The Key to the City or: Mi Tortilla es un Corazón

Last weekend, Joanna, Abbi and I unlocked the door to the tortilla making room at Tortilleria Nixtamal, and learned all about how their tortillas are made. We even got to make our own!

Soaking the corn

Abbi's tortilla, dubbed "perfect" by the staff

My tortilla, imperfect, but distinctly heart-shaped

(Note: We don’t have a photo of Joanna’s tortilla because she ate it too fast.)

How did we get the key to the tortilla making room at Tortilleria Nixtamal?, you ask. Well, Joanna happens to be the owner of a Key to the City that unlocks 25 doors in all five boroughs of New York City, ranging from the gate to a Buddhist garden in Staten Island to “the mysterious box on the left side of the countertop of the coat check” at the Whitney Museum of American Art in Manhattan.

Joanna received the key as part of Paul Ramírez Jonas’ Key to the City public art project. The project, presented by Creative Time in cooperation with the City of New York, allows any New Yorker to receive a key to the city, an honor typically bestowed upon heroes and dignitaries. (Joanna is kind of a hero, but that’s beside the point.)