Mesamérica Festival Adds Three New Events

In the Mesamérica Festival's third year, the festival has added three new events to its roster. In addition to the Mesamérica festival held in Mexico City from May 20-22, Mesamérica will add the Mesa Maco pop-up restaurant, the Mesa Abierta 4-day event in San Miguel de Allende, and Mesa Week in August, when participating restaurants will offer special menus at accessible price points.

The Mesa Maco pop-up restaurant will be run by chefs from the Mexican Cooking Collective and runs from February 5-9 in Mexico City in Latin America's largest celebration of contemporary art, Zona Maco. Participating chefs include Edgar Nuñez of Sud777, Daniel Olvadia of Paxia, and Sonia Arias of Jaso.

The Mesa Abierta event dedicated to the cuisine of Guanajuato will run from March 20-23 in San Miguel de Allende.

"Honoring the traditional dishes of this region and nurturing their progression around communal tables, we elevate the national identity of the state of Guanajuato in a 4-day event format," a Mesamérica spokesperson said in a statement. "Producers, distributors, artisans, chefs, and journalists gather to share their products, dishes and words with an international audience interested in discovering yet another aspect of Mexico's diverse offerings."

The Mesamérica Festival will run from May 20-22 in Mexico city and this year is devoted to street food and urban expressions, which means chefs, architects, journalists, and other invited experts will discuss the question of, "What do we eat in large cities? How? And why?"

Mesa Week will occur from August 4-9, and participating chefs throughout Mexico will offer special menus at accessible price points so people can create their own eating tours throughout Mexico.

The full list of event participants includes:

Mesa Maco, February 5-9
Edgar Nuñez – Sud777, Mexico City, DF
Daniel Olvadia – Paxia, Mexico City, DF
Sonia Arias – Jaso, Mexico City, DF

Mesa Abierta, March 20-23
Rick Bayless – Topolobampo and FronteraGrill, USA
Frank Castronovo and Frank Falcinelli – Frankies Spuntino, USA
Mauro Colagreco – Mirazur, France
Benito Molina – Manzanilla, Mexico
Jorge Vallejo – Quintonil, Mexico
Elena Reygadas – Rosetta, Mexico
Ricardo Muñoz Zurita – Azul y Oro, Mexico
Dante Ferrero – Neuquén, Mexico

Mesamérica, May 20-22
Mario Batali – Babbo Ristorante e Enoteca, Eataly, USA
Danny Bowien – Mission Resturants, USA
Danny Gelb – Director of Jiro Dreams of Sushi, USA
Tato Giavannoni – Mixologist, Argentina
Rodrigo Oliveira – Mocotó, Brazil
David Thompson – Nahm, Bangkok
Jon Shook and Vinny Dotolo – Animal, USA
Alice Waters – Chez Panisse, USA
Pierre Hermé – Pierre Hermé Paris, France
Jordi Butrón – Espaisucre – Spain
Oriol Balaguer – Oriol Balaguer  Chocolates, Spain