Mexicans continue tradition of king cakes

While tortillas come to mind when Mexico is mentioned, every Jan. 6, Mexicans’ love of bread comes to the fore with the cutting of oval brioche decorated with candied fruit known as king cakes to celebrate Epiphany

MEXICO CITY -- While tortillas come to mind when Mexico is mentioned, every Jan. 6, Mexicans’ love of bread comes to the fore with the cutting of oval brioche decorated with candied fruit known as king cakes to celebrate Epiphany.

Just hours before Mexicans took their first slices, hundreds of shoppers packed amid the overwhelming smell of fresh-baked bread inside one of Mexico City’s oldest bakeries to buy their king cakes, known as “rosca de reyes.” The Ideal bakery, founded in 1927, inhabits the former San Francisco el Grande convent in the capital’s center.

Among the throng was Dalia Hernández, a 34-year-old homemaker who was thrilled to return to the bakery after steering clear last year due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Despite rising infections again, capital authorities have so far allowed businesses like Ideal to continue welcoming customers. Mayor Claudia Sheinbaum did, however, cancel the tradition of the giant king cake sliced in the city’s central plaza for the second consecutive year.