Olivia Iriciuc
Brunkala
ENGWR 101
September 19, 2017
Chocolate
According to “Tortillas” by Jose Antonio Burciaga, tortillas served many purposes and held significant meaning, which held an importance in Burciaga’s life. Similar to him, if asked what my favourite food is, the immediate answer is, maybe unsurprisingly, chocolate. Ever since I was very young I have loved chocolate. It is probably the sweetness and even texture of it that I enjoy. For many people, like Burciaga and me, the history of a favorite food takes source from childhood. When I think about the most delicious and memorable food, I always remember amazing chocolate cakes with juicy cherries that my grandmother used to bake for me when I was a child.
There is no child that does not like chocolate cakes, I guess, my grandma knew this so well, that is why she was glad to spend a full day in the kitchen baking cakes to make us happy. Burciaga claimed “as a child, I also used tortillas as hand warmers on cold days” (Burciaga). His memory of his childhood, is him enjoying and playing with the tortillas. It is hard to find the words to express the feelings I was experiencing when I used to receive a plate with those divine brown cakes. Just like Burciaga, those special childhood foods were and still are dear to us. Burciaga wrote, “when I was growing up in El Paso, tortillas were part of my daily life.” Both his tortillas and my chocolate cake were so sweet, delicious and amazingly delicate. That is why Burciaga and I associate chocolate with home, childhood and the comfort and happiness that goes with it! So even before I knew what chocolate was, it already became my favourite food.
Today, there is such a variety of chocolates on the supermarket shelves to choose from that I am spoilt for choice. While I consider myself to be a firm and decisive person, I sometimes return from a shopping trip with several bars and boxes of different chocolate - bitter dark chocolate, milk chocolate with fruit and nuts and white chocolate. Burciaga mensions that tortillas “have spiritual and artistic qualities as well.” Tortillas and chocolate are often used for art. Chefs make beautiful images by setting the tortilla mixture on the pan at different times, while pastries (chefs for sweets) make sculptures out of chocolate. “...
