One tortilla is just as good as another...not!

I always enjoy reading Howard Culbertson's posts from Ecuador where he is teaching & studying at the Nazarene International Language Institute. Today, March 10, Howard posted a note regarding the differences among South American countries and how "North Americans" lump all Spanish-speaking people into the same category. (Of course, Mexicans are as North American as anyone from Oklahoma and they probably don't do the same kind of lumping as we Okies might do.) You can read Howard's Ecuador notes on Facebook.

Howard's observations interest me because they came right on the heels of a session I had with students on Sunday afternoon in which we talked about the differences among different Hispanic groups in Oklahoma. Brenda Rice, a bilingual nurse who works in an Oklahoma City clinic with a large proportion of Hispanic clients, spoke about her experiences in Mexico, Costa Rica and Oklahoma. One of the students who was there has a Mexican heritage and another student is an immigrant from Honduras. We talked about how non-Mexican Hispanics in the U.S. resent being lumped in with Mexicans. There is nothing wrong with being Mexican, but if you're Guatemalan you want people to know you're Guatemalan. Just like a Canadian probably would not want to be considered an American or English. Generally speaking, we're proud of our nationality. Then Monday evening in my International Business classs, we talked about culture and had to be aware that we were making sweeping generalities about cultures and cultural differences. It is hard to identify anyone as belonging to just one cultural group. Thus, when I try to help my students learn something about Hispanic culture, I also need to help them realize that I am generalizing across a group of people that sometimes seem to have more differences than similarities. There is no Hispanic culture; there are Hispanic cultures.

So, where do tortillas come into this? Simply put, not all tortillas are the same. Although I try to smile graciously when someone exudes about homemade tortillas in Oklahoma, I know that they do not approach Guatemalan tortillas. Guatemalan tortillas are thick, a whole lot thicker than Mexican tortillas, and soft and have just a hint of smoke in their flavor (that is, if they've been cooked outside on a hot comal). Put two warm Guatemalan tortillas together with a layer of black bean paste and a thick slice of slightly tart white goat cheese and you have a snack that puts the best PBJ to shame. Go ahead and offer me a hot, homemade tortilla and I'll eat it and smile, but all the while I'll be wishing it were a Guatemalan tortilla.