New Mexico has been a crossroads of cultures for over a thousand years. A new documentary, “Eating History: A Taste of New Mexico,” funded by the Museum of New Mexico Foundation, explores how those different traditions have informed one another to create the unique cuisine we have today. It airs Thursday night on New Mexico PBS. Director Zac Cornfield says despite growing up in Albuquerque, he gained a lot of knowledge about the food he’s been eating his entire life.
ZAC CORNFIELD: I think the thing that surprised me the most, and that I found the most fascinating about what we learned throughout the entire film has to do with genetic predispositions to foods. I had never thought about your ancestral roots having an impact on the things that you eat today. In terms of, if we look at, you know, indigenous people their bodies are genetically more predisposed to eating things like corn and beans and squash and things that have been around for long periods of time, as opposed to wheat and dairy and things that were forced upon them by the Spanish and by the United States government.
KUNM: I was fascinated by the story Rob Martinez, the state historian, told about the origins of the matanza.…