What Does Our Mexican-American Hyphen Smell Like?

Discussing “the hyphen” is how we talk about our Siete family culture, which stems from the Garza’s experiences as a Mexican-American family from Laredo, Texas. The hyphen is both the literal symbol (-) that connects the two cultures—Mexican and American, into Mexican-American—and the symbolic way we acknowledge that our company culture is neither one nor the other, but the combination of the two cultures.   

Following the previous questions of what is our Mexican-American hyphen, what does it feel like, what does it taste like, and what does it look like, we arrive at the next question: what does it smell like?

Veronica

Q: What does your Mexican-American hyphen smell like?
A: Fresh tortillas, and refried beans whenever I walked into my grandma's house.

Becky

Aida

Q: What does your Mexican-American hyphen smell like?
A: It smells like waking up to my parents’ cafe con leche each and every morning. It also smells like the candles my mom had in the living room, amongst the Virgin Mary, flowers, and photos.

Miguel

Q: What does your Mexican-American hyphen smell like?
A: A backyard carne asada.

Rob

Q: What does your Mexican-American hyphen smell like?
A: Frijoles, Carne Asadas, mariachis (breakfast tacos).

Linda

Q: What does your Mexican-American hyphen smell like?
A: It smells like Christmas time at my grandparent’s home in Baytown, Texas, where we spent most of our holidays as kids. Each morning, I would wake up to the smell of a fresh pot of beans and fresh batch of tortillas. Come Christmas evening, the house was engulfed with the smell of my grandma’s tamales, while the sounds of Bing Crosby and Eydie Gorme’s Christmas albums played in the background. “Jingle Bells Jingle Bells Jingle all the Way,” and then, “Navidad! Navidad! Alegre Navidad! Toda la familia en esta Navidad, juntos en la casa con Felicidad!”

The foods and occasions that the Garzas reflect on in their answers paint a picture of the way (and why) we gather together as a company, years later. They are the same foods that we enjoy on Friday Lunches, summer cookouts, and holiday parties. Their smells bring us to fond memories of living our hyphen, like being at our childhood home in Laredo, dining amongst smoky flames at neighborhood carne asadas, and celebrating with loved ones during holidays. Our nostalgia surrounding them is at the core of the foods we make, and the experience we hope to recreate at your table.