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"The Unexpected Lessons of Mexican Food" by Armando Montaño, demonstrates the relationship between food, self and culture identity. It begins with Armando Montaño, the main character, reflecting back to when he was five years old and his dad was cooking pinto beans in the kitchen, like his grandmother always used to. Montaño uses food as an escape from the struggles of growing up biracial in America. His cultural identity is heavily connect to food, explaining that by using sour cream, cilantro, cayenne pepper and tender meat he is able to make a food that is not Mexican nor American. Montaño explains that he is Hispanic, and is thought to fit a specific stereotype because of it. However, his Mexican side of his family sees him as white, and he speaks Spanish but its the formal kind you learn in school rather than the kind you would hear on the streets or in the market. His father plays a significant role in his life, as he takes Montaño on trips back to his home town, Eagle Pass, which is on the souther border of Texas and Mexico. This is also the birth place of at the famous nacho. According to his father the nacho symbolizes fusion of the Spanish colonizers and Aztecs along with the independence of Texas and California from Mexico. Nachos are a blend of many foods, which is similar to the people who make up the world. On Montaño and his father's trip they experienced problems when they went to get a room at a Best Western, and were told that there were none available solely based off of his father's dark complexion. From this the reader is able to assume that the story takes place in a time where racism is still a strong problem. Montaño describes his experiences, from the people who his father knows, to the strong smell of food, and the way his father seemed to have a gradual separation from his past, all the way to the popular Mexican dish made from beef heads. He draws upon the fact that these experiences prompted him to want to explore more, and his decision to study abroad in Argentina. Montaño also emphasizes his fathers strong connection to his culture, by talking about how his father reconnects with it through the students, especially the minority ones. Overall this story instills the importance of heritage and culture into the reader from Montaño's emphasis on the connection between culture and food.
