-
Are You Aware? A Work in Translation
This is part IV in our “The Latin Experience in the States” Awareness Wednesday series. Read the other posts in the series here. Earlier this month, I was in line at a food truck. In front of me was a young woman, about 15 years old, with her parents. As they stepped forward to order, I heard the young woman translate the menu for her parents from English to Spanish. In Spanish, she explained the menu choices and then proceeded to order for them. Watching as she helped her parents order food flooded me with memories of my own childhood. From an early age of 11 or 12, I did much…
-
Are You Aware? A Latina in the American Kitchen
This is part I in our “The Latin Experience in the States” Awareness Wednesday series. Read the other posts in the series here. I remember watching my grandma Josefa make corn tortillas from corn that she had planted, harvested, and prepared. Eating never felt wrong, because it was the fruit of hard work, never an indulgence. She lived a long, healthy life to 107 years old. Growing up in a Latin American country, I never knew that cooking with fresh veggies was healthy, because that was the only way to cook. Using canned food, drinking sodas, or eating desserts every day was a luxury most of us couldn’t afford. Ironically, we…