Oxtail and curry rice are what I use to keep connected to my Caribbean side. Growing up in a Hispanic household with no knowledge of my Trinidadian roots I wanted to explore my second side. I always loved cooking so I used that as a way to easily get connected. I started using it to my advantage. Oxtail was easiest to me back then and since then its been my favorite. I started cooking other foods of course but after finding out my grandmother cooked the same i ate it almost every week when i started visiting her. After she passed I cooked oxtail with rice the same way she did in memory of her.

– Leila Imani Elias

Relationship:  Child of im/migrant Child of im/migrant