(GH: Here’s a final excerpt from “Making West Home,” a cookbook on the lives and foodways of refugees in southern Idaho. The book will debut this Saturday at the Idaho State Historical Society. Sarah Barsness wrote the text, I took the photos.)
Photo by Guy Hand
Victor Castaño and Niye Acosta welcome you into their comfortable home with the grace and humor that makes you feel you’ve been part of their family for years. Within minutes the coffee begins to percolate and irresistible smells waft from the kitchen.
Photo by Guy Hand
Victor and Niye explain that the food they are preparing is called Bandeja PaĂsa - a ten-plus course meal typical of the Colombian region of PaĂsa, which includes the provinces of Antiochia, Risaralda, Caldas and Quindillo—Niye’s home province. Victor says, “La Bandeja PaĂsa is considered the most typical dish from our country because it takes products from different regions of the country all mixed together. It is like the union of the different regions, because it is plentiful and diverse. For example, the meat it takes is unique to the area where I come from. It is straight meat, nothing else.”
“Here, we can go out and be at ease, we can see people walking in the streets till late at night, and nothing happens to them.”
Photo by Guy Hand
While Niye works in the kitchen, Victor describes what it was like for them to move to the United States, “Often, my wife and I talk about our first impressions of Boise. It looked like what we saw in the movies – the little house had snow on the roof. For starters, it doesn’t snow in our country. There, we have two seasons – winter and summer. Here there are four seasons, which is something quite new to us. The streets, for example, are very organized. True, I can only tell of my experience in Boise and in Idaho. The state is very organized, tranquil, there are no surprises. We don’t hear people talking about problems as those we had in our country where there is conflict, much violence, where everybody is afraid to go out in the streets. Here, we can go out and be at ease, we can see people walking in the streets till late at night, and nothing happens to them.”
Though Victor and Niye are doing well in Boise, the one thing that they lack to make this place their home is family: “…our happiness is not complete because our children are still in Colombia. We were unable to bring them with us.
Here’s more information on the Saturday, May 1st event at the Idaho State Historical Society
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Guy Hand is a writer, public radio producer and photographer specializing in food and agriculture. |
