For Emmanuel Gonzalez Perez, the Mexican dish carne en su jugo — meat in its juices — is a reminder of the home he hasn’t been able to return to in over 20 years.
Gonzalez Perez, 27, of Sacramento, California, has taken his family’s recipe to “No Borders, Just Flavors!” — a YouTube cooking competition.
Produced by United We Dream, the country’s largest youth-led immigrant advocacy network, the coming show pits a young immigrant cast competing against one another as they showcase family recipes.
Contestants from first- and second-generation immigrant backgrounds prepare meals from their families’ heritages, including salted egg tofu, a common delicacy in China and Indonesia, Indian panchmel dal (lentils) and seco de pollo (chicken stew), which is common in Ecuadorian and Peruvian cuisine.
For Gonzalez Perez, crafting the meal with its flavorful bacon, beans and broth with blended tomatillos is one of the few ways he can connect to his mainland and family. “Even though we’re so far away, we’re still able to at least eat the same food with the same taste,” he said.
United We Dream has been one of the country’s most visible organizations pushing for young immigrants’ rights, credited with applying pressure for government action that culminated in President Barack Obama’s Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program, which allows immigrants brought to the U.S. as children but without legal status to work and study without fear of being deported.
“I think that we take for granted that food is a medium of storytelling. There’s history behind almost every dish that we eat. … Food is a space for storytelling, and it’s also a space for meaning making and identity making,” said Juanita Monsalve, the show’s executive producer and a senior creative director at United We Dream.
The production was intended to show and share diverse immigrant stories that don’t center on tragedy and hardship. It is meant to spotlight stories of joy, courage…
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