Lifestyle Travel Cuban Food Stories Documentary Serves Up A Slice Of Life Through Food

Politics often has an effect on a country’s culinary history. My family is from Cyprus, a tiny island country in the Mediterranean, whose culinary influences include Greek, Turkish, Byzantine, French, Catalan, Ottoman and Middle Eastern. Other than its geographic proximity, in the crosshairs of three continents, its richness in foods is the result of the island being conquered and influenced by many civilizations.

The draw to returning to one homeland, especially if it’s difficult to visit due to political upheaval, and to taste the foods you remember or grew up with, is strong. When I first learned of Asori Soto’s new film, Cuban Food Stories, a documentary in which the filmmaker returns to his homeland to re-discover Cuba’s culinary history and search for the flavors he misses from this childhood, I couldn’t wait to watch it. Food, politics, and history have always fascinated me and since Americans have long been banned from Cuba, I was excited to learn more about this country’s food heritage.