In some novels read this semester, such as “Like Water for Chocolate”, “Purple Hibiscus”, “Cereus Blooms at Night”, and “Bento Box in the Heartland”, women keep gardens at home that provide fresh vegetables, fruits, and flowers. In all those novels, the garden is always a source of happiness, of eager and enthusiastic labor, and a property that for women is sacred and valued. It is a benevolent extension of the domestic place as women work outside planting seeds and picking goodies that will later be transformed into elaborate creations in the kitchen space. It is a magnificent example of domestic labor, women, and nature all working together.
The women are the ones that insist on having this garden; it is not some kind of labor that a patriarchal system forced upon them. We see that these women derive pleasure from being able to independently cultivate and gather sustenance for their families. That challenges that view that “men are the breadwinners in the household”, because when the basement is full of jars and canned goods that women planted, harvested and cooked, it is impossible not to owe much of the family’s survival to them.
In Cuba, things were not much different. Families had large backyards where women planted all types of fruit trees, vegetables, and flowers. At times, families would even have some ducks and chickens, which the women killed themselves by twisting their necks. In my old home, we had avocado, mamey, soursop, mango, grape, and coconut fruit trees. We also had cherry tomatoes, a variety of peppers, spinach leaves, and some mini cucumbers. My grandma took great pleasure in tending to her plants, and grandpa brought home new seeds as presents for her.
What my family enjoyed the most was using our own homegrown food to make our dishes. We knew it had been healthily grown with rainwater and sunlight, and that nothing matched its rich nutrients.
When we came to this country, grandma and grandpa moved into a small apartment with a tiny balcony. In an effort to acquire a little more happiness, grandma planted hibiscuses, Cachucha peppers, and other miniature flowers.
“Aji Cachucha” is a main ingredient in Cuban cuisine, and Cuban women constantly complain that they cannot find good ones here. Every weekend when mom and I visit, mom runs out to check out the plant. Its little peppers are distributed among grandma, mom, and my aunt.
