I am from caña de azúcar
from my grandfather’s cañal in Zapotitán
and the little river that runs next to it.
I am from comales–
Sizzling, popping,
Dos revueltas y una de queso.
From andá traeme hierba buena
From Mamá Yolan
and Papá César.
From chichipince
and carambolas.
I am from the metate
moliendo, grinding, para las tortillitas
Maíz that becomes pupusas, riguas, atol y más…
Flor de Izote,
and smelling panes con chumpe every 25th of December.
Hello everyone! I’m Yolanda. (she/her) I’m a fourth-year Arts student majoring in Political Science. I’m Salvadoran and I moved to Vancouver in 2009, but I have been lucky to spend time back home in El Salvador often.
Over the past two years, my academic interests have shifted towards food security. My dream is to contribute to food security in El Salvador and Central America–El Salvador, for instance, does not have any laws to enforce food security. I want to change that! As I briefly mentioned in class, I worked at a summer camp kitchen for six summers, making my way up from dishpit volunteer to food services manager. This experience taught me the importance of food: We need secure access to nutritious foods to fuel our bodies and thus society. You can imagine how excited I was when I found this class–food and Latin America, my two greatest loves. I’m excited to learn more about Indigenous-led initiatives, knowledge and practices to achieve food security.
Outside of school, I enjoy watching reality TV (shoutout to the Jersey Shore and Love Island UK), spending time with my two bunnies, and caring after my patio garden. I also have recently become obsessed with spin class and spend too much time browsing for the next Latin-themed class.
I’m very excited for what this class will bring and to create community with my peers. I can’t wait to become a maize expert alongside you all!
~ Yolanda
Hi Yolanda,
We both wrote about sugar cane, but in very different ways. I feel guilt and shame when I think of my family’s cane crops in Barbados. I don’t know our history in detail, but it doesn’t take much imagination to think of the horrible realities for those that worked those fields back to my family’s arrival on the island in the 1700s. Your poem was beautiful, thank you for sharing. It speaks to a very different relationship with sugar cane. When I think of where I am from in this context, I think of the cane, of the rum, the burdens of my ancestors, but I also think of my personal relationship with the foods of this West Coast. I think about the berries and fish that I identify as my own food culture but in fact belongs to an ancient history and living present of many first nations. When I bring my group of campers on our 6 day trek to western Vancouver Island, we talk about the Pacheedaht land we are crossing, how it was taken and how they continue to care for what little remains in the hands of provincial parks. I feel conflicted about which foods I can call my own. The huckleberry: humble, plentiful, brief, and wild. It is not any more mine than anyone else’s. I like that.
Your poem reads as so beautifully grounded in family and land. I loved the flow you created between Spanish and English, especially when the gerunds (moliendo, grinding) build and point to that timely labour of the metate that results in that gift of homemade tortillas (¡y más!). Lastly, your poem is full of synesthesia… the reader can hear, feel, see, taste, and smell the scenes you are painting. This was such a moving read, Yolanda. Thank you for sharing!
P.S. How many Latin American-themed classes have you taken? We should see if you have enough for a minor in Latin American Studies to complement that polisci major!
P.P.S. MTV’s The Challenge is my favourite reality TV guilty pleasure 🙂
Hey Yolanda!!
I absolutely loved your poem, it was so beautifully written! Reading about sugar cane made me think of my dad and all the stories he would tell me of plantations and how much he loved to chew sugar cane lol. I am exited to hear more about your knowledge on food security and to get to know you better!’
Sofia