One day I met with chef Ezequiel Valencia to find out the secret, but when he told me where he was from in Peru, I got caught up in the path that brought him to Panca and momentarily forgot my mission. He was born at the foot of the Huascaran, Peru's tallest mountain, in the town of Yungay, where terrible tragedy struck in 1970. An earthquake caused a debris avalanche, full of snow, mud and rocks, which buried Yungay and killed all but around 100 of its 20,000 residents. At the time, Ezequiel's family lived outside of the town and were unharmed. The town was rebuilt as Yungay Nuevo and his family moved there. When he was born in 1974, his father ran off with another woman. He grew up working on the family's chacra, a small farm, and helping his mother in the kitchen.
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For Your Enjoyment
StoryCommentOne Sunday afternoon in the north most tip of the Miraflores district in Lima, Peru, I was hungry and looking for a place to eat. It was Sunday so it had to be ceviche, for Sunday is the day of the Christians and fish is the dish of Jesus and it is a personal rule of mine to eat ceviche for lunch on Sundays whenever possible.
Empire State of Mind, Miami
StoryCommentPostcard from Rio
StoryCommentIn the air above the beach at Ipanema, there was a mist. The sun—low and setting—illuminated it. People glided past one another. Into slow starring reverie I sank, a stream that warmed and carried me along. For the first time, I felt part of Rio. At last I understood. Months after arriving from New York, I had arrived in the inward city inhabited by the native carioca.
De Cusco a Greenwich Village
Story1 Comment“No, actually I’m a cook. Do you know who lives in this building? The last Inka princess lives in Apart. 1. I’m her cook. Do you know something about the Inka culture?”, y ella me dijo “a little bit”, pero no parecía convencida. Entonces abrí mis bolsas que contenían wakatay, quinua, ají amarillo, papitas moradas diminutas -Peruvian purple potatoes- y hasta un cuy gigante que lo venden congelado, en una tienda ecuatoriana. Luego resumí: “I’m the Inka Princess’s cook, and I have to prepare the dinner for her”. Así, ella quedó no sólo convencida sino conmovida de mi insólita confidencia.
Como en casa
StoryCommentPorteñas – Empowered Immigrant Women Open Restaurant in Williamsburg
StoryCommentChef Fernanda has been making empanadas and other Argentine treats for over 20 years – and after decades of experience, she has been running her own restaurant, Raíces, in Buenos Aires.
Her partner, Carmen, is a true entrepreneur - she runs her own non-profit organization, Curatorial Program for Research, where they “create a socially-conscious network of emerging curators from around the world.”
The Raquel Rivera Impact
Article, StoryRaquel Quiñones Rivera officially started her music journey in high school, but she’s always had an instinct for the melodic expressionism that is apparent in her vast repertoire. It’s been a journey of self-discovery that began in her early years in Puerto Rico. “Music was a big part of the culture, so it was almost an automatic familiarity with it,” she shares, now reminiscing and reflecting on her past in the midst of a bustling Williamsburg winery.
Raquel Rivera Collective. Photo - Sara Ontaneda Loor
The Whirling Winds of Home
Story1 CommentAbuela's Remedios
StoryCommentIsabel’s Not-Your-Peruvian-Mother’s Ceviche
StoryCommentAfrican Culinary Ingenuity from Lima to Memphis
StoryCommentThe Butcher Who Stole My Heart
StoryCommentTan Lejos de Ti
StoryCommentTe decía el nombre de la ciudad donde estaba pero tú no sabías repetirlo: Charlottesville, tan largo, con tantas consonantes. Lo intentabas y te daba la risa. Charlottesville, en el estado de Virginia, en América. Yo te contaba que era una ciudad pequeña rodeada de bosques en la que las casas estaban muy separadas entre sí y todo el mundo iba siempre en coche.
On Reading Nabokov in Peru
StoryCommentNo, Lima isn’t perfect. It is often frustrating and sometimes dangerous. I’ve been pickpocketed twice here, robbed at knifepoint once, and harassed by strange men in the street too many times to count. But this is all part of its charm, because in the end Lima is always fascinating and truly glorious
Mezcal Without the Worm
StoryCommentThe worm comes from the maguey (agave) plant and some say it adds flavor, while others ridiculously claim that it proves the mezcal is strong enough to preserve the worm, that it isn’t diluted. Many think it’s just a marketing ploy. Most of the mezcal coming into New York doesn’t have the worm, and I tell Yira that I’ll miss it.
Rio!
StoryCommentAs night fell, we wandered to the far end of the beach, climbing up to sit on a large rock formation that offered an exquisite view of the city and many of the local landmarks. To our left the lights of the Vidigal—located at the base of the Dois Irmaos —shimmered like jewels as a thin crescent moon hung delicately in the evening sky.
The Have-a-Little Pisco Quiz
StoryCommentFather & Wine
Story1 CommentWhat makes the Priorat one of the most appreciated wines? The answer is best given by the enologists of the region. It seems to be a concurrence of alchemical circumstances: First of all, the warm and dry Mediterranean weather fluctuates almost twenty degrees, contributing to the grape’s optimal ripening.