"So what if I play with my food"

Como con las manos

by ​Elizabeth Jiménez Montelongo

​I want to hold my food
Feel it with my fingers
The texture on my skin
Before I taste it
I want to feel
The oily tortilla of my taco al pastor
I want to feel that rough tostada de ceviche
That loses toppings
As I crunch it
 
I want a warm tamal in my hand
Salsa y queso y crema
Dripping off the sides
I want to eat that birria right:
Con tortillas, en tacos, quesabirria
Consomé dripping off my chin
I want that chile verde in the gorditas
And on the sopes to end up
All over my fingers
So I can lick it off
I want to mop the mole off my plate
With a warm tortilla
 
My daughter wants to eat salad or eggs
With her fingers? Enjoy
Roll up a pancake and eat it
Like a taco? Go for it
Hold those little trees of broccoli
Pick up those peas and frijoles one by one
Like they’re gems
Touch that food, shape it, arrange it
Some call it “playing with food”
I call it “art” and my mom let me do it
Orange Mexican rice teokalli
Little flat-topped pyramids de arroz
Were my recurring sculptures
 
Table manners are for tables
Not for people who know
How to experience their food
Long before it gets in their mouth
 
Some would judge my way of eating
But so what if my elbows
Are on the table
At least I’m not putting
My codo on the minimum wage
 
So what if I slurp my caldo de pollo
At least I’m not slurping
All the profit off someone else’s labor
 
So what if I lick my fingers, smack my lips
At least I’m not licking or kissing
Anybody’s anything para quedar bien
 
So what if I play with my food
At least I don’t play
With other people’s lives
 
So what if I burp
It’s better than talking hot air
Making promises I won’t keep
 
There are some things I’ll never know
Like why I’ve never
Eaten enchiladas con las manos – yet
Or why there’s a limit to how high
I can pile the pozole on my spoon
 
But what I do know is that
When my napkin stays on the table
You can bet
I’m leaning over my food, breathing it,
Holding it, savoring it,
The way food was meant to be handled
 
I leave nothing on my plate
Snatch up those bits of carnitas
Every last crumb of milanesa
Belongs in my mouth
And I’ll enjoy the leftovers con salsa
Mañana
 
That’s how to handle comida
¡Con las manos!
 
Crunch those buñuelos
Let the crumbs of criticism fall
On a tapete of repurposed judgment
Reduced hierarchy
Recycled capitalism

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Elizabeth Jiménez Montelongo is a visual artist, poet, and facilitator. Elizabeth's work is informed by her Indigenous ancestry, Mesoamerican philosophy, Mexika & Mixtec art, Mexican culture, Chicano history, and her experiences as a woman. Her paintings and sculptures have been exhibited across the United States and her poetry is published widely, including in print and online journals, and in anthologies such as: Nos pasamos de la raya/We Crossed the Line (2017), Azahares (2020), and Harvard’s PALABRITAS (2020). She was 2021 Creative Ambassador of the San José Office of Cultural Affairs. She is a Board Member of Poetry Center San José and Editor of La Raíz Magazine. www.ejmontelongo.com

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