The object I have chosen is an arepa de queso. It is a traditional Colombian dish that consists of a type of cornmeal cake that is filled or mixed with cheese. I chose this dish because it reminds me of my great-grandma, and the special way she prepares it. 

Arepa is actually from a voiced word “erepa” which means maize or corn which has been prepared since the 16th century,and most attributed to the Indigenous Timoto–Cuica in regions that split between now Colombia, Venezuela and Panama.during pre-Columbian times. Indigenous peoples in the region were cultivating corn and preparing arepas long before the Spanish arrived.

You can buy the corn flour that’s used to make arepas. In the past, people used to grind the fresh corn using a grinder and mixing it with water, salt and a little of sugar then you have your flour, that is exactly the way my great-grandma make the arepas and she only cook it in special occasions; she learned this recipe from his parents which were farmers as she as well. My great-grandma moved to the city(Bogota) at the age of 16 years-old, where she stills making those arepas for her children, grandsons and great-grandsons. Today, I’m still eating arepas that I buy from different groceries, but its flavor tastes different to how my great grandma used to cook it, that is one of many things I miss from her.

– Nicolas Oliveros

Relationship:  Im/migrant Im/migrant