packs, Chile's chorrillanas and so much more (the U. S. already being fairly well-represented with "Man V. Food" and "Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives").
Regardless, the context IS there, if you know where to look. Many of these culinary behemoths originated in working class neighborhoods of the country and represent the inventiveness that is often needed to succeed in these communities. Repairing tools and machines with parts that don't belong to them is often seen as resourceful, and so is the unexpected substitution of ingredients in traditional recipes during periods of scarcity (like the infamous canned tomato soup cake).
Then why not celebrate the resourcefulness of adding the snacks to your drink in the same glass (peanuts in Coke, micheladas)? Or putting messy foods inside a dry bread that allows more convenient eating with your hands while on the go?
That being said, in celebrating these overwhelming antojitos, one also celebrates the negatives they represent. With food waste, obesity, malnutrition and their related issues all running rampant, it makes perfect sense to question the celebration of plates that are not realistically going to be eaten in their entirety. And, if they are, they won't be particularly good for their "victims". Considering we live in a time where every act of consumption should probably be viewed as environmental, this questioning is extremely relevant.
The series takes a mostly positive approach to these concoctions, but it does leave lingering questions, with their answers not always being comfortable or clean-cut. In that sense, I think it succeeds as a documentary, where the whole story can't always be told, but the themes remain. Unquestionably, there is room for improvement in its rather superficial treatment of the subject, however.
It should also be pointed out that "Heavenly Bites" are far from a Mexico-only phenomenon. Future seasons could easily show the most outrageous of Scotland's munchie boxes, Australia's halal snack packs, Chile's chorrillanas and so much more (the U. S. already being fairly well-represented with "Man V. Food" and "Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives").
