A month ago I learned about Milwaukee Taco Fest, I disagreed not with the concept, but with how it was designed and it’s run. I wrote about it https://medium.com/@amadorlicea/milwaukee-taco-fest-i-m-not-your-sidekick-e9181e9fc5b5#.r26u0652l and I said the following, which I think it’s the core of my thought “ when a person with a default privilege captures whatever it learned from that culture, puts it in a box and without connecting any dots or even knowing or caring for knowing the significance of those newly possessed items, it modifies them and then shares them as their own.”
To be honest with you I don’t care how you make a taco, I’m a chef and a Mexican with a very traditional family but I acknowledge the evolution of food and cultures, I also recognize the power dynamics associated to these changes. It’s certainly just food if you just want to see it that way, but recipes have a DNA and a map. It’s no doubt the result of many brains and circumstances; natural, political, social. A recipe and the way you execute it is a map that describes you, even the way you follow an already written recipe describes who you are.
Everyone is free to learn Mexican cuisine, as I said before “ There is nothing more flattering as an immigrant than knowing other people want to know about my culture and traditions, trying to learn our language and our recipes” and nothing would make me happier than having Mexican recipes being recognized side-by-side with other respected international cuisines. In my case I love French cuisine, I don’t know most of the history behind it or the regional cultures as much as I know Mexican, but I respect and try to learn as much as I can, I keep a distance by not trying to become French. I also know many people who are not Mexicans who love Mexican culture and cuisine and gives us the respect we deserve, thanks and keep cooking please.
When I wrote my criticism of Milwaukee Taco Fest I was not expecting the public reaction, mostly favorable. I also had people attacking me, even on angry videos on YouTube, which I think is hilarious. The reaction shows you that we’re not just talking about food or in this case just tacos, we’re talking about a city in distress. From my last post “ half of the city can’t sleep well because they’re poor and they’re second class citizens and the other half can’t because they’re afraid of them; us.”
How would you define The American Dream?
Social mobility. That’s the dream, the hope of one day being able to escape our class, proving what I said before, we live in a very well defined caste system. Some people have more privilege than others, and this is nothing new, what’s new is the excuses to accept this.
My American dream began a decade ago, and I’m very proud of what I’ve accomplished, but this experience allowed to me to see the different layers of injustice and inequality, specifically in Milwaukee where segregation is remarkable. It’s a forever transforming process for any individual, and you can learn from that experience and show solidarity with those who are still behind or try to bury them and mimic the class you now belong to.
I choose solidarity, that’s why I’m outspoken even when English is not my first language and I’m for the most part of introvert personality. I say this because one of the multiple reactions to my past blog post were “he’s clearly not a writer” well, you don’t need to be a scholar to know that, but I’m a person and I have a voice, the fact that people know what I’m talking about is good enough.
I know some Mexicans have chosen profit over self-respect, adapting to a racist society that mocks us just for fun, for money. I know many Mexicans have no other choice because as business you either adapt or die. Same thing happens if you want to move from one class to a higher one, and it’s not always the case, but it’s easier. Being Mexican hasn’t been easy for generations since we lost half of our territory, multiple wars, and the 90’s diaspora. It’s still not easy for some Mexicans in Mexico to be accepted based on their color of their skin either, it is also a very racist society.
I could probably end this blog by saying, eat tacos, eat whatever you want, enjoy them, enjoy your own recipes, just don’t be a jerk and respect other cultures, but this happened yesterday.
I received an invitation to cook tacos at this festival in response to my blog post, I received this manila envelope at work on Cinco de Mayo. Now, I do have a great sense of humor, so I can distinguish between being funny and provoke people. First, I want to be clear about this, my employer has nothing to do with this, and I’ve never said where I work or what my title was, so please don’t contact me at work ever again, that’s incredibly unethical and tasteless. Number two, on cinco de mayo? really?
This invitation says “ Gil, hope to see you there to taste your tacos”-Michael
Let me tell you something Michael & Co, I cook not only because that’s my profession but because I love cooking, I have never served or prepared something with anger or bitterness in my life, even when a customer gives me a hard time, which is part of the industry, I try to do it with love and true hospitality feeling. When I’m not at work I only cook with love, from cutting papayas or blueberries for my daughter to the few times I cook for my wife, since she’s a better cook at home than I am, but when I do, I do it with love. You can’t expect me to cook tacos for you or for an event I truly disagree with, what was your thinking process when you came up with this idea? I was talking about cultural appropriation and disrespect of Mexicans and you want a Mexican chef, one of the few Mexican chefs in Wisconsin to go to your event and mimic your values ? are you serious?
Your invitation says:
- I would get $1 per taco I sell: I could probably teach you how to get food costs from a recipe, but I’m not into donating money to charity to balance a budget.
- “Boosted social media to +4500 taco fans” Apparently I don’t need your help to get a post viral. Also, more than 50 thousand Mexicans already love and eat tacos every day, and we use social media to brag about it.
- “Prepare to serve 1000 tacos” dude, that would be a small family reunion in my case, please.
So my answer is no. I’m also very busy.
As I said before, I’m glad that being Mexican is cool now, and people feel attracted to Mexican personalities, history, flavors and traditions, but think about this for a second, it’s how you use that knowledge and give credit without being condescending, which can be racist too.
Have your festival, enjoy tacos and lucha libre, but for the love of God lose the sombreros and ponchos, you don’t need to be a social philosopher to understand that.
PS, you misspelled Mariachi Bands, it’s not marichi. If you want to own a culture and profit from it, at least learn what to call them.
