Cuban to Creole: 2nd Annual Taste of the South

What better way to kick off Black History Month than with delicious, culturally significant (and free) food? The second annual Taste of the South event filled the halls of Smith-Brown Memorial Union on Thursday with lines of students and mouth-watering aromas. As Black History Month begins, this event is designed to emphasize the cultural impacts of food originating from the global Afro-diaspora. This year’s event highlighted flavors of the Caribbean with a Taste of Cuba, including rice & beans, Cubano sandwiches, fried sweet plantains, Ropa Vieja, and Mojo shrimp (a crowd favorite). The Taste of Louisiana included rice, black-eyed peas, fried chicken, cornbread, and, according to the long lines, the event wouldn’t be complete without gumbo.
Our esteemed university draws community members from all over the world. Mrs. Nala Hill, event coordinator and Assistant Director of Student Leadership & Engagement, shares that this event is a means of introducing the food of the South to those who may be new to it while also appreciating the ways in which other cultures within the diaspora contributed to the native Louisianan staples that many know and love. “My hope is that [students] are able to gain knowledge and try something in a more open, vibrant atmosphere that they may have been otherwise afraid to,” stated Hill.
The buzzing atmosphere of the room proved to be true to what Mr. Winton Anderson, Director of Student Leadership & Engagement, said best, “Food and fellowship go hand in hand. I believe that our culture was built upon fellowship—we’ve always taken pride in spaces where we’ve gathered, and food is the one thing that always brings us together.” According to Mr. Anderson, whenever the black community couples with food and music, there will surely be a vibe. Beyond the borders of nations, customs involving communal meals involve gratitude for togetherness.
Food connects us in many ways, including geography. It transcends through generations and even the most inhumane of conditions.“The culture of food is an integral part of Black history, particularly looking back at our arrival in America, ‘the melting pot’, because the food and cultures we brought were all intertwined together to advance our people and make sure that nobody went hungry,” stated Colby Bonier, a senior majoring in Animal Science.
With the work of the coordinators and volunteers who made this event possible, students are are adopting the imperative responsibility of passing on our traditions so that they, like Black History, lives on.