In the colorful halls of the Latino Cultural Center on 416 Waldron St., students are working on homework, chatting in Spanish and English and sharing their culture with visitors.
Food is a staple in many cultures. The students at the center miss home cooked meals and together, they reflect on the importance of food in their own families.
Derick Vanegas, a senior in organizational leadership, said one of his favorite foods is a dish from his Nicaraguan dad’s side of the family called Gallo Pinto. The name of the dish in Spanish translates to “The Spotted Rooster”.
“Basically, it’s just rice and beans, but it’s a childhood staple of mine,” he said.
Vanegas said food is important to culture, and is informed by the history of the area your ancestors came from.
“Food comes from what you have lying around”, he said.
Techniques regarding food preparation, names of dishes or ingredients themselves and the significance of foods vary greatly from culture to culture.
Brayan Escobedo, a sophomore in mathematics, said that he has a different name for plantains than Vanegas does.
Escobedo said certain foods are linked to celebrations in his culture.
“In Mexican culture, (tamales) are only for Christmas time and New Year’s time,” he said.
Escobedo and Vanegas both discussed the idea of significance, and they said certain recipes mean more than others.
For Ebelin Gomez, assistant director of the Latino Cultural Center, this is especially true now that she is far from her home of California.
Seated in the pink, comfy chairs at the center, she speaks fondly of her mother’s pozole recipe.
“It’s actually my favorite thing to eat. I used to joke around and say “well, if I could eat it every day, I would eat pozoles every day”,” she said.
However, pozoles are often reserved for special occasions, like Christmas or New Year’s Day. Gomez said her mom also made her favorite meal before she moved to Indiana.
“I'm a first generation college student, so when I told them that I was going to take the job here at Purdue, my mom's like, ‘okay, like well, when do you leave? Like, what's the timeline? We need to make sure we all gather together and eat pozoles,’” she said.
Gomez misses her family, but said she is grateful for the community she has found at Purdue. Though, she said she doesn't think she will ever be able to make pozoles like her mom.
“I need to push my mom to write down all her recipes and actually begin measuring things,” she said.
Gomez stressed the importance of being able to teach the next generation these traditional recipes.
“I think about my nieces and nephews and how it's just beautiful to share, pass down the traditions that my parents have, and now to us,” she said. “There's also so much beauty in different cultures and values that should be shared with the world.”
But overall, her mother’s recipes rely on one thing: love.
“Yes, I think measuring with my heart is the biggest thing.”
Most Popular
Comments / 0