F O O D W R I T I N G

Hallacas: Unwrapping a Venezuelan Tradition

In spite of the economic instability, food insecurity, and mass migration that has characterized Venezuelan life for the better part of two decades, one thing remains true for its scattered sons and daughters: There’s no Christmas without hallacas. In 2020, Covid-19 accentuated the isolation that many of us feel while celebrating the holidays away from loved ones. Yet whether together or apart, eating hallacas had the power to make us feel connected.

A Taste of Remembrance: Keeping Memories Alive Through Food

There is a well-known Spanish proverb (recordar es vivir) which in English means “to remember is to live.” Having done some, though not all, emotional digestion—I would suggest an addition to the phrase: to eat is to remember and to remember is to live.

There’s More to Águilas than Carnaval

There are places that attract us for their worldly fame. For the grandeur of their buildings, the scale of their reach. Cities that captivate us with the romance of their history or the pace of their streets. And then there are others, usually smaller cities, towns even, where life has a refreshing magnetism. People hardly ever think of Águilas when it’s not Carnaval, but there is true magic in watching a city when it doesn’t know it’s being watched.

Mercedes Golip: Reconnecting with Masa Traditions

In the summer of 2015, before the effects of COVID-19 kept people at a healthy distance, I agreed to meet the talented Venezuelan cook Mercedes Golip at a Union Square Greenmarket and give her a hand, serving sample-sized arepitas made with Iroquois corn from a local vendor. A farm-to-table enthusiast, Mercedes had charmed her way into the Grow NYC community of volunteers, and people flocked to her demo.