Every Thursday morning in Colombia, the Montoya Posada family would gather in their grandma’s house. Over 20 people spending their time together and most importantly, cooking lunch. She said those memories are what inspired her to start El Centro’s in-person cooking classes called “Vamos a la Cocina,” meaning “Let’s go to the kitchen.”
Senior Bella Espinoza is from Athens, Tennessee, has fair skin, red hair and talks with a southern twang. Most people, she says, when they meet her, don’t believe that she is half Mexican. Espinoza said she wanted to embrace her Mexican side, but she was raised not knowing a lot about her Latine heritage, and growing up in rural Tennessee made it even harder to find a community that could teach her more about it.
