October 2020 – LAST 303 blog

Atolada- salvadoran version of thanksgiving

Reading this week’s readings, I couldn’t help but relate it back to my childhood in El Salvador. There were so many things that I grew up watching that I did not realize were unique to my culture. For example, I remember it was really common to see fields burning after crops were harvested, and you’d sometimes find ashes on your windshield after leaving your car parked outside. I didn’t know that this tradition can be traced back to Maya people who used controlled fires to clear the area as a way to keep the soil nutrient rich and protect it against harmful microorganisms. It was only after reading that and I thought back to my childhood, that I realized the same isn’t done here in Canada. Another theme I was able to relate back to my culture was from Broccoli & Desire; it’s described that ‘wasting food is taboo, a cultural norm borne of necessity and instilled in children from an early age’. This is something that was really engrained in my sisters and I when we were growing up, and something we have noticed is not very common here where there is so much abundance of everything. I enjoyed reading about corn from a western perspective and it made me realize what a big part of people’s life this is in Central America. Since maize is a staple crop, at the end of the harvest, an “atolada” is hosted. Atoladas allow families to come together, thank God for their harvest and enjoy amazing food- similar to how Thanksgiving is celebrated here. Atolada comes from the word atol, which is a drink made out of elote (another word for maize). During an atolada, music is played, and dishes made from maize are served: corn on the cobb, atol, tamales, riguas, and everyone’s favourites: tortillas and pupusas. Riguas are a traditional Salvadoran corn cake. Nowadays atoladas are monstly only celebrated by people who own “fincas” which is like a ranch or by farmers who have milpas.

I have attached links to recipes for the atol de elote and riguas. Let me know if any of you try these recipes!

http://globaltableadventure.com/recipe/creamy-sweet-corn-drink-atol-de-elote/

https://www.196flavors.com/el-salvador-riguas/

Garifunan Durudias and Salvadoran Pupusas.

This week, I found the video about Durudias really interesting. Being Salvadoran, I love tortillas and pupusas- they are my “comfort food”. I enjoyed watching the Durudia video because I was able to see the differences and similarities between Durudias and Salvadoran tortillas and pupusas. It’s interesting that although Honduras and El Salvador are so close to each other and we share similar history, our traditional foods are unique to our country. In El savador, tortillas are only made from corn flour and water. I was shocked when I saw Durudias contain coconut milk and sugar, but I definitely want to try them! In the video, Isha said they enjoy putting beans and cheese on their tortillas, which reminded me of our Salvadoran pupusas. Pupusas are tortillas stuffed with cheese, refried beans and/or pork. It was very interesting to see how the journey of Garifunia people can be observed in their food. I enjoyed watching Isha’s family come together to eat Durudias in the video which reminded me of my family. Growing up, there were always fresh tortillas in our house, and they would be served as a side dish along with most meals. On weekends, my family would often go to a pupuseria- where they make pupusas. Sometimes my grandma, cousins and aunt would also come to the pupuseria to eat with us. After moving to Canada, pupusas were one of the first things we started to miss from El Salvador (besides the tropical weather). We have been fortunate enough to be able to go back to El Salvador every year for Christmas, and when we are there, my sister and I eat pupusas everyday! Below is a photo of some pupusas 🙂

Mestisaje and Decolonization- conflicting terms?

Out of all the keywords, I found Ata, Ashley, Jeremiah and Claire’s “Mestisaje” the most relatable to me. When I saw this was going to be one of the keywords, I was excited to see what people defined it as. I grew up in Central America, and ever since I was a little girl, I knew I was mestiza. To me, being mestiza simply means I am half European, half Indigenous. Since the great majority of people around me were mestizo, mestisaje was normal, and like described in the definition, it was a unifying term- it was what we all shared in common. The history surrounding colonization by the Spanish and mestisaje was taught to all of us in school. Although I can’t trace my ancestry all the way back to when the Spanish colonized Central America, I know my Indigenous ancestors most likely suffered at the hands of the Spanish. The same can be said about the other 7 million people in my country and the rest of Central America. Is that sad? Of course. However, with time we have healed. We do not dwell in the past.

Surprisingly, I had never heard of the idea of decolonization before enrolling in this course. This has been a prominent theme in our class readings and discussions. Decolonization is not something that is the vocabulary of most Central Americans. How can decolonization take place if half my ancestry is European and the other half Indigenous? I am also proud of both.

Is a Taco Bell taco eaten in Toronto still a taco?

This unit, I found a question from the reading guide very interesting: “What happens to an individual element of complex foodways when it is divorced from the surrounding culture, society, practices, etc.? For instance, is a Taco Bell taco eaten in Toronto still a taco? Still part of a foodways?”

When a Canadian or American person eats a taco from Taco Bell, it will not mean the same that it would for an Indigenous person from Mexico as this has not been part of their foodways for hundreds of years. I don’t think that this is a bad thing. This is a result of globalization, which has brought attention to different food items we wouldn’t have otherwise been exposed to. Continuing with the taco example, it is a well-known fact that tacos are a Mexican specialty, and that tacos from Taco Bell are nowhere near as good as the ones you can eat if you travel to Mexico. Big chains such as Taco Bell have “americanized” tacos but again, this is not necessarily a bad thing. They have modified a food item into something targeted towards their American consumers. Taco Bell isn’t claiming they sell the best, most “aunthentic” tacos.

I believe that knowing the origin of a food item does not divorce it from its culture. The fact that tacos are inherently Mexican will remain unchanged.

I find the concept of foodways hard to apply to non-Indigenous people. As discussed in Belasco’s text from last week, as consumers we have removed ourselves from the food-making process, which means that the food we consume is not part of our foodways, as it is not involved in our beliefs and behaviors like it can be for Indigenous People.

So, a taco eaten in Toronto is not part of a foodways. Is that bad? I don’t believe so.