Food & Culture

Food & Culture

OH NOEL!

OH NOEL! Oh Noel!   I’ll “Not Tell” of; I’ll “Not Dwell” on past spells of discouragement and disappoints. This is the month for LIGHTING UP our streets and windows to remind each other of the promise for the coming of a new world order: full peace, love, and joy to share hopes and dreams for “MORE”; not just for honoring the Bethlehem manger or ornamenting the Tree for a night and day of treats! This is a month to Dwell and Tell, loud and clear, for all to hear: This is the land that inscribed: “Give me your tired, your poor, your huddled masses yearning to breathe free.” (Quoted from Emma Lazarus’ sonnet, New Colossus, which she wrote for a fundraiser auction to raise money for the pedestal upon which the Statue of Liberty still sits.) It’s Christmas! Christ “Mas” (meaning more). This month is an opportunity to let go the hording fear of not enough time to share, not just stuff that will perish, but “MORE”! Wrapped inside those presents we run all over to find for that special someone is a statement saying, “THIS IS BECAUSE I CARE TO REMEMBER”.  So, as God so loved the world that he freely gave his own begotten son, GIVE! Care about those less fortunate contemplating, “I wish someone would remember – Me Too!  One of those others in the human family of different mothers but same Father.” And, like Latinos that at least use to celebrate Three Kings Day, spread the butter all through the hood. Oh Yea! That was real when I was growing up. Crusita was a woman who, throughout the year; took advantage of all sales and deals, turned her bedroom into a warehouse, and on Three Kings Day, dressed some of us in wardrobes of kings, shepherds, and angels to go marching throughout, at least her hood, collecting kids waiting to join the line of kids that would end up at her door to receive a gift. Imagine that! It didn’t matter who got what. What mattered was everyone being pulled together into one family, one community of people from different mothers, but same Father. Imagine adding One Nation to the thought: Especially during these times of seemingly growing famine of all sorts. OH NOEL! Do come this month for us to gather round to light the social tree of life; to “Do Dwell on,” and “Do Tell of” how better years for all can be brought about with SOMETHING (if you see something say something, and if you have the nerve to say something, have the courage to do something beyond self), deemed ESSENTIAL (to negotiate regardless of compromise and sacrifice) to CO-EXISTENCE (before we fall, fooled by gentrification toward genocide and eventual mass extinction). Oh Noel, do tell us all to dwell on the thought one person, one family, one community, one nation, one planet sharing beyond one day called Christmas. Consider: while Christ/Mas – “MAS meaning MORE”! More than one day! More than an immediate close few! Being Christlike means being chosen, atoned for, and equipped to love! To always seek Loving God and your neighbor as yourself; Problem Solved! Continue to read all of my columns:  https://2bspoken.blogspot.com Read More From This Writer All Post Food Government Health Interviews Lower West Side Business & Economic Development Peace People OH NOEL! December 17, 2021/No Comments POST TITLE (CAPITAL) Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit. Ut elit tellus, luctus nec ullamcorper mattis, pulvinar dapibus Read More THE HOUSING TREE November 17, 2021/No Comments THE HOUSING TREE “If you don’t use it – You lose it!” There are dangerous implications and consequences when the Read More STIRRING THE POT October 17, 2021/No Comments STIRRING THE POT Consider the statement “If God is with us, who can stand against us” or better “if we’re Read More Load More End of Content. Meet Our Columnists / Writers

Food & Culture

OUR CULTURE IS NOT A COSTUME

OUR CULTURE IS NOT A COSTUME By the time you’re reading this month’s issue of The Buffalo Latin Village, we will be smack in the middle of “Hispanic Heritage” month. All throughout the middle of every September and October, you will see television ads, print ads, internet ads and possibly, depending on the market, radio ads “celebrating” Hispanic Heritage. It’s just like Christmas. Suddenly, you’ll see a celebration of Latin American Flags and cultures, language, but if you blink, you’ll miss it. I’ve always been a little critical of the forced inclusion regarding our culturally different communities which were jammed into one “Hispanic” monolith, but alas, this is a battle I grow tired of every year. Outside of the forced inclusion of our cultures for the purpose of celebration, my frustrations are aimed at the commercialization of this monthly celebration and the way these “corporate celebrations” always focused on part of our heritage. My issues with the term “Hispanic” are tied to the way it ignores what makes up a person of “Hispanic” origin. All the attention is paid to “Hispania” but the cultural and genetic influences from our African and Native Indian ancestors go unacknowledged. Furthermore, and this is something I mentioned a few columns ago with regards to how we don’t all fit within one identity. Puerto Ricans and Puerto Rican culture is as like Argentinians and Argentinian culture as Canada is to Australia. Yes, they speak the same language, but they are not the same people. However, having one “celebration” and throwing everyone under that one umbrella basically ignores the beauty of our separate Latin American cultures all in the name of inclusion. It’s like whenever a person says “I don’t see color” when it comes to issues of race. This phrase has always made me cringe because, to not see color is to not acknowledge the struggle and history people of a certain racial makeup have had to endure, in this racially biased society we live in. I’m in no way saying we shouldn’t acknowledge or celebrate our cultures, I just have a hard time understanding why so many are OK to see corporations and others who quick to jump on the “Hispanic” bandwagon, celebrating this month with Tacos, Trumpets, and Salsa. Our culture is not a costume, it isn’t a thing you can pull from a closet once a year and celebrate like an old musty Santa Claus outfit sitting in storage. We live and celebrate our culture year-round, and seeing corporations, businesses and entities only stop once a month, in the middle of two months, every year to finally say, “Oh yeah, you guys” is a little insulting. I guess anything is acceptable so long as corporate dollars are involved. We should celebrate our cultures, our identities, and traditions, but also make a point of seeing each for what we are; individual cultures that have a similar experience, but very different traditions, even if we speak the same language. Latinos aren’t one monolithic culture, instead we are many pillars, each with our own stories to tell. Read More From This Writer All Post Business Culture Food Government Health Interviews Lower West Side Business & Economic Development Medical Music Our Community Peace People Sports OUR CULTURE IS NOT A COSTUME October 18, 2021/No Comments POST TITLE (CAPITAL) Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit. Ut elit tellus, luctus nec ullamcorper mattis, pulvinar dapibus Read More A PRESSURE-COOKED CULTURE September 18, 2021/No Comments A PRESSURE-COOKED CULTURE As another month goes by and my film (Boricua Soy Yo) production continues, I’m amazed at the Read More A LIBRARY OF FLAVORS August 18, 2021/No Comments A LIBRARY OF FLAVORS This past month, I had the pleasure of attending the opening of an exhibit at Mills Read More Load More End of Content.

Food & Culture

A PRESSURE-COOKED CULTURE

A PRESSURE-COOKED CULTURE As another month goes by and my film (Boricua Soy Yo) production continues, I’m amazed at the awesome connections I’m making and how much of our history and culture I’m uncovering. Filming a documentary project is an arduous task and one that can be very time consuming, especially when one is an independent filmmaker, with a day job and family obligations. Of course, planning and filming during a pandemic doesn’t make things easier, however, I’m very happy to have made a few connections over the last few months that have given me different perspectives on how to approach the question of “What it means to be Boricua?” which is one of the main themes of my film. I’ve recently had a chance to meet and speak with Arleen Ramirez, a historian and soprano singer/songwriter who has established herself as a crossover artist in the field of music, specifically in the opera and Ladino (not Latino) musical genres. Ms. Ramirez breaks the typical mold of “what it means” to be Boricua. Not only is she a successful musician and Opera singer, but Ms. Ramirez also belongs to the Puerto Rican Sephardic community, a community whose people and heritage can be traced to the island going back to the Spanish Inquisition days.  By speaking with Ms. Ramirez, I was able to learn about the research she has been involved with over the last ten years, exploring Judeo-Spanish heritage and how it influenced culture throughout Puerto Rico and the Caribbean. The “Boriken-Sphared Ladino Music Project” is the name of the research Ms. Ramirez is conducting and it is devoted to preserving Ladino culture and music along with educating people about Hispanic Sephardic traditions and heritage. Per Ramirez, “BorikenSpharad is a fusion of Sephardi music with Caribbean and Middle Eastern cadences and melodies.” The more I spoke with Ms. Ramirez, the more I opened to the idea that there is no specific picture of what defines a Puerto Rican. As a historian, I’m always open and eager to learn more about history, specifically OUR history, and speaking with Ramirez opened my eyes to a part of our history that seemingly isn’t really explored even among most Puerto Rican academic circles. I share this column in hopes that it opens the idea of what it means to be Boricua. It has nothing to do with language. I’ve seen people criticize Puerto Rican kids for not speaking Spanish, all the while not even considering that our Taíno ancestors didn’t speak the language either. We are more than the familiar food and music we typically see. Our people are a beautiful mixture of cultures, beliefs, traditions, and identities that circumvent the globe, all concentrated and pressure cooked in that small island in the Caribbean, made to share with the world.  Note: Photos of Ms. Ramirez @ September 2021 issue, page 3. More about Ms. Ramirez and the work she has done, please visit www.arleenramirez.com Read More From This Writer All Post Business Culture Food Government Health Interviews Lower West Side Business & Economic Development Medical Music Our Community Peace People Sports A PRESSURE-COOKED CULTURE September 18, 2021/No Comments POST TITLE (CAPITAL) Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit. Ut elit tellus, luctus nec ullamcorper mattis, pulvinar dapibus Read More A LIBRARY OF FLAVORS August 18, 2021/No Comments A LIBRARY OF FLAVORS This past month, I had the pleasure of attending the opening of an exhibit at Mills Read More HEART OF THE CITY July 18, 2021/No Comments HEART OF THE CITY When I left Buffalo for Florida eleven years ago, I was looking for a new life Read More Load More End of Content.

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