Salsa: A Taste of Hispanic Culture
By Rafael Falcón (in collaboration with Christine Yoder Falcón ’71)

Salsa: A Taste of Hispanic Culture, by Rafael Falcón and Christine Yoder Falcón ’71, is not about the food or dance (although these are part of this helpful text), but examines many aspects of Hispanic culture, complete with first-person vignettes.
Rafael, professor of Spanish, tells stories from his youth in Puerto Rico and his and Christine’s time spent leading Study-Service Terms in Costa Rica. With Christine, former director of GC’s learning resources center, Rafael explains Hispanic culture “is a lot like salsa. Everything is altogether in one dish with a lot of ‘sabor’ (flavor).”
Salsa includes chapters on social traditions, nonverbal communications, religious issues, superstitious beliefs, entertainment, education and politics, not to mention the anticipated – and savory – section on food, excerpted below.

It was a very popular place. As early as seven in the morning, there would be a line of people waiting in front of that old green building on Calle Ruiz Belvis in my hometown. The place was La Panadería Las Delicias; the product, crunchy, elongated loaves of bread still warm from the oven. Customers liked it fresh and took it home to enjoy with café con leche, hot chocolate or juices. Whether it was breakfast, a mid-morning break or a bedtime filler, el pan from local panaderías was the context for refreshment, connections and memories.
A tradition in my home occurred Sunday evenings after the services we attended in the church across the street. My mother would serve each of us a steaming cup of hot chocolate made from shredding a bar of Chocolate Cortés. Hidden in each cup, slowly melting, was a tiny chunk of the specialty cheese, queso de bola holandés. And heaped on a plate in the center of the table were buttered slices of pan de agua or pan de manteca. Bantering, serious discussions and recollection of past events interwove our reality while chunk by chunk the plate emptied.
Years later, I returned to the Island for my sabbatical, accompanied by my spouse and two sons. Living in a rural community a short distance from my hometown, we were still able to enjoy the warm, crunchy loaves.
While yet a distance from our mountainside home, we would hear the anticipated voice of the panadería employee over the loudspeaker of his car as he went up and down side roads and around curves. “Pan de agua,” he would announce. “Pan de manteca. Pan fresquecito.”
Now he was at the foot of the steep incline leading to our community. Above the grind of his car motor, we could hear, “Pan. Pan fresquecito.” Inside our house there would be a flurry of activity as we collected the needed coins, then out into the fresh Caribbean morning to the end of the driveway. “One loaf of pan de agua,” we would request.
Through the back window of his vehicle we could smell and see a multitude of tall white paper bags marching across the back space. Emerging from each bag was the toasted brown end of a loaf of bread, still warm. Loaf in hand, we – another generation – would head back to the house, pinching off chunks and chewing as we went. The words, “Pan. Pan caliente. Pan fresquecito,” would drift back to us from the next curve.

Variations in Cuisine
Historically, Hispanic culture has been influenced by three main cultures: Indian, Spanish and African. The Indian influence is shown in las tortillas (pancakes made from ground corn) of Central America and Mexico; in los pasteles and las alcapurrias (a mixture of grated roots, first steamed, then fried) of Puerto Rico; and in las arepas (a corn flour type of johnnycake) of Venezuela. The Spanish influence is noted in el flan (custard), el café con leche (coffee with milk), el lechón asado (roasted pig) and el arroz con pollo (rice with chicken). The custom of frying roots, vegetables or meat to accompany a meal reflects the African influence.

Bread
El pan is a very important part of the daily diet in many areas. The typical loaf of bread of this area is similar in texture, appearance and flavor to French bread. The loaf is long and features a thick, crunchy crust covering a chewy interior.
El pan, cut in thick slices, is especially eaten at breakfast, but is also enjoyed with other meals. It appears on the table in unique and interesting combinations: with ripe bananas, with avocado, with dried codfish and onions, with cheese, with café con leche or with a cup of hot chocolate. Some loaves of warm, crunchy bread picked up fresh from the panadería (bakery) never make it home!

Chili Peppers
Chiles or ajíes contribute zest to many dishes of the Hispanic cuisine. There are more than 2,000 types of chili peppers, many of which are cultivated in Latin America. Some of the most widely known peppers include the jalapeño, serrano and caballero.
The chili pepper is utilized in different ways: whole, sliced, minced and ground. Though the picante (spicy) dishes of Mexico are most often associated with the chili pepper, many other Latin American countries have also experienced the culinary contribution of the chile or ají since pre-Colombian times.

El cebiche
One of the unique dishes of Hispanic culture is cebiche, which is uncooked fish marinated in a mixture of lemon juice, hot peppers and onion. Though there are several varieties of cebiche, a very popular combination consists of shrimp, cilantro, tomatoes and onions.

Flan
A much-appreciated ending to a dinner is the sweet, light contribution of el flan or custard. Though the most typical custard is vanilla, flavors also include coco (coconut), calabaza (pumpkin) or piña (pineapple).
Similar to other custards, the ingredients used to create this dessert are milk, eggs, flavoring and sugar. In contrast to the others, a caramel syrup made from burnt sugar gives the flan a unique flavor and color.

Coffee
Usually served after the meal, coffee in the Hispanic culture is much stronger in taste than the beverage ordinarily consumed in the United States. Adults generally drink it strong and black in a demitasse to which sugar is added. This is known as café prieto or café negro.
Coffee is also drunk as café con leche, which is half coffee and half milk, served in a regular-sized cup and sweetened. In some areas, school-aged children enjoy café con leche with their breakfast just like their parents, and at times even infants drink this flavored milk in their bottles. Bread or crackers often accompany café con leche, especially during midmorning or afternoon breaks.

Salsa: A Taste of Hispanic Culture, published by Praeger Publishers, is available at the campus bookstore, Barnes and Noble, Borders Books and amazon.com. Contact Rafael and Christine Falcón at rafaelaf@goshen.edu.

Return to September Bulletin contents
About this Issue – A Goshen College book club?
In Praise of Faculty
Coffee Break
Night's Black Weight
Berman's Lament
Anansi Borrows Money
Sexuality: God's Gift
Roll It: GC Alums strike success in soap box racing and celluloid

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