On Food & Culture
A whole chicken, cut up into parts, was what went into arroz con pollo, this iconic dish that is traditional for us Texas Mexicans, Mexicanos, Mexican Americans, Chicanos. I prefer to call myself a Chicano. We were also called pochos by some, and “greasers” by […]
Cornbread is among my formative childhood memories. Amá made it especially for family celebrations, and to make cornbread dressing with pecans and raisins. Corn arrived in Texas around 700 AD, and it was the Caddo civilization in East Texas that cultivated and developed the grain […]
“Chicano 40” is a refreshing watermelon cocktail, the official signature cocktail celebrating the 40th anniversary of the San Antonio CineFestival the nation’s original and longest-running Chicano/Latino film festival. Not your ordinary watermelon cocktail, “Chicano 40” is complex and bright, created by Jeret Peña, acclaimed mixologist […]
Stereotypes appear both in food and film. Sometimes they are employed for humor or satire and at other times they are a pejorative representation of people and places. In this essay I will describe how some Tex- Mex food is stereotypic, how US films depict […]
Preceding the release of the book, I was invited to read sections from history, archaeology and recipes. Truly Texas Mexican: A Native Culinary Heritage In Recipes Mi Tierra Mexican Restaurant, Founded in 1941 November 14, 2013 6-9 PM 50 scholars, artists, chefs and activists. San […]
March 28 we served a 10-course Chef’s Texas Mexican dinner at the Aurora Picture Show. Family and friends came in from San Antonio and two chef amigos, fellow CIA alumni, flew in to help staff the kitchen. Being the first art exhibit ever to connect […]
We will be serving/performing this meal at the Aurora Picture Show while above the diners, on a giant screen, art videos by Chicano filmmakers will play. The art show explores how films and food share texture, pacing, history, and how they perform similar aesthetic functions […]