Strong Mexican Women

`` First, there is my great-grandmother, my bisabuela, who was one of five kids born in Mexico. She once told my mother that her family was so poor, that she remembered having to eat the banana peels thrown out by the richer families. And she wasn’t exaggerating, either. I suspect that this memorable event is where her love affair with la comida was born. She was the most extraordinary cook, and later became the owner of one of the best restaurants in Dallas, Texas. She told me that as a child, one of her favorite things to do was to sit en los mercados de San Luis Potosi and watch the women cook. She would sit for hours, quietly memorizing every ingredient that las mujeres used in their rich, spicy dishes… and eventually became la cocinera for her familia. She was very proud of her talent with food and the opportunities it created for her. (Family legend has it that she once fed Pancho Villa and his men, who passed through her town. For real? ¿Quién sabe? But it’s a good story!) Despite her great skill, she was one of the most humble, loving, peaceful, and religious people I have ever had the fortune to meet. She truly was a good person on the inside and the outside. Never did she forget the poverty and suffering that she and her family had experienced when she was a child. Always compassionate and giving, she gave strict orders never to turn away anyone who came to the restaurant asking for food. Her greatest joy came from taking care of others…especially if that included cooking! Was she a feminist? In my eyes yes, because of her strength, compassion, entrepreneurial spirit, determination and success. ''

Taken from Viva la Feminista.