In Mexico, my Nanna would wake up every morning and start preparing meals. Her family would have tortillas made every meal every day. They would have to take the ingredients to a windmill or grainery to be broken down. The smell of the tortilladora was like wood mixed with years of Massa(ground corn). For parties, people were expected to make their own tortillas at home to bring. The tradition was one of necessity as she said. “In Mexico, every family had a tortilladora(tortilla press). She remembers one store that would sell goods; however, she said it's closed due to most people moving. The ranch she lived on was filled with family and traditional roles. My Nanna would join the other women tending to the household. While the men were the ones who worked and would be the ones who left for the one store to buy ingredients. She recalled that where she lived no one was willing to let go of food to those who needed it the most. When she met my Pa Miguel they soon had to find a way to support our family. At first, he traveled to America to earn money however, it was never enough so they decided to bring the family over to America. Once she found housing, she kept her roots by making tortillas from scratch buying a tortilladora from the local Spanish shop.

– Angel Solorio

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