Analysis Of Geeta Kothari's The Unexpected Lessons Of Mexican Food

In the writing “If You Are What You Eat, Then What Am I?” Geeta Kothari describes the differences in the American and Indian cultures through her unique description of the food differences. As a little Indian-American girl, Kothari curiously wanted to eat what of kids her age ate, tuna salad sandwich, hot dogs, and foods of such nature. Kothari describes her first encounter with a can of tuna fish as it looks “pink and shiny, like an internal organ” (947). As Kothari ages, it becomes clear that she sees American food much the way her parents saw it- “repugnant… meat byproducts… glued together by chemicals and fat” (947). Even though Kothari describes American food as strange, disgusting, and foreign; it was also “infidelity” to eat it (951).

Montano’s describes growing up half White American and half Mexican American. Montano did not have a proper place in his family. One side called him the “white one” and the other side called him the “Wexican” (Montano). At a young age and utilized cooking to channel his biracial frustrations. He became more frustrated when he and his Mexican father needed a hotel room, and they were refused service. It was at that moment he said, “I hate white people” (Montano). That began Montano’s fathers teaching a lesson. The lesson continued when Montano’s dad took him to a small restaurant from his hometown where the nacho meal was invented. His father correlated the Aztecs’ corn and the Spanish colonies dairy as the fusion of two societies coming together. “This recipe morphed” becoming the nacho created in that Mexican restaurant of the 1950’s served in the “hangout for Mexican and Texas politicians” (Montano). Montano grew and visited Argentina which he found to lack in anything Mexican. Montano missed his spicy food and began cooking. He treated his friends to his authentic Mexican dishes. Cooking was no longer to relieve the frustrations but served as an enjoyment in his heritage. It was through the frustrations as a biracial child and lesson taught by his father using nachos as a metaphor (probably not

I am an American whose heritage is both Cajun French Catholic and Irish Catholic. American food is just that American, a melting pot of all foods. As far as I can tell, I grew up eating the same or similar foods as most other American families. Except during the time of the Catholic season of prayer and fasting, Lent and while growing up in South Louisiana. During Lent, Catholics deny themselves meat on Fridays, so there is a lot of fish eaten. Lent can be explained in more depth, but no meat of Friday’s is the elementary description concerning food. After my parents got divorced, my dad returned to his home state, Louisiana. I spent most of my life between both parents; One in West Florida and the other in South Louisiana. My mom loved to try new foods, and she always taught me to take an unbiased bite. We would eat everything from Italian, Vietnamese, Chinese, Bar-B-Q, Southern, Spanish, Seafood, hamburger helper, etc. We ate a plethora of many cultural foods and were not confined to one type of cuisine. When I was with my dad, we ate my favorite food-Cajun. The more I was with my Louisiana Family, the more I thrived and fell in love with all things Cajun from Louisiana. The richness of the food was just the beginning. I love the fact that Louisiana is the only state which bolsters Cajun cooking. Every other state has its spaghetti, or bar-b-q or the American melting