All posts filed under: Women

Every Dish Has a Story: Mapping My Food History | TEDxPiscataquaRiver

June 30, 2015
by Von Diaz
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Art and Culture / Cocina Criolla / Food / Immigrants / Latinos / Media / Puerto Rico / Race / Videos / Women

This spring I was gave a talk about identity, family,Puerto Rican culture, and mofongo at TEDx PiscataquaRiver.  Watch it on YouTube, or read the full transcript below. [TRANSCRIPT]* Every Dish Has a Story: Mapping My Food History  I love mofongo… It’s a traditional Puerto Rican dish made by frying, then smashing green plantains, then adding garlic, olive oil, and chicharrón or fried pork skins. It’s super rico … really delicious. If you haven’t had mofongo before, maybe you’re looking at this image […]

Three Generations, One Cookbook, and Memories of Puerto Rico

November 21, 2014
by Von Diaz
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Cocina Criolla / Food / Immigrants / Latinos / Puerto Rico / Videos / Women

Originally published on August 25, 2014 as part of Feet in 2 Worlds Coming to the Table issue. My grandmother, known fondly as “Tata,” inspired me to start cooking. It was because of her that I started the Cocina Criolla project—where I’m cooking my way through the classic Puerto Rican cookbook by the same name. When I began the project, I was immediately transported back to Puerto Rico, standing in my grandmother’s kitchen while she […]

Cocina Criolla on NPR’s The Splendid Table: ‘Cooking from a classic Puerto Rican cookbook, with mother and grandmother’

September 20, 2014
by Von Diaz
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Cocina Criolla / Food / Puerto Rico / Women

Originally published on The Splendid Table on September 20, 2014. When Von Diaz ended up with her grandmother’s 1964 copy of the Puerto Rican classic Cocina Criolla, she decided to explore the recipes. What started as an homage to her grandmother became “a project that was so much about culture and identity and understanding the history of an island’s cuisine that is fiercely underexplored,” Diaz says. She is working on a memoir and cookbook based […]

Bronx Baker Turns Dominican Cakes Into A Sweet American Dream

August 27, 2014
by Von Diaz
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Food / Immigrants / Women

Originally published on August 26, 2014 on NPR’s The Salt. For many immigrants arriving in the U.S., opening a family food business can be a pathway to economic stability. While many fail, one Dominican woman in the Bronx has managed to get her family off food stamps, send her kids to college and share her heritage with new friends and neighbors. And it all started with cake. Not just any cake — but bizcocho Dominicano, […]

‘Lucky’ Gives a Rare Glimpse Into the Life of a Homeless Mom

December 2, 2013
by Von Diaz
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Art and Culture / Gender and Sexuality / Latinos / LGBT / Women

Originally published on Colorlines on December 2, 2013. Representations of queer women of color in film are still hard to come by, particularly one as intimate and jarring as “Lucky.” In this first-ever documentary from journalist Laura Checkoway, you meet Lucky Torres–a fierce Puerto Rican lesbian mom from the South Bronx. Life isn’t easy for Torres, who came up in the system, bouncing around foster homes until she ran away and wound up homeless. She […]

Why ENDA is an Urgent Issue for People of Color

November 20, 2013
by Von Diaz
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Gender and Sexuality / LGBT / Women

Originally published on Colorlines on November 20, 2013. The Employment Non-Discrimination Act (ENDA) narrowly passed in the Senate two weeks ago for the first time since a version was introduced in 1974. It was even more significant because it now includes transgender people. But House Speaker John Boehner insisted the act won’t come to a vote in the House, leaving those LGBT people living in the 34 states [PDF] without anti-discrimination laws at a stark disadvantage. And because people of color are more […]

A Bleak Year for Reproductive Justice

November 1, 2013
by Von Diaz
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Gender and Sexuality / Health / Women

Originally published on Colorlines on December 31, 2013. It’s been a tough year for reproductive justice in the U.S., with 24 states approving policies and legislation that limit women’s access to reproductive health care. The passage of Texas’ HB 2, which is still being appealed, has already shut down one third of the abortion clinics in a state that has long been limiting access particularly for women with limited resources including low-income women of color and immigrants […]

Dangerous Sexism

October 30, 2013
by Von Diaz
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Art and Culture / Gender and Sexuality / Women

Originally published on Colorlines on October 30, 2013. Click here to view slideshow of images from the exhbitionb “On Equal Terms.”  In the 35 years since affirmative action passed, there’s been growth in nearly every field dominated by men but the construction industry isn’t one of them.  According to the National Women’s Law Center, the number of women in construction trades and related work has remained steady at 2.6 percent from 1983 to 2010. In contrast, the […]

Do Women Have More to Lose If Immigration Reform Dies?

October 14, 2013
by Von Diaz
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Immigration News / Women

Originally published on Colorlines on October 14, 2013. For 10 years Juanita Flores struggled to find her way out of an abusive marriage. She was undocumented, had two small children, no opportunities for legal employment, and lived in constant fear of her husband’s physical, sexual and emotional abuse. Five years ago, the last time she saw him, he put her in the hospital with a skull fracture. The next day she left Dallas. But it was only […]