From Sonora, Mexico to Phoenix, AZ, both sides of my family have been on these lands since about 1585. Tortillas represent a staple in Mexican and Mexican-American households. This simple food- made with flour, salt and shortening comes to life with the help of three kitchen tools: heat, a cast-iron comal and a rolling pin.  My grandparents were a part of the many Mexican Americans who worked in kitchens in Phoenix, AZ. Their rolling pins were repurposed from the center of the aluminum foil roll. Watching Nana make tortillas for the week on Saturdays was an art form that I’ve never been able to master.  Nana’s quick hands took flour to the counter, and with just a few rhythmic “clink-clink” rolls of the aluminum rolling pin, this small ball of dough became a ten-inch tortilla. The comal has a permanent home on many a stove-top burner in Mexican households. When heated at just the right temperature, the freshly rolled dough first cleaves to the cast-iron and then in seconds, the comal surrenders the dough- an indication that its time to flip to its other side. Bubbles will give permission to take the tortilla and use it to make magic. The perfect flavor of char and bread that always told me, “Nana loves you.”  

– Rosanne Walker

Relationship:  Great-grandchild of im/migrant or more Great-grandchild of im/migrant or more