Between two cultures
Growing up in a biracial culture seems to be a problem in this article. Armando Montano tries to use cooking as one of the keys to help him with his frustrations. In the ‘’The Unexpected Lessons of Mexican Food,’’ Montano uses food to make a bridge between Mexican and American culture.
First, Montano uses food to make a bridge between Mexican and American culture when in the article he refers to himself as a ''Wexican'' (936). ''Wexican'' is a union between the words White and Mexican. According to the article, ''In the Mexican side of my family I was known as the white one’’ (936), and ''On the other side, my cousins called me a ‘Wexican,’ a white Mexican despite my similarly toned skin'' (936). He was not recognized for either even though he spoke Spanish and strongly identified with his Mexican heritage. Right after writing about his biracial identity, he makes the bridge when he tries to eliminate his frustrations by using Mexican and American products to cook, and he feels more comfortable because ''I could make a food that doesn’t have to be Mexican or American'' (936). In his introduction, Montano refers to ‘’the earthy smell of boiling pinto beans’’ as something that apparently both sides of his family liked (936). Later in life, his experience in Argentina with cooking Mexican food for his friends helped him realize and gain confidence in his identity as a Mexican- American (940).
Second, talking about Eagle Pass, Texas, Montano uses food to make a bridge between Mexican and American culture. It is the hometown of his dad. Eagle Pass is an American town by the Rio Grande River with Mexico. Montano describes a place where he usually goes, Mancha Meat Market and Bakery. They have a special which is ‘’barbacoa, slow-cooked beef,’’ and it ‘’had served as the Mancha family’s specialty for 70 years’’ (937).The bridge in this point is when