Conversations and Stories in Celebration of Latinx Heritage Month

September 15th marks the start of Latinx Heritage Month in the U.S. What started in 1968 as Hispanic Heritage Week is now a month-long observation celebrating heritage, diversity, and history.

To celebrate Latinx Heritage Month, we're looking at Latinx heritage through the lens of food. We've put together a playlist highlighting stories and conversations with Latinx chefs, artists, activists, and authors.

Hear the history behind a graphic calendar that combines food history and activism, explore Cuban cocktails, get insights from a chef working in both south Florida and Haiti, and more.

This playlist is not a comprehensive collection of all episodes and shows related to the Latinx community, so we encourage you to explore our extensive archives of over 15,000 episodes to discover even more. 

Item 13: An African Food Podcast Episode 38: Haitian Food & Drink with Chef Alain Lemaire: Award-winning Chef Alain Lemaire is co-owner and Executive Chef of Sensory Delights, LLC and Arome Catering, both full-service catering companies based out of south Florida and Haiti respectively. He is a native of Port-au-Prince, Haiti, where he first discovered his interest in cooking. Later on, he developed an increasing passion for food and food service which led him to attend the Culinary program at the acclaimed Johnson & Wales University. Thanks to his heritage and having spent most of his career in south Florida and the Caribbean, Latin flavors play a major role in Chef Lemaire's style of cooking: "fresh, bold and in your face!" as he would say it.

Meant to Be Eaten Episode 119: Stephen Velasquez on Art and Activism: Curator Stephen Velasquez discusses how activism and food history come together in a graphic calendar. The Calendario de Comida 1976, created by California-based artist collectives in 1975, sought to bring attention to alternative foodways and indigenous food knowledge as part of a broader social justice movement. Stephen discusses some of the imagery within the calendar and expands on the role of Chicano activists in reimagining colonial histories and identity.

A Taste of the Past Episode 234: Cuban Cocktail History: The tropical elegance and vibrant energy of Cuba's rich history and culture are recaptured in the stories of cocktails by two owners of the well-known NYC rum bar, Cienfuegos, Jane Danger and Alla Lapushchik.

A Taste of the Past Episode 207: Cuban Cuisine: The food of the Cuban table has largely been reproduced in other countries primarily by those who left their home in an attempt to recreate the tastes and smells of their past. Now that relations are opening up again, author Ana Sofia Pelaez, together with photographer Ellen Silverman, traveled to Cuba to rediscover those flavors and history of the cuisine, documented in their book, The Cuban Table. Ana joins Linda to talk about her discoveries.

The Feedfeed Episode 64: What's For Dinner?: Alexa Santos virtually sits down to dinner with Bryan Ford, AKA @artisanbryan on social media. Bryan is a Central American master baker, best-selling cookbook author, and TV host. He is one of the leading resources for sourdough recipes and his cookbook was one of the major forces responsible for the sourdough baking trend last year. He's known for pulling inspiration from his Honduran heritage and New Orleans upbringing.

Food Without Borders Episode 48: My Venezuelan Kitchen with Mercedes Golip: Caracas-born culinary artist and self-taught chef Mercedes Golip remembers being a picky eater as a child. Now, her life revolves around experimenting with food. Years after she and her husband immigrated to Miami, they moved to NYC where her evolving curiosity for food was met with an abundance of CSA vegetables. Longing for food from home inspired her to recreate traditional Venezuelan dishes using ingredients grown in New York, but she wondered, is this still Venezuelan food?—a weighty question amidst the political turmoil & dire food shortages back home, and an anti-immigrant administration leading the U.S. Food has been the question and the answer, prompting Mercedes to share her food culture through pop-up dinners, culinary classes and cooking demos that explore questions of authenticity and creativity.

Inside Julia's Kitchen Episode 100: Meet Lis Hernandez: Host Todd Schulkin talks to Lis Hernandez, chef-owner of Arepa Mia in Atlanta. Todd and Lis discuss bringing Venezuelan food to the South and what it took to keep a restaurant alive in Covid times.

Eat Your Words Episode 393: The Chilean Kitchen: Cathy dials up the authors of The Chilean Kitchen, Pilar Hernandez and Eileen Smith. They discuss the classics of Chilean cuisine and the rich history of influences that have molded it over the centuries.

Cooking in Mexican from A to Z Episode 16: Birria from Jalisco to Chicago: Zarela and Aarón are thrilled to present another parent-child duo who dedicate their lives to preserving their culture through food. Juan and Jonathan Zaragoza’s family-run Chicago restaurant Birria Zaragoza is known as the best birria in Chicago and, according to Aarón, Chicago is the best Mexican food town in the country. Juan’s son Jonathan learned how to make birria from his dad at age 12 in a wood-burning oven built by his father and grandfather. When Jonathan is not making birria, he’s running El Oso (“the bear” in Spanish and Jonathan’s childhood nickname), a Chicago pop-up combining traditional Mexican cuisine and local midwest ingredients all cooked over a wood-burning stove.