The Hunger for Culture and Family: Taco Testimony: Meditations on Family, Food and Culture

Bibliographic Details:

Chávez, Denise. A Taco Testimony: Meditations on Family, Food and Culture. Tucson, Arizona: Rio Nuevo Publishers, 2006.

Summary:

Denise Chávez makes it very clear throughout her memoir about how much family and culture impacts her life as child growing up and today. Her father was a district attorney in Las Cruses, New Mexico, her hometown. Her mother Delfinia was a gorgeous warm person who was always making sure everyone had enough food in his or her bellies. This appeared to be a happy home, loving parents and many children, but what most didn’t know about her family was that her father was also an alcoholic, which largely effected her childhood.

She was sent to a very strict Catholic high school, where she witnessed daily the great race and class separations between the white American nuns and the Mexican nuns. Going to school with this separation, she wanted to some how create a way to bring Mexican cultural understanding to all cultures. As an adult Denise opened up the Cultural Center de Mesilla, where now workshops are held, books are sold, and fiestas are hosted.

Quote:

“True Culture does not divide us- instead it brings us together to explore the great mysteries that life presents us. The sometimes – difficult mysteries reveal to us our great and always present interconnection. We are all one, if only we can see this fact through the veil of perceived difference” (Chávez 181).

Reaction:

Culture to Denise is the way of life for everyone, it is though slightly different for everyone, but as a whole we are all of the same culture. I never thought of it like this because for me culture was the way people in your society live through arts, science and math, and politics. Denise is saying though that these differences really bring us together creating us to be one big form of culture. I agree with this because I am always trying to learn about new cultures, the mystery does intrigue me. When Denise states, “We are all one, if only we can see this fact through the veil of perceived difference”, she believes that we all can be one large culture if we would step outside our boundaries of our own cultures. Stepping out of our boundaries is like lifting off a veil, one must do so with their own will. Denise is very passionate about being able to share different cultures with one another, and after reading how important culture is, I have begin to feel this way too.