Final Reflection – Noëlle Romero
My final project this semester was a dish to share with my peers. I made pernil, which is a Puerto Rican dish often eaten during the holiday seasons. In my family, this pork shoulder dish is made on Thanksgiving. Every year, I would wake up only to see that my mother had already begun seasoning the meat. She spent her time carefully cutting and crafting the pork shoulder, and I would watch in awe at how it became the dish that would bring my family together later on in the night.
This year, I knew that I would not be spending time at home for Thanksgiving, but it made me sad to think that I would be missing out on the food. As I mentioned in my project summary, food was the main way that I identified with my Latina roots for so long. When the final project was proposed to us, it crossed my mind that maybe I could make it on my own. After all, I was my mother’s daughter. It was in my blood, and that could not be disputed – even though I had doubted myself for years. In Randall’s autobiographical essay, he speaks about his experience of not feeling or being perceived as “Latinx enough.” When reading Randall’s piece, I was able to relate to this concept and the pressure of others on my own identity. I’m not fluent in Spanish, and I don’t present how society perceives Latinas – which is a whole other conversation. It was really hard for me to proudly say I was a Latina when, similar to Randall, I had friends and peers questioning my Puerto-Ricanness. So, when I saw that food was an option, I jumped on it. I wanted to explore this Puerto-Ricanness, something that I had been hiding from. While making it, I was so nervous, but as soon as I began to serve it in LSP, I gained a lot of confidence. I was incredibly proud of myself for making the pernil on my own and for trying something new.
Throughout the entire exhibit, I also couldn’t help but think of Grise’s work. In class, we had the opportunity of meeting Virginia Grise, in which we spoke about her work with communities in Texas. What she does with those communities is so meaningful. She takes empty lots and turns them into a place for the Latino community to come together and share their identities. Similarly, with the final projects, our class was able to turn a hallway into an exhibit! We brought together not only our classmates but also photographers, journalists, and other students in the larger Cornell community. Specifically with the dishes to share, I found myself thinking of Grise’s communal dinner. With that project, Grise created a meal for the entire community, bringing people and foods together that may not have crossed paths before. At the table in LSP with Kelly and Sherla, I saw that we were creating a similar environment. I would never have imagined serving pernil next to cuysito and alfajores. I was so excited to be learning about other Latino traditions, while also repping my own.
This final project really highlighted the importance of identity and community for me, and I am beyond grateful that I was able to be a part of Cultura y Poder.