Episode 72: What Does Elevating Puerto Rican Cuisine Look Like in Practice? - with Executive Chef Yari Vargas
We’re going to talk about Puerto Rican food in this episode. The underlying theme in our conversation surrounds the question - Is Puerto Rican food healthy? And by that we mean...how do we think about our food? Do we only look at it as fast food? Why do we eat the food we eat today? Are we ignoring other parts of our ancestral history in trying to maintain what we feel is the “right way” to make Puerto Rican food today? And - are we challenging ourselves enough to think of different ways that elevate the way Puerto Rican cuisine is presented without losing that same great flavor?
Today we welcome Yari Vargas - executive chef and owner of Casa Yari in Chicago - to discuss these questions and more. We’re also going to hear about her journey to becoming a small business owner, what being Puerto Rican and Honduran means to her, and her Puerto Rican food recommendations for people who want to be a bit more health conscious ahead of the holiday dinner season.
Episode 71: The Honeycomb Network Creates a BIPOC Collective Care Sanctuary + PC1003 Becomes Law - What That Means For Puerto Rico’s Pensions, Education & Public Services
It's a packed episode today! First, we welcome Denise Ruiz and Cristina Guitirrez to the show. They are the founders of The Honeycomb Network - a holistic co-working and co-creating collective care sanctuary centered and focused on the BIPOC community. We learn more about their organization, and we cover a lot of ground on things like knowing your worth, opening their space during the pandemic, creating spaces for people to address their generational trauma and personal healing. They also share a story of dealing with people in the neighborhood, who don’t take too kindly to what they do and their mission, which has led to the repeated vandalization of their space.
Then we welcome returning guest, freelance journalist from Puerto Rico, Carlos Berrios Polanco, to discuss the controversial bill known as PC1003 that recently became law in Puerto Rico. It’s basically a law that takes care of La Junta and vulture capitalists and takes away from pensions, education, and public services that working people benefit from so deeply.