Jess and Cassandra here. Thank you so much for signing up!
First of all, why meryenda? Meryenda, also spelled merienda, is simply snack time in the Philippines. We hope the content we provide becomes as substantial as pandesal or kakanin eaten midday!
Before we delve into our first piece, we wanted to share a little bit of why meryenda came to life.
From Jess:
A friend told me she enjoys writing because it’s the most accessible medium. I couldn't agree more.
Yet, food writing has somehow fallen into the hands of a select few who have (intentionally or not) become gatekeepers, subliminally perpetuating the myth of Asian-American stories solely as archetypes of struggle or exoticism. I believe we are not an exhaustible subject. It has been a trying and continuous journey to accept calling myself a writer, falling under the influence of a Western gaze and grappling with the question of identity.
If there’s one thing I want to emerge from this platform other than a deeper curiosity for Philippine cuisine and culture, it’s for us to acknowledge that we are all worthy of telling our own stories — stories that don’t need to stem from struggle or pain or need to slip into mainstream consciousness. We are capable of stories that awaken curiosity and most importantly, allow us to just be.
This flattened literary landscape is ours to change.
From Cassandra:
I’m here because of Jess.
Just kidding. (Partially kidding 😌)
I fell in love with this excerpt from Carmen Guerrero Nakpil’s “Where’s the Patis?”:
“A Filipino may denationalize himself but not his stomach. He may travel over the seven seas and the five continents and the two hemispheres and lose the savor of home and forget his identity and believe himself a citizen of the world. But he remains— gastronomically, at least — always a Filipino. For, if in no other way, the Filipino loves his country with his stomach.”
It was liberating once I came to understand that my parents’ and relatives’ suppression of the Filipino culture was in due part of colonial mentality and years of cultural assimilation. Food was really my only lesson and means of connecting to and celebrating my identity.
As a Filipino-/American, it’s been difficult to grasp that despite the fact that Filipinos are the third largest Asian American group in the US, there is little representation of our culture and history in the US. This lack of representation results in a lack of knowledge of our culture for folx who do and don’t identify as Fil-Am. Through this project, I hope to reclaim that narrative and discover more stories of the Filipino diaspora so that future generations are able to connect more with their identities and ultimately themselves. Because we truly “love [our] country with [our] stomach,” I believe that digging into the history of our food is the best way to welcome and initiate these needed conversations.
We’re so excited to engage and learn more about Filipino food and culture with you.
<3,
meryenda