De los plátanos de Oller a los Food Trucks: Comida, alimentación y cocina puertorriqueña en ensayos y recetas by Cruz M. Ortiz-Cuadra

Cruz M. Ortiz-Cuadra's work, 'De los plátanos de Oller a los Food Trucks: Comida, alimentación y cocina puertorriqueña en ensayos y recetas,' offers a novel exploration of Puerto Rican culinary culture by intertwining historical analysis with personal and diplomatic recipes. The book reveals the deep cultural significance of food in Puerto Rico, from its role in rural diets to its symbolic representation in art, such as Francisco Oller's 'El Velorio.' It traces the evolution of Puerto Rican cuisine through various lenses—colonial history, gender dynamics (e.g., Doña Inés María Mendoza’s influence), and societal transformations like the rise of supermarkets during the muñocista era. By blending anthropological insights with culinary traditions, Ortiz-Cuadra demonstrates how food is not merely sustenance but a powerful dimension of identity, history, and social change in Puerto Rico.

Torres-González, J. A. (2021). De los plátanos de Oller a los Food Trucks: Comida, alimentación y cocina puertorriqueña en ensayos y recetas by Cruz M. Ortiz-Cuadra. Caribbean Studies, 49(2), 184–186. https://doi.org/10.1353/crb.2021.0024