Food and Family

"Food and cooking is very special to my mom, but I’ve never asked her why until now..."

By Consuelo Cisneros

Listen to this Commentary!

For many immigrant parents, passing down tradition to their children can be a struggle, especially when the new country doesn’t offer the same resources. Youth Radio’s Consuelo Cisneros watches her mom rise early every day before work, just as her grandmother did in Guatemala, so the family can have a home-cooked meal at the end of the day. Consuelo spent some time in the kitchen to better understand her mom's devotion to cooking and fresh food.

Mami, que estás haciendo?

MOM (on tape)
Oh, estoy haciendo unos pancakes que desayunen

CONSUELO
I’m at my mom’s side in the kitchen, watching her flip pancakes. This is what my mom did with her mom too - I guess you could say hanging out and cooking together is a tradition in my family. Today, Mom is making some delicious banana pancakes for breakfast!

Even though I asked my mom what she’s making, I really didn’t have to because I can tell by the yummy smell. I don’t know what I would do without such a wonderful mother. Her food is always delicious and healthy.

Food and cooking is very special to my mom, but I’ve never asked her why until now.

MOM (on tape)
Si, es importante saber de donde viene porque para saber que todo es natural y para saber que uno esta comiendo, nutrients suficientes y saber tambien el tiempo que esta comida almasonaba en los super mercados o en otros lugares.

CONSUELO
My mom says it’s important to know where our food is from in order to know whether it’s healthy and has sufficient nutrients. It’s also important to know how long the food was kept refrigerated in super markets or other places.

I don’t really think about where food comes from or what it contains. All I think about is satisfying my appetite.

I’m addicted to fast food. After I’m out of my seventh period class, I am completely exhausted and definitely starving. I’m always tempted to buy some fast food; I mean it’s quicker and definitely yummier. After I’m done eating at a fast food restaurant, I’m usually full and do not eat anything at home. Which means I often don’t have anything nutritious.

Growing up, my mom’s relationship to food was very different.

MOM (on tape)
A mí me gustaba ver como mi mama cocinaba para yo apredender y poco yo fui aprendiendo a cocinar. Cuando llegaba de la escuela mi mama nos tenía la arroz hecho, y nos tenía la comida hecha como la arroz frita. Tenía un atole.

CONSUELO
My mom was born in Guatemala and lived with all her brothers and sisters, a total of 11 children.

She started cooking when was she about ten-years-old. My grandmother would wake up early and spend most of the day cooking for her kids. My mom wants to keep that tradition alive. But she has to work. So most of the time, she wakes up around five or six in the morning to prepare dinner, because all of the kids will be home before she comes back from work.

She doesn’t mind getting up early...it’s the quality of food in Los Angeles that really bothers her.

MOM (on tape)
Cuando llegue aquí a Los Angeles, encontré mucha diferencia porque toda la comida que se compra al super mercado no es natural porque tiene mucho tiempo de almasenaje en el refrijeradores y la diferencia es porque se gasta mas compralas afura en estos lugares donde todo es natural que comprarlas en estos eso fue la diferencia que you encontre que tiene tambien otro sabor diferente que la comida propia natural organica...

CONSUELO
She says that in Guatemala, almost everything she ate was homemade. She lived on a small farm and there were not many grocery stores around or even restaurants.

Her food always was fresh and organic, unlike here where we keep food refrigerated for long periods of time. She says she’s worried the food here contains chemicals and extra preservatives.

MOM (on tape)
Ahora aquí todo contiene quimicos. Por exemplo, esos vegetales que comimos eran organicos pero todavía contiene quimicos.

La comida para mí significa el sustento de la vida para poder sobrevivir. Y para mí es algo sagrada que dios nos ha dado.

CONSUELO
My mom believes that food is a gift from god. I also believe that. I was not born on a farm, so things are different for me. Everything I eat outside my home comes in a plastic bag. I never saw anyone killing a chicken and then eat it a few hours after it was killed - just like my mom did.

I don’t always know where my food comes from, but I’m sure thankful for it.