Flour Bluff Junior High School students visit Del Mar College to learn how to make tortillas as part of Hispanic Heritage Month

Nearly 50 Spanish students hear presentation about taking Spanish classes in college and make Mexican food staple during cooking demonstration while on campus

Article by Richard Guerrero, Jr.

Mmmmm…the smell of fresh, homemade flour tortillas. Can you smell them? On Thursday, Oct. 10, 47 students in the Spanish 1 and 2 classes as well as the advanced class taught by Gabriela Palm at Flour Bluff Junior High School got a chance to learn how to make tortillas while visiting Del Mar College’s Heritage Campus to learn more about taking Spanish classes at the college level.

Their visit included participating during one of the College’s scheduled Hispanic Heritage Month events, a “hands-on” cooking demonstration about how to make homemade flour tortillas by Chef Maria Mata, who is also the Coordinator of the College’s Languages Lab, and her assistant.

The demonstration was also open to the public. Students and public participants learned about the history, techniques and secrets behind creating the essential staple of Mexican cuisine.

The first order of the day for the students was a presentation by Javier Morin, DMC Professor of Spanish, entitled “Presenting Spanish in the Professions and the College Process for Majoring in Spanish.”

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Chef Maria Mata demonstrates how tortillas are made to Flour Bluff Junior High School students in Gabriela Palm’s Spanish classes during a Tortilla-Making Workshop at Del Mar College on Oct. 10. (Photo: Del Mar College)

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A student in Gabriela Palm’s Spanish classes at Flour Bluff Junior High School selects a dough cake to be cooked on the griddle during the Tortilla-Making Workshop at Del Mar College on Oct. 10. (Photo: Del Mar College)

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Javier Morin, Del Mar College Professor of Spanish, gave a presentation to Flour Bluff Junior High School students in Gabriela Palm’s Spanish classes on Oct. 10. The students visited Heritage Campus at Del Mar College to participate in a Tortilla-Making Workshop as part of Hispanic Heritage Month. (Photo: Del Mar College)

Morin said he was excited to have the students visit Heritage Campus during Hispanic Heritage Month.

“The Languages Program and the Spanish Faculty are absolutely thrilled to welcome these Flour Bluff Junior High School Spanish students to our Del Mar community. It’s another wonderful opportunity to share an experience during Hispanic Heritage Month and build a lasting friendship with Flour Bluff and Mrs. Palm,” Morin says. “It was especially exciting to see her students to learn how to make Mexican tortillas with Señora Mata.”

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Flour Bluff Junior High School students in Gabriela Palm’s Spanish classes use a rolling pin to prepare the dough for the griddle. The students attended the Tortilla-Making Workshop at Del Mar College on Oct. 10. (Photo: Del Mar College)

About Del Mar College

Del Mar College empowers students to achieve their dreams. We offer quality programs, individual attention, outstanding instruction through faculty with real-world experience and affordable costs to credit and noncredit students in Corpus Christi and the South Texas Coastal Bend area. Nationally recognized while locally focused, we’re ranked in the top two percent of community colleges in the country granting associate degrees to Hispanic students (Community College Week). Del Mar College focuses on offering our students programs that match current or emerging career opportunities. Whether students are interested in the fine arts, sciences, business, occupational or technical areas, students get the education they need for the future they want at Del Mar College.