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Hispanic Heritage Month
By Erica Ramirez, Defense Logistics Agency
Chief of Staff, Business Management Office
Each Hispanic country is unique in its own way. Differences exist with respect to tradition, dialect, and other characteristics. Despite the differences, one commonality is traditional cuisine. Hispanic cuisine originates from the Native American indigenous groups. According to the 2017 American Community Survey, the two largest Hispanic groups in the District of Columbia, Maryland, and Virginia are Mexican and Salvadoran. In the subsequent paragraphs I will highlight a few dishes that Mexico and El Salvador have contributed to the American culture of the United States.
A relatively small country in Central America, El Salvador’s most notable dish is the pupusa. Pupusa is a thick handmade corn or rice flour flatbread stuffed with cheese, chicharrón (cooked pork meat ground to a paste consistency), refried beans, or loroco (a vine flower bud native to Central America). They are often served with salsa roja (a cooked tomato sauce), and curtido (lightly fermented cabbage relish). Pupusas were not widespread across El Salvador in the late 1950s. They were mostly concentrated in the central cities and towns, such as Quezaltepeque. In the 1980s, many Salvadorans immigrated to the United States to escape the civil war. It was then that pupusas became increasingly available outside of El Salvador. As a cheese lover, I can honestly say that pupusas are simply delicious. Actor Leonardo DiCaprio seems to agree. In July of this year, DiCaprio said in an interview: “I’m a pupusa man, myself. Better than tacos to me, I gotta go with them.”
North of El Salvador is Mexico. The history of Mexican food is as diverse as the Mexican culture. It is believed that authentic Mexican food was derived from the Mayan and Aztec cultures. Since most of us know what tacos are (hello Taco Tuesday!), I would like to highlight another one of my favorite dishes, tamales. Tamales are maize (corn) or masa (dough) with a spongy consistency that is steamed in a corn husk or banana leaf. The wrapping can either be discarded prior to eating, or used as a plate for the tamale. Tamales can be filled with meats, cheeses, fruits, vegetables, chili, and seasoned with cooking liquid. The preparation of tamales is likely to have spread from the indigenous cultures of Mexico and Guatemala, through the rest of Latin America and eventually to the United States. You can find tamales served as an appetizer in most Mexican restaurants. Tamales are often eaten during festivities such as Christmas, the Day of the Dead, Las Posadas, La Candelaria Day, and Mexican Independence Day. I still remember the days when I used to help all the women in my family make tamales every Christmas Eve. We would spend hours spreading the dough, adding the meat, wrapping ingredients, and catching up with family affairs until it was time to eat!
As we celebrate Hispanic Heritage month in the McNamara Complex, I invite you to stop by the cafeteria for a bite from any Hispanic cuisine. Perhaps try a dish you’ve never had, and reflect on how fortunate we all are in this country to be able to share and enjoy cuisines from all over the world!
Resources:
-https://factfinder.census.gov/faces/tableservices/jsf/pages/productview.xhtml?src=bkmk
-https://web.archive.org/web/20061001235255/http://www.cp-pc.ca/english/elsalvador/eating.html
-https://multiculturalcookingnetwork.wordpress.com/2009/12/03/history-of-pupusas/
-https://www.foxnews.com/entertainment/social-media-freaks-out-after-leonardo-dicaprio-says-he-like-pupusas-more-than-tacos
-https://world-food-and-wine.com/mexican-food-history
-https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tamale
By Erica Ramirez, Defense Logistics Agency
Chief of Staff, Business Management Office
Each Hispanic country is unique in its own way. Differences exist with respect to tradition, dialect, and other characteristics. Despite the differences, one commonality is traditional cuisine. Hispanic cuisine originates from the Native American indigenous groups. According to the 2017 American Community Survey, the two largest Hispanic groups in the District of Columbia, Maryland, and Virginia are Mexican and Salvadoran. In the subsequent paragraphs I will highlight a few dishes that Mexico and El Salvador have contributed to the American culture of the United States.
A relatively small country in Central America, El Salvador’s most notable dish is the pupusa. Pupusa is a thick handmade corn or rice flour flatbread stuffed with cheese, chicharrón (cooked pork meat ground to a paste consistency), refried beans, or loroco (a vine flower bud native to Central America). They are often served with salsa roja (a cooked tomato sauce), and curtido (lightly fermented cabbage relish). Pupusas were not widespread across El Salvador in the late 1950s. They were mostly concentrated in the central cities and towns, such as Quezaltepeque. In the 1980s, many Salvadorans immigrated to the United States to escape the civil war. It was then that pupusas became increasingly available outside of El Salvador. As a cheese lover, I can honestly say that pupusas are simply delicious. Actor Leonardo DiCaprio seems to agree. In July of this year, DiCaprio said in an interview: “I’m a pupusa man, myself. Better than tacos to me, I gotta go with them.”
North of El Salvador is Mexico. The history of Mexican food is as diverse as the Mexican culture. It is believed that authentic Mexican food was derived from the Mayan and Aztec cultures. Since most of us know what tacos are (hello Taco Tuesday!), I would like to highlight another one of my favorite dishes, tamales. Tamales are maize (corn) or masa (dough) with a spongy consistency that is steamed in a corn husk or banana leaf. The wrapping can either be discarded prior to eating, or used as a plate for the tamale. Tamales can be filled with meats, cheeses, fruits, vegetables, chili, and seasoned with cooking liquid. The preparation of tamales is likely to have spread from the indigenous cultures of Mexico and Guatemala, through the rest of Latin America and eventually to the United States. You can find tamales served as an appetizer in most Mexican restaurants. Tamales are often eaten during festivities such as Christmas, the Day of the Dead, Las Posadas, La Candelaria Day, and Mexican Independence Day. I still remember the days when I used to help all the women in my family make tamales every Christmas Eve. We would spend hours spreading the dough, adding the meat, wrapping ingredients, and catching up with family affairs until it was time to eat!
As we celebrate Hispanic Heritage month in the McNamara Complex, I invite you to stop by the cafeteria for a bite from any Hispanic cuisine. Perhaps try a dish you’ve never had, and reflect on how fortunate we all are in this country to be able to share and enjoy cuisines from all over the world!
Resources:
-https://factfinder.census.gov/faces/tableservices/jsf/pages/productview.xhtml?src=bkmk
-https://web.archive.org/web/20061001235255/http://www.cp-pc.ca/english/elsalvador/eating.html
-https://multiculturalcookingnetwork.wordpress.com/2009/12/03/history-of-pupusas/
-https://www.foxnews.com/entertainment/social-media-freaks-out-after-leonardo-dicaprio-says-he-like-pupusas-more-than-tacos
-https://world-food-and-wine.com/mexican-food-history
-https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tamale