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Cuando salí de Cuba – Christina’s story

September 15, 2011 By Marta Darby 6 Comments

Marta here: I'm celebrating Hispanic Heritage Month: Cuban-Style with a series of stories about Cuban American families: Cuando Sali de Cuba, stories of courage and hope.

This one is from my friend and fellow blogger, Christina Gomez-Pina. Inspired by the book/film Julie & Julia, she has embarked on her own Project: to celebrate the Cuban kitchen — the food, the abuelas who prepared it, and the family who gathered around the table to enjoy every bite. For her generation — and for her childrens’  generation — she is cooking her way through Nitza Villapol’s 1950s classic Cocina al Minuto. Her blog is fittingly called La Cocina de Christina.
 

Enjoy.

Cuando-sali-de-Cuba-for-web

Cuando salí de Cuba…

Christina F. Gomez-Pina

Nunca podré morirme,
mi corazón no lo tengo aquí.
Alguién me está esperando,
me está aguardando que vuelva aquí. 

I wasn’t born in Cuba, per se.  But, I see that as a technicality.  From my very beginnings, I was taught about Cuba with heart.  Y mi corazón has been there ever since.  As I grew, I realized that the Cuba I know and love is actually a state in the heart.  It is the stories from your family and the stories you created in your mind.  

Cuando salí de Cuba,
dejé mi vida dejé mi amor.
Cuando salí de Cuba,
dejé enterrado mi corazón. 

I understand what our families left behind.  I cannot comprehend what they went through, or what they were thinking when they left their lives and loves behind.  But what I do know is that one of my grandmothers brought Cocina al Minuto to Miami – a foreign land, where she hoped she’d see her three sons upon arrival.  She brought her book.  There was no way our grandmothers were leaving behind their pieces of home.

08
 The women of La Cocina de Christina, present day.  Daughter, Mom, me, Paternal grandmother (with her original book, the one she brought from Cuba) and my Mother in Law (with the copy I use for The Project, which she gave me as a wedding present in 2000).

Late y sigue latiendo
porque la tierra vida le da,
pero llegará un día
en que mi mano te alcanzará.

The heart keeps beating and the kitchen was where our grandmothers let it beat the loudest.  

Cuando salí de Cuba,
dejé mi vida dejé mi amor.
Cuando salí de Cuba,
dejé enterrado mi corazón. 

They left everything behind but they would not let their traditions, their culture, their olores a cocina disappear.  

Abuela teresa

Abuela Teresa, my dad's grandmother.  My great-grandmother.

Una triste tormenta
te está azotando sin descansar
pero el sol de tus hijos
pronto la calma te hará alcanzar. 

They taught us to cook.  After school, when our moms were at work and we were taken care of by our abuelas, they taught us to cook.  Carne fria, croquetas, flanes and arroz.  Whatever it was to both keep us busy and keep the meaning of what they lived for alive.

Ali + mom mariquitas

Daughter & me.  Making mariquitas for a photo shoot with The Miami Herald's Al Diaz, for a story in August 2009.
 
Cuando salí de Cuba,
dejé mi vida dejé mi amor.
Cuando salí de Cuba,
dejé enterrado mi corazón.

And I teach my daughter and sons to cook.  Because my abuelos left everything behind so that those children who became our parents and our own children would have a better life.  And I cook.  So that my children can learn where they came from – and where one day, they will return and make the reality they dream of in their minds.

Thanksgiving 2006 abuela mig aba midge mami mimi

Thanksgiving 2006 – Maternal grandmother, me, daughter and Mom.

Christina has been featured on The Burger Beast Blog preparing Cuban-style hamburgers and bacon-wrapped hot dogs.

And also on the Tiki Tiki Blog teaching us the finer points of a congri-stuffed turkey for Thanksgiving.

Please visit Christina at her blog: La Cocina de Christina and if you want to help her out by commenting on the process of making her next recipe, go "like" her Facebook page, too. =D

You might also like:

Cuando Sali de Cuba – stories of Courage and Hope Cuando Sali de Cuba – Stories of Courage and Hope Cuando Sali de Cuba (or not) – Christina’s Story (MBFCF Giveaway #4) Cuando Sali de Cuba – Jorge’s Story

Filed Under: Celebrate, Cuando Sali de Cuba, Thanksgiving Tagged With: blog friends, blogger friends, Christina Flores Pina, Cocina al minuto, Cuando Sali de Cuba, Cuban food, Cuban food recipes, Cuban recipes with photos, Cuban thanksgiving, Julie and Julia, La Cocina de Christina, Nitza Villapol, Thanksgiving

Previous Post: « La Mala Letra – my cousin, the dissident Cuban blogger
Next Post: Fricase de Pollo Recipe – a lo Cubano »

Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. Carrie says

    September 16, 2011 at 5:55 am

    I love this!I love Christina, learning more about her and her beautiful family.
    Love this all.

    Reply
  2. Jan Godown Annino says

    September 19, 2011 at 4:12 am

    Tasty, warm-hearted & a fabuloso way to celebrate Hispanic Heritage Month.Many thanks to Hilda Mitrani for sending me here.

    Reply
  3. Marta M. Darby says

    September 24, 2011 at 3:46 pm

    Carrie, I totally agree. I love the way she told her story and wove the song lyrics into it.I love her, too.
    xoxo,
    M

    Reply
  4. Marta M. Darby says

    September 24, 2011 at 3:47 pm

    Hi Jan,Welcome! I hope you’ll stick around as I get to share more stories and Cuban deliciousness.
    I don’t know her, but thank Hilda from me. 😉
    Besos,
    Marta

    Reply
  5. jennifer says

    October 31, 2011 at 12:35 am

    Hello Marta,My name is Jennifer, I am an American girl born and raised in Miami…I married into a Cuban family (my hubby’s name is eric also), almost all of my friends/neighbors are Cuban too. Although I am not Cuban by blood my life from a child has had a huge Cuban influence. I speak spanish and so does my two year old son Eric. I LOVE YOUR WEBSITE!, I stumbled upon it today because I felt my fricase de pollo needed a little more flavor. I never really make comments on blogs or any thing like that but I felt like I needed to tell you I am going to follow this website because I feel your passion and love it!
    Take care and keep it delicioso!
    Jennifer
    PS. I asked my mom for your cookbook for Christmas, can’t wait to see it.

    Reply
  6. Marta M. Darby says

    October 31, 2011 at 3:01 pm

    Hi Jennifer,Im so happy you found me and my little corner of the Cuban American blogosphere!
    Please make yourself at home. My blog-casa is your blog-casa.
    Besos,
    Marta

    Reply

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