Writing Cuisine in the Spanish Caribbean: A Comparative Analysis of Iconic Puerto Rican and Cuban cookbooks

Abstract

Puerto Rico and Cuba, linked by a common colonial history, culture, and tropical environments, have similar cuisines. The islands’ shared historical trajectories have been increasingly divergent in the last century, especially since the 1959 Cuban Revolution. This paper analyzes the concurrent social changes since the 1950s in these two contexts, through the work of two iconic cookbook writers, Carmen Valldejuli (Puerto Rico) and Nitza Villapol (Cuba). Writing and publishing during the second half of the twentieth century, these women’s books became an important part of the culinary imagination in their respective islands and diaspora communities. This article analyzes how their work reflects their personal stories and changing social contexts by comparing the earliest and latest editions of their books. Differences between Puerto Rican and Cuban cuisines, as portrayed in the cookbooks, are assessed and contextualized in their respective sociopolitical contexts. This analysis of the production and transmission of culinary traditions offers a novel insight on local and transnational manifestations of these islands’ sociopolitical transformations during these decades.

Keywords:

• cookbooks
• Cuba
• Puerto Rico
• culinary knowledge

Notes

1. Cuban cuisine has the added influence of Asian flavors, from Chinese laborers who migrated to the island from China in the mid-1800s mostly to work on sugar plantations, during the time of gradual abolition of African slavery (Hu-Dehart 1994). Laborers settled in Cuba and established the still existing Barrio Chino in Havana.

2. Despite this seemingly important role, Margot Bacallao was rarely featured in the spotlight. While, based on her own account (recounted to the author during a phone conversation, March 19, 2014), she was “terrified” of being in front of the cameras, this issue is also discussed in regards to unequal race relations in Cuba, as Ms Bacallao was an afro-descendent woman (Ponte 2013).

3. There are various unauthorized versions of Villapol’s work, such as those published by Cubamerica (Miami, FL) and the title, “Cocina Criolla” published by Zocalo (Mexico) (personal communication with Sisi Colomina González (October 20, 2013), compiler of Nitza Villapol’s work).

4. Personal communication with Sisi Colomina González (October 20, 2013).

5. The USDA Basic 7 Food Guide was used between 1943 and 1955 (USDA 2011).

6. During this time, the USDA had changed the Basic 7 food groups to the Basic four, used between 1956 and the 1970s. These groups were: Vegetables and fruits, Milk, Meat, and Cereals and Breads (USDA 2011).

7. In the 1983 documentary, “Con Pura Magia Satisfechos,” Villapol was asked how she would like to be remembered, to which she answered: “As a teacher—that is what I am” (Diego 1983).

8. These last accompaniments (cigars and cigarettes) are not present in the 2001 edition.

9. The sofrito is the combination of ingredients, usually pre-mixed, added to most traditional recipes at the start of the cooking process. The basic Puerto Rican sofrito includes green pepper, tomato, sweet pepper (aji dulce), onion, garlic, and cilantro. Other recipes might add oil or lard, bacon, ham, oregano, olives, and capers. While some make their own sofrito, basic sofrito is also available in stores.