López Oro, whose work focuses on later generations of Garifuna immigrants, has vivid memories of his grandmother’s pan de coco (coconut bread). When he’d wake up on weekends to his mother frying fish and preparing stew, he knew that meant family members were on their way over for hudutu and good conversation. “Garifuna food is incredibly valuable to my memories, even my own identity as a third-generation, born-and-raised-in-Brooklyn, Garifuna person. Food connected us back to Honduras in a way that was really special.”
At 15, Gutierrez-Sumner migrated to Houston, and later moved to New York for a career in dance and acting. When she ventured out to neighborhood restaurants to try new cuisines, her interest in her personal history piqued when she noticed similarities between Garifuna cuisine and dishes from other coastal communities.
Our trek through the world of spirits takes us today to Western Mexico, more specifically to the state of Jalisco and the mid-sized town of Tequila. Perhaps for some of you, the very sound of the word tequila makes your stomach churn and your cheeks flush with shame, but there’s far more to this beverage than shot after shot at a college bar.
