A week-long Mexican food festival called “Mexican Gastronomic Festival” featuring mouth-watering cuisine amid a backdrop of ambience created to showcase the culture of that North American country, was inaugurated by Mexican Ambassador Alfredo Miranda at the InterContinental Riyadh Hotel on Thursday.

Addressing a press conference at the InterContinental Hotel, Ambassador Miranda said: “The Mexican cuisine is central to the cultural identity of whole communities that practice and transmit it from generation to generation. In fact, in Mexican homes, kitchens are the place that link families and friends together. The Mexican cuisine attained the UNESCO’s ‘Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity’ status in 2010.”

The envoy thanked the InterContinental Hotel for hosting the Mexican Gastronomic Festival from Sept. 17 to 22.

“The guests will have an opportunity not only to taste the authentic Mexican cuisine but also to admire Mexican handicrafts, photos from a collection and enjoy live music from a Mexican Folkloric band, during the festival,” added Miranda.

Tariq Dowidar, area general manager for IHG Government Hotels and general manager InterContinental Riyadh, and Eduardo Perez, a prominent Mexican chef and TV show host, who has flown to Riyadh for preparing authentic cuisine, also addressed the press conference. A baggage full of authentic ingredients, including spices, has been brought to Riyadh, and will be used to prepare the whole range of Mexican dishes, salads and sauces.

Dowidar said that the festival will take place in Al-Bustan Restaurant of the InterContinental Hotel in Riyadh. He said the festival is open to guests from 7:00 p.m. to 11.30 p.m. daily from Sep 17-22. Guests can enjoy an unlimited selection of traditional Mexican starters, main courses, side dishes and desserts, soft drinks, and selected juices and traditional flavored water.