Guantánamo.- The Taino knowledge of Cuban Creole cuisine was demonstrated at the meeting held at the Provincial Museum in Guantánamo with several members of the Ramírez Rojas family, descendants of Cuba’s first inhabitants. They are participating in various initiatives in the context of the International Day of the World’s Indigenous Peoples, held this August 9th.
Nonagenarian Hortensia Ramírez Rojas highlights how they can cook corn, a staple food in the indigenous diet, in a variety of recipes that survive to this day in the gastronomy of the Greater Antilles. This grain is transformed into atoles, ayacas, flours, and starches, among other snacks, essential for sustainable nutrition and the preservation of culture.
As part of the Provincial Museum’s summer activities, the Taino culinary meeting also featured an exhibition of dishes and natural fruits from tropical regions. This showcases indigenous culinary practices and the use of local ingredients grown in their own yards and plots, a moment that recounts the testimony, resilience, and creativity of the Taino people in Cuba.
