Photo by Lena Erikson
From September 15 through October 15, our country celebrates National Hispanic Heritage Month. It’s a time for recognizing and appreciating the many Hispanic cultures and customs that have contributed to and influenced our American way of life for years.
Every Sunday, my daughter Samantha and her husband Phil come to our home for dinner. My daughter is my oldest, she is 26, married to a wonderful man (I truly love my son-n-law), and they’re off starting their lives together working and going to college. I miss my kids being under one roof, so my husband and I made it a rule that they must come home for dinner every Sunday. My daughter also gets to do her laundry, but that’s okay – I enjoy having my kids together as often as I can. This past Sunday, I decided we are going to honor this month by having a Hispanic themed dinner celebration as a family. For appetizers, we all enjoyed some Empanadas (beef turn-overs) with some Chicharrones (fried pork skins).
I prepared a traditional Puerto Rican dinner (since this is my nationality). Our meal was Puerto Rico’s national dish: Arroz con Gandules (Rice with Pigeon Peas), of course, accompanied with a Pernil (Roast Pork) and a salad with lots of avocado!
While everyone was getting ready to be seated for dinner, it was noticed that each place setting had a card with questions about Puerto Rico. One side had a question and the other side had the answer. This was a great conversation starter for discussing what we may or may not have known about the island. I did the same thing when we hosted a big family gathering for Thanksgiving a few years back. It was fun and everyone learned something new.
We all sat down and shared our facts with one another. There were six of us at the table and we asked the following:
- Tiki asked: What frog is native to Puerto Rico? Answer – “El Coqui.” A small tree frog well known for the loud mating calls the male frogs make at night.
- Richie’s card just said the word “Flag,” as it would be easier for him to say it – everyone started describing what the Puerto Rican flag looks like. We all got it right!
- My (Christine) question was: What is Puerto Rico’s National Anthem? Answer – “La Borinquena.” I played the anthem for everyone and translated the words for my husband Kirk, step-son Tiki, and son-n-law, Phil.
- Samantha asked: What is Puerto Rico’s National dish? Samantha was cute, she started to serve herself some Arroz con Gandules, hinting the answer to Tiki! Answer – Arroz con Gandules, usually served with Pernil.
- Phil asked: What is the capitol of Puerto Rico? Answer – San Juan. I think most of us knew this one!
- Kirk asked: What is Puerto Rico’s National holiday? Answer – November 19th is known as the Discovery of Puerto Rico Day! Then he followed it up with a bonus question: Who discovered Puerto Rico? Answer – Christopher Columbus!
We had a wonderful time together as a family. We always enjoy each other’s company when we’re together, but today was different. We got to share information about a culture so beautiful, that it made a traditional meal that we’ve had numerous times – feel extra special.
© 2016 Sensory Friends
© 2016 Sensory Friends
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