Because they like my demeanor and they liked my family’s cooking, they’ve always wanted to know where I was from.
If I said that I was 142nd and Brook Ave, towards the ending of the South Bronx where the smell of Lechon (roasted pig) cooked by Puerto Rican natives take over your nostrils, do you think they’ll know where I’m from?
Where I’m from Lechon is a traditional dish, we eat it for every special occasion. Lechon was a tradition from when slaves were in Puerto Rico and that’s all they had to eat. Christmas, Thanksgiving, Birthdays, Mother’s Day, Fathers Day, and family fun picnics is where you’ll find my mom or a family member waking up early in the morning to cook the pig. It takes at least 6 hours or more to make. I wake up sometimes to the smell of a roasted pig cooking in my oven. At picnics you can smell the pig being roasted on a stick over the smell of grills burning hot dogs and burgers.
Where I’m from the roasted pig is the first thing you’ll learn to make before rice.
A beautiful aroma for beautiful occasions!