Last year, as part of a project titled Hilando Mesas, Latin American House welcomed people from across the globe to share their food traditions. This beautiful zine, designed by Sin Tesis Studio, presents the recipes and people involved. Below is the introduction to the zine and a link to a digital version – enjoy!
It was the playwright George Bernard Shaw who said “There is no sincerer love than the love of food”. Bernard was Irish, but the sentiment of this phrase is possibly universal and definitely Latin American.
El Festín was one of those encounters that are so common in our countries of origin, but that for the immigrant becomes an infrequent phenomenon that is missed with fierce nostalgia. In the midst of the noise and the visual saturation of the great city, of its multiple languages and odd codes, of its promises of modernity and progress at the cost of a frenetic pace of life, to return to the comfort of the familiar, of the memory, of childhood and roots through food, it’s a bliss and a refuge. And the bliss that is shared is enjoyed twice as much.
During this event, which was part of the community engagement programme of the Hilando Mesas project, an open invitation was made to Latin American and immigrant communities to cook and bring a plate that emotionally connects them with their homes. We shared the food, but more importantly, we shared the stories, memories and feelings behind each mouthful to remind us that this nostalgia is everyone’s nostalgia and that if one is going to yearn, it is always better to yearn together.
If to feed is to love and if the sincerest love is the love that one has for food like Bernard said, El Festín was definitely the celebration of love, the reminder of unity and the reconnection with our identities that our hearts needed during these uncertain times.
Hilando Mesas Project:
Concept: Daniel Rey
Coordinator: Naomi Zaragoza
Editorial Design: Cristobal Ayala & Jessica Mendirichaga, Sin Tesis Studio
Photography: Paola Vivas
Film Direction: Lucio Martus
Camera: Luca Vanucci
Logistics Assistant: Leo Trejos
