It's spicy, vibrant, and so much more than just a pot of rice
The closest I feel to my Mexican heritage is when I’m cooking.
I’ve been making Spanish rice for so long that the first time I learned the recipe from my Mexican-American mom has been folded into the muscle memory of cooking this dish. It’s as much of a part of me as my dark eyes and darker hair—also inherited from my mother. When my mom was diagnosed with kidney cancer last year, her traditions and recipes suddenly carried more gravity in my life than ever before.
I never met my grandmother and my understanding of her life is limited. I know her name was Cordelia and she was born in Mexico. She married an Irish-American man and that they settled in San Diego, just 20 miles north of the Mexican border. They gave my mother the Spanish name Teresa, which generally means “to reap, to harvest” or “harvester.” I know that she passed away when my mother, the youngest of four, was only one year old.
She practiced cooking with peppers and onions, learned to make chiles rellenos, and perfected the art ofrice. This rice dish became a constant in our household. We ate it with enchiladas on Christmas Eve and tamales on Christmas Day. It was for special occasions as much as it was for quick weeknight meals. As a family, we found Mexican cooking to be a portal into this part of us that seemed distant, and the more we ate it, the closer that unfamiliar world felt.
All of these things make me feel less than Mexican. Yes, my hair is dark, thick, and coarse, and my skin turns a shade of olive in deep summer months, but my own Mexican ethnicity sometimes escapes me. But I’ve also seen that very part of my ethnicity weaponized to make me feel less than equal when I never felt all that Mexican in the first place.
United States Latest News, United States Headlines
Similar News:You can also read news stories similar to this one that we have collected from other news sources.
Rob Schneider To Star in and Direct Spanish-Language Comedy ‘Amor es Amor’ (EXCLUSIVE)BERLIN — Teaming two of the most energetic players on the new Spanish-language content scene, El Estudio and Infinity Hill are teaming to produce “Amor es Amor,” Rob Schneider’s Spanish-langu…
Read more »
Morbido, El Estudio Team on Massive Trans-Atlantic Genre Initiative (EXCLUSIVE)Trans-Atlantic Spanish-language production powerhouse El Estudio and Mexico’s Morbido Group have joined forces in the largest genre, horror and fantasy production initiative in the Spanish-speaking…
Read more »
Arctic 'doomsday' food vault welcomes millionth seed varietyAn Arctic seed bank now has more than one million plant varieties after recent deposits
Read more »
4 Things All Job Seekers Need To DoWhat can you do to make your job search process more effective?
Read more »
Elizabeth Warren again is pressed on past claims of Native American heritageMore than 200 Cherokees and other Native Americans urged Democratic presidential candidate Elizabeth Warren to fully retract her past claims to being Native.
Read more »
Native Americans call on Elizabeth Warren to recant native heritage claims, say her apology was 'vague and inadequate'In a letter signed by 200 Native Americans, the senator is asked to make a public statement addressing her native heritage claims.
Read more »