How Did Susan Garcia Formed Her Kitchen

1. Susana Garcia, one of the women from the charlas, describes how she formed her kitchen into her economic resource. After becoming a widow, Susana had to support her two daughters on her own. (Ch.1 pg.38) Therefore, Susana decided her old job of selling milk, and making cheese was no longer something to rely on for her financial support. Susana began to sell food, in order to earn a living for herself and her two daughters. Susana states, that her profession was never in the kitchen, however she did enjoy preparing food. The kitchen turned into Susana’s on space of economic support. Susana’s main objective was to provide her daughters with the best college education. Susana mentions that she would hate to see her daughters struggle as much

According to Esperanza, she is a fine cook. She describes, how as a young girl she had to learn how to cook well, otherwise her aunt which she lived with, would punish her by hitting her. Esperanza, speaks about her special technique that started as a young girl, it consisted of adding salt to her food in the form of a cross, while she would ask god that her food taste well. She also mentions that even though, many people suggested that she should open up a restaurant business, she would refuse to. Esperanza, did not want to cook for strangers. She viewed her cooking space as something she enjoyed doing for her loved ones, rather than for business.(Ch.2 pg.52-53) Clearly, both Susana, and Esperanza both had distinct stories about their kitchen space. However, each one demonstrated a positive attitude when speaking about the kitchen environment, and how they would make use of it. Many women hold a story in their kitchen, some may be different than others but many stories held in the kitchen space can be meaningful, and hold strong