From Argentina With Love

Empanadas de Zapallo y Queso de Cabra--Butternut Squash and Goat Cheese Empanadas

 

For the last week or so, like most Americans, I've been talking turkey. (gobble, gobble) It's because of Thanksgiving, of course!  Whether you like to cook or just like to eat, food is at the center of the day.  It's either a day one looks forward to (those who are eating) or dreads (those who are hosting).

Now that our son, Esteban, is three, one of my concerns is also trying to incorporate my husband's Argentinean culture into our family celebrations alongside my American one.  It's important to both of us  that both of our backgrounds are honored and that Esteban feels at home in both places. We want him not just to be proud of his lineage, but also to understand the different cultures he comes from--and hopefully he'll have 'the best of both worlds'. 

Pastel de Papas--Argentinean Shepherd's Pie

 
 

In the small Patagonian villages of San Carlos de Bariloche and Villa la Angostura, gnomes abound.  Yes, gnomes.  Shops all over town sell carved garden-style gnomes of all sizes, engaged in all sorts of activities.  They grace 'welcome' plaques, are fashioned into door-stoppers, or are figurines 'caught in the act' of everyday gnomish life.  Indeed, they are something of a town mascot.

The area, with its wooded lakeshore, charming alpine architecture, and quaint tea shops completely lends itself to that fantasy; it's easy to imagine a little gnome house deep in a thicket, under a giant red toadstool, or inside of a moss-covered log.

Niños Envueltos--Stuffed Cabbage Rolls in Tomato Sauce (Golubki)

 

Florencia, my mother-in-law, has roots in Kiev; in the era that her parents decided to emigrate to Argentina, the Ukraine experienced loads of political upheaval.  Her family was culturally and linguistically Ukrainian, but borders in that era were in constant flux, and post-WWI, Kiev was invaded by and became part of, at one time or other, the territory of Germany, Austria, Poland, and Russia, before being absorbed into the Bolshevik empire of the USSR in the 1940s.

To hear my suegra describe it, her teenage mother would go to school, and from one year to the next, classes would be held in German, Polish, Russian.  Her family, like so many others of the same generation, tired of the upheaval and destruction, decided instead to take their chances and strike out on their own, seeing a golden opportunity in South America. There, they could have a relatively peaceful, if hardscrabble life, and work the land.

 

 

Dulce de Batata--Sweet Potato Paste

 

The smells outside my in-laws home in Bowen are a rustic melange of the countryside.  In fall, it's the tangy, tannic quaff of the bodega across the street, La Bowense, making their brew--their strong damajuana (jug) wine stings a bit in the nose.  In early mornings, a whiff of woodsmoke from someone's hearth fire, burning to take off the early morning autumnal chill can cross by, or the smell of freshly baked crusty bread and sweet pastries, if you get close to Al Pan Pan.  But my favorite smell, as we take an evening walk, basking in the peace and slow pace of my husband's small hometown, emanates from the Dulce de Batata factory two blocks away.  

 

Q & A With Te Extraño Director Fabian Hofman



Last week I had the chance to pose a few questions to Argentinean director Fabián Hofman, who's poignant film, Te Extraño, will screen at the 2010 Starz Denver Film Festival.  The film follows two brothers, adolescent Javier and his older, politically involved brother, Adrian.  Based on Hofman's real life story during Argentina's military dictatorship of the 1970s, the plot takes a turn when Adrian, like 30,000 others during the 'Dirty War', disappears.

A special thanks to Sr. Hofman for agreeing to this interview.  (Follows in Spanish)