Claremont Colleges Scholarship @ Claremont CMC Senior Theses CMC Student Scholarship 2018 From Parilla to Pa' amb Tomaquet: Argentine Migrant Identity in Barcelona, Spain Vera Armus Follow this and additional works at: https://scholarship.claremont.edu/cmc_theses Part of the Social and Cultural Anthropology Commons Recommended Citation Armus, Vera, "From Parilla to Pa' amb Tomaquet: Argentine Migrant Identity in Barcelona, Spain" (2018). CMC Senior Theses. 1977. https://scholarship.claremont.edu/cmc_theses/1977 This Open Access Senior Thesis is brought to you by Scholarship@Claremont. It has been accepted for inclusion in this collection by an authorized administrator. For more information, please contact [email protected]. FROM PARILLA TO PA’ AMB TOMAQUET: ARGENTINE MIGRANT IDENTITY IN BARCELONA, SPAIN by VERA ARMUS SUBMITTED TO POMONA COLLEGE IN PARTIAL FULFILLMENT OF THE DEGREE OF BACHELOR OF ARTS PROFESSOR SEO YOUNG PARK, SCRIPPS COLLEGE PROFESSOR DRU GLADNEY, POMONA COLLEGE APRIL 20, 2018 1 Acknowledgements To Professor Seo Young Park: This thesis would not have been possible without your continuous guidance, support and immense patience. Thank you so much for your insightful comments, organizational help, and for teaching me the importance of a good topic sentence. Your mentorship has been immensely beneficial, both for this thesis and beyond. To Professor Dru Gladney: Thank you for introducing me to the field of food anthropology; I am grateful for guidance throughout this process, as well as throughout the past three years. To Professor Roderic Camp: Thank you for supervising my Uoroboros project and mentoring me throughout my time at Claremont McKenna. A mis interlocutores: Gracias por tomar el tiempo para compartir sus experiencias conmigo. Estoy inmensamente agradecida por su sinceridad y vulnerabilidad durante las entrevistas, además del entusiasmo que han tenido en mi proyecto. To my Poppa Pals: Thanks for all the late-night laughs and moments of solidarity – this year wouldn’t have been nearly as fun without you all. To my friends and family: Thanks for your support and reassurance (and for bearing with me). Diego – ya sé que soy hincha pelota; gracias por todo. To Mr. Ryal Poppa: Thank you for enriching the Claremont McKenna community with the magnanimous gift of Poppa Computer Lab. Finally, to Mr. John Stauffer: Thank you for your generous donation of the Bloomberg computer – It has sincerely ameliorated my CMC experience. 2 Table of Contents Glossary of Terms …………………………………………………………………………………4 Introduction ………………………………………………………………………………………..5 Food as a Window of Analysis into Identity....……………………………………………6 Uoroboros Project …………………………………………………………………………7 Research Questions ………………………………………………………………………..9 Methodology……………………………………………………………………………….9 Organization of the Thesis ……………………………………………………………….13 Chapter 1 - Colonialism to Bilateral Solidarity: An Overview of Argentine Migratory Patterns to Barcelona……………………………………………………………………………. 14 Introduction……………………………………………………………………….............14 From Colony to Nation………………………………………………………...................15 Impact of La dictadura - The First-Wave……………………………………...................18 Post-Franco Barcelona - Context of Catalan Restoration……………………...…………20 Hyperinflation, Neoliberalism, and El corralito - The Second-Wave………...….............22 A Cosmopolitan City - The Context of Barcelona’s Post-Olympic Prosperity…………..27 Conclusions………………………………………………………………………………29 Chapter 2 - Bife de Chorizo to Butifarra: Food Habits as Reflections of Migrant Identity……………………………………………………………………………….....................30 Introduction………………………………………………………………………............30 Identity and Migration………………………………………………………..……..........31 Mas catalanes que argentinos - More Catalan than Argentine…………..……................32 Bikinis in Place of Tostados - A Catalan Diet………………………..………………......37 Un poquito catalanes - A Little Bit Catalan……………………...………........................41 Empanadas de jamón serrano - An Argentine-Catalan Diet...……………………….......43 Argentinos todavía - Still Argentines……………………...………………………..........48 Parilla para siempre - An Argentine Diet in Barcelona…………………………….........51 Conclusions………………………………………………………………………….........54 Chapter 3 - La segunda generación or La Segona generació? Identity amongst the Second- Generation ………………………………………………………………………………………..57 Introduction………………………………………………………………………………57 Why Examine the Second-Generation…………………………………………………...58 Growing Up Catalan? – School, Catalan Friendships, Shifting Family Dynamics……....59 Adulthood Identity and Food Habits for the Second-Generation………………………...71 Retained Habits - Special Occasions, Go-To’s, Passing down Traditions……………….74 More than Just Conventions: Food and Identity for the Second-Generation……………..80 Conclusions……………………………………………………………………………….82 Chapter 4 - Present but Hidden: Argentine Tastes in the Catalan Context..............................83 Introduction.........................................................................................................................83 The Formation of Catalan Taste…………………………………………………………..85 Crema catalana and California Rolls - Barcelona’s Current Food Scene………………..86 Levels of Adjustments - Purely Argentine, Mostly Argentine, and Argentine-Fusion,,,...90 Helado de dulce de leche and Empanadas – Already Catalan-Worthy…………………..95 Conclusions.........................................................................................................................98 Conclusion ………………………………………………………………………………………...99 Findings…………………………………………………………………………………...99 Personal Reflections...........................................................................................................102 Limitations and Suggestions for Further Research………………………………............102 References Cited…………………………………………………………………………….……104 3 Glossary of Terms Argentine Foods Dulce de leche - Caramel spread Empanada - Hand-pie; usually baked or fried and filled with variety of savory fillings Guiso - Stew Alfajor - Sandwich cookie Milanesa - Breaded chicken or veal Provoleta - Slice of grilled provolone cheese typically served during Argentine barbecues Panqueque de dulce de leche - Dulce de leche pancake Sorrentinos - Argentine stuffed-pasta dish Sanduiche de miga - White-bread sandwich Bife de chorizo – Sirloin strip steak Choripán - Chorizo-baguette sandwich Asado - Barbecue Vacio - Flap steak Morcilla - Blood sausage Medialuna - Crescent roll Locro - Hearty stew made with corn, beans, potato and meat Tostado de jamón y queso - Toasted ham and cheese sandwich; equivalent of Spanish bikini Facturas - Argentine pastries Chocolinas - Classic brand of chocolate cookies Chocotorta - Chocolinas cookie cake Vitel tone - Veal served in a creamy anchovy-tuna sauce Verduras a la parilla - Grilled vegetables often served during Argentine barbecues Spanish/Catalan Foods Pa amb tomaquet/pan con tomate - Catalan tomato bread Montadito - Tapa on a slice of baguette Bikini - Toasted ham and cheese sandwich Entrepa - Meal between breakfast and lunch Tortilla de patata - Spanish tortilla made with eggs and potatoes Pulpo - Octopus Jamón Ibérico - Raw Iberian ham Gazpacho - Spanish tomato soup, served cold Arroz meloso - Brothy rice dish Cava - Spanish sparkling wine Bocadillo - Spanish term for sandwich Solomillo - Equivalent of Argentine lomo Entrecot - Equivalent of Argentine bife de chorizo Panellets - Traditional Catalan All-Saints Day cookies Paella - Traditional rice dish Yemitas - Egg-yolk dessert Croquetas - Small, fried bread-crumb roll Pisto - Vegetable dish Salmorejo - Tomato, bread, and vinegar soup, served cold Romescada - Catalan fish stew Gulas - Fish made to look like baby eels Bacalao pil pil - Basque cod dish 4 Introduction For me, food has always been a source of personal cultural connection. Raised in an Argentine household in New York City, I grew up experiencing many of the nuances that come with a multifaceted cultural heritage. At school, with my friends, or even just on the street, I was exposed to ‘typical’ culinary customs – from peanut butter and jelly sandwiches, to donuts, I quickly developed a strong attachment to American culture and traditions. At home however, my reality was different. Growing up, milanesas were a staple. As an afternoon snack, I usually had a banana with dulce de leche. Instead of buying meat at a normal supermarket, my dad would drag my brother and I to El Gauchito, an Argentine butcher shop that was an hour away. Food, it appears, both fed and reflected my multicultural heritage. At the same time, food seemed to indicate my identity struggles. Constantly having tiptoe between two cultures often proved difficult; throughout my childhood, it was hard to bridge, incorporate and adjust the distinct facets of my identity into one cohesive whole. On the first day of Kindergarten, I felt shame eating an empanada in front of my classmates, so I never took it out of my lunchbox. When eating pizza in Argentina, I was lost when my cousins ordered faina and expected me to place it on top of my slice, as is typical. While I tasted bites of my two heritages, I never truly felt like I was gaining the full experience; neither fully American nor Argentine, I often struggled to see where I fit in. As I grew older, I saw that identity was not clear-cut and set-in-stone, but rather, something fluid, contextual, and socially constructed. Like my food habits, my identity was shaped by various factors and was often subject to change. In turn, this realization