Cooking is in Silvana Salcido Esparza’s DNA.
Staying passionate about it is easy. Her goal is to celebrate the rich heritage of Mexican cuisine — without compromising her beliefs.
Born into an 800-year baking legacy, she immersed herself in the culinary traditions of Mexico through extensive travel, studying the diverse regional flavors and techniques from the ancestral cooks that helped shape her cooking philosophy.
“I have a book in me and it’s a travel log of a chef in Mexico,” she said. “I have photography of places that you could never go now, of cultures slowly dying. It’s amazing stuff. Penguin Press, in 2001, wanted it but they were so confused. They didn’t know if it was a coffee table book, a cookbook; just where they were going to place it.
“I told them everywhere. Then I realized they would have ownership of my intellectual property and they would dictate what I wrote, how I wrote it and they would be editing my life. I took it off the ‘table,’ and I said, ‘Bye’ for 20-something years, thinking publishing sucks.”
She self-published her memoir, “La Hija de la Chingada: Chronicles from a Mexican Chef in the U.S.A.” Esparza is promoting the self-published book at the Tucson Festival of Books. (See sidebar for list of appearances.)
“La Hija de la Chingada” explores themes of identity, resilience and cultural heritage. It also highlights beloved local institutions like Ronquillo Bakery and Karichimaka Restaurant.
“I can reflect on the times I wasn't cooking or in the business, I would run home to cook,” said Esparza, who owned Barrio Café in Phoenix.
“When I make a sandwich for myself, literally, I open the refrigerator, grab a piece of bread, slap mayo on it, add whatever I’m going to put in there, and eat it, fast, no plate. I eat as I walk. I’ve been like that since I was a kid.
“But if I’m feeding somebody, forget about it. I get all happy, because I know I’m going to eat good. I toast the bread. I make sure I crinkle up the deli meat so it has air in between it. I get into it.”
She is an advocate for authentic representation and cultural pride. Esparza lives in a “mansion” that she built in Baja, Mexico. She finds peace here, which helps keep her sarcoidosis at bay. People with the disease have nodules known as granulomas throughout the body — lungs, heart, eyes and skin. The disease is often discovered “by chance” on examination, according to the Cleveland Clinic in Ohio.
“The older Silvana is constantly thanking younger Silvana for making the wise decision of buying property here. I’m still not done building the house, but I am enjoying this mansion I built for 25 years.
“I’m looking at the clear ocean. On the horizon of the ocean, I see nothing but sky. I’ve been making the transition of moving here for the last three years. It’s important to come here permanently before I get too old or too sick to enjoy it.”
She thrives on giving back. She recently hosted 14 children ages 10 to 17 at a cooking class covering the basics.
“Those kids know how to chop,” she said. “They know culinary word terms. But, most importantly, they learned the base, or the foundation, of Mexican cuisine. I gave them pride in their own food. I taught them that 65% of the world’s food basket was birthed in Mexico.”
She shared the definition of Mesoamerica, the historical region and cultural area that includes central and southern Mexico, all of Belize, Guatemala, El Salvador and parts of Honduras, Nicaragua and Costa Rica.
“So, I’m teaching them the food that Mexico gave the world,” she said. “They were little sponges — every last one of them. I’ve said over 30 years of teaching in Phoenix, I’ve had many kids’ classes but they’re privileged white kids.
“They came to Scottsdale and, in the summer, they’re on vacation. They (parents) put them in the class and paid me to entertain them. I taught them how to make quesadillas or whatever you have in your refrigerator to make something really cool.”
Writing “La Hija de la Chingada” took about 60 days, she said. She was regimented in her writing plans.
“I would get up, take a shower, grab a yogurt, a pot of coffee, and sit down and write,” she said.
“And I cried, I laughed. It was so entertaining because everything that I finally wrote has been inside my head and almost part of my DNA, and for me to put it down on paper was very powerful for me, very cathartic. I wrote it dedicated to the next generation, dedicated to my great niece, (who) I have helped raise.
“When you’re younger, you don't have the language to express what you're experiencing or what you're going through or what you're thinking or feeling,” she said.
“And as you get older, you start to learn words, for example, like the word ‘harassment.’ What did we use? We would have to use many words to describe it, when it’s ‘harassment.’ That encompasses many things. ‘Gaslighting,’ that’s a new term that we use. It’s an old word, but we use it now and we know exactly what it means. Before, we would be grasping for words as if it was air.
“Mexicans growing up in the United States do not learn those words, like xenophobia. But we know ‘racism,’ that’s one of the first things we learn. It’s debilitating. It forces you to carry those feelings without having the language to express them. It's almost like being silent, but it’s the exact words that are now in the current administration taking out the vernacular, so we don't have that.”
In her book, she shared that she is passionate about her identity — and protecting it.
“My food is deeply disrespected in the United States,” she said. “I’m deeply disrespected when you see a chain restaurant and they call them ‘authentic’ when they’re really ‘turn and burns.’ It says ‘authentic Mexican grill’ or ‘Mexican cantina.’ You talk about gaslighting.”
She challenges anyone to prove her wrong.
“Again, if we get dressed up, we’re going to have French food. ‘Oh, we’re going for Mexican? Let’s wear our sweats because you’re going to need to expand.’ You already know about that greasy red sauce that’s been fortified with flour. You’re eating chimichangas. You’re eating the same thing over and over again, because the American palate is bland and quite useless when it comes to Mexican food.”
Appearing at the Tucson Festival of Books is slightly uncomfortable to promote herself. But she enjoys engaging with people.
“The fact that they look at me like a celebrity, that makes me very uncomfortable because I’m just one of everybody. I just have a platform that I was so beautifully given to me, that I can stand on and say ‘Hey, it doesn’t have to be this way.’ I feel blessed, honored and definitely humble.”
“La Hija de la Chingada: Chronicles from a Mexican Chef in the U.S.A.” (May 2024)
By Silvana Salcido Esparza
The book, available on Amazon, is self-published.
Tucson Festival of Books appearances
“Lives in Food and Drink”
1 to 1:55 p.m. Saturday, March 15
Koffler Room 216, seats 89
Panelists: Silvana Salcido Esparza, Steve Friesen, Steve Hoffman
Moderator: Donna Nordin
Taming nature to cultivate food and drink can create joy or immense heartache, often simultaneously. Preparing that bounty for others is no small feat either. Join three intrepid adventurers who have braved the culinary establishment in different ways.
Signing area: UA Campus Store Book Sales mall, following presentation.
“SW Books of the Year: Food and Memory”
2:30 to 3:25 p.m. Sunday, March 16
UA Library/Special Collections (seats 110)
Panelists: Sydney Graves, Silvana Salcido Esparza, Melani Martinez
Moderator: Gregory McNamee
Food is a thing of tradition, family, love, identity and sometimes of resistance. In this panel, three noted students of food in all its aspects, come together to share their knowledge. Chef Silvana Salcido Esperza, Melani Martinez and Kate Christensen, will talk about their adventures at table.
Signing area: Sales and signing area: Integrated Learning Center (following presentation)
