Latinx Heritage Month: Marilyn Garita

As a proud Catracha (coming from one of the most beautiful shore’s of Tela, Honduras) and 1st U.S generation graduate, I am honored to share the story of my family who continue to add to their legacy through our learnings and experiences. There resiliency and hard work ethic in both their native country and here in a land that has been their home for over 35 years, has shown dedication of love, hope and promise. There journey (like so many) was not easy, coming to a new country, learning a new language and even picking up a few more on the way.

What my parents faced when coming to the United States, is what many immigrants face to this day. Learning a new culture, language and history. Facing discrimination in the workplace, harsh conditions and low wages. My parents worked hard and continued to sacrifice to be able to give my siblings the opportunity to have an education and learn a language that they could bring to any country in the world.

A few memories stick out the most to me as moments that shaped my growth. I learned the meaning of hard work at such a young age and I wouldn’t have it any other way. All my friends would share stories about their summer vacations of being on the beaches while mine consisted of going to Honduras to stay with my grandparents for those few months. Learning how to farm (mostly eating all the fruits- especially rambutans), plant and haggle prices alongside my grandfather who was an ecologist and my grandmother who owned several businesses. I grew to love it and never wanted to come back home at the end of each summer. I learned the beauty of living in the moment, appreciating how to growing my own food and learning different perspectives of life.

Another memory that has stuck with me was doing elementary homework with my mother and teaching her English as I learned it myself. My grandparents have always pushed education on their daughters and being the middle child, my mother naturally gravitated towards teaching. Before immigrating to NY in the 80’s, my mother was a schoolteacher who taught grades 1-4, she became a homeowner fresh out of college, and a mother of two. Although she was living a comfortable life, her decision to come to NY was based on giving her two little ones a chance to achieve growth in a new world. It’s something that to this day that I will always admire and appreciate my father for supporting her in her dream to continue teaching and eventually growing into the medical field.

My favorite memory was seeing the value in family dinners because we could not have them often. My mother and older sister taught me at a young, how to make our favorite homey dishes. I remember my father coming home from a long day’s work on the road and seeing the physical sacrifices he made to ensure our family was taken care of. It was very different from his life in Honduras, studying his last year as a Resident in Med school before giving up that dream and coming to NYC. The one sure way I could show my family love was through food. My ultimate favorite is still Baleadas- homecooked flour tortillas stuffed with refried beans and other goodies.

My family taught me sacrifice, humility and seeing the pure love and hope in all that we work for. Most importantly being kind to others and their stories. Below I’ve shared my favorite recipe to show you the love we share in our household.

Ingredients

Original recipe yields 8 servings

Tortillas:

1 cups all-purpose flour
1 cup water
½ cup vegetable oil
1 Egg
½ teaspoon salt

Filling:

2 cups refried beans, warmed- best if made freshly boiled and then blended
1 avocado, sliced 
½ cup crumbled queso fresco (fresh white cheese)
¼ cup crema fresca (fresh cream)

Directions

Mix flour, water, vegetable oil, egg, and salt in a large bowl; knead until dough is smooth and no longer sticky.
Form the dough into 8 golf ball-sized balls. Cover and let rest, about 20 minutes.
Stretch each ball of dough into a thick tortilla. Nice and round in the palm of hand and then stretch outward.
Heat a large skillet over medium-high heat. Cook each tortilla until browned and lightly puffed, about 1 minute per side.
Layer refried beans, avocado, and queso fresco over tortillas. Drizzle crema on top; fold tortillas in half over filling. The rounder the tortilla, the more you can stuff in!
Add scramble eggs, chorizo or even steak slices for a heartier baleada!