The object that my family had when migrating to Chicago, they had what they call a tortilladora. In English it is translated to “Tortilla maker.” This object normally comes in a gray or black color and is very bumpy. It's normally made from stone now. But the one my family had was made of dirt. This object's use is pretty straight forward, it's to make tortillas. How you make them is you open the stone top then put masa (base of tortillas) in the flat plate. Then you put the stone plate back on top and you grab the medal handle and push down. This makes the masa very flat and ready to cook into a tortilla. This tortilladora comes from Mexico and was taken here to Chicago. My grandparents used this tortilladora when they were migrating. I first learned about this when I asked my mother and she told me the backstory. This tortilladora can teach us about identity because this came from Mexico where my grandparents were originally from and they had it along their journey coming here. This object makes me feel a little bad and guilty because I know what my grandparents had to experience and what they have been through with the tortilladora. This is important to me because this object is what they held onto during their tough time migrating. What you can understand about this is that this was traditional on how to make tortillas. This is why this was very important to me and my family. 

– Michelle C.

Relationship:  Grandchild of im/migrant Grandchild of im/migrant