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SarahAlbiez(Anthropologyof the Amencas).NellyCastro(RomanceStudles),
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Sarah Albiez,
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LaraJssen(RegionalStudiesof LatinAmerica)and EvaYoukhana o Nelly Castro,
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ETHNICITY, CITIZENSHIP ...
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Sarah Albiez/Nelly Castro/

Series/Coleccin Lara jssen/Eva Youkhana (eds.)
"Ethriicity, Citizenship and Belonging in Latin America"

This series promotes an internacional scientific dialogue about the Ethnicity; Citizenship
social, political and cultural irnplicarions of rhe concepts etbnicity,
citizenship and beLonging, which serve as conceptual tools for rhe and Belonging: Practices, "

inrerdisciplinary Research Necwork for Latin America to investigare

borh social dynamics and processes of inclusion and exclusion in Theory and Spatial Dimensions
past and presenc Larin American societies as well as in orher regions
of the world.
Etnicidad, ciudadana
Esta coleccin busca promover
sobre las implicaciones
el dilogocientfico e internacional
sociales, polticas y culturales de los tres
. /.
Y pertenencIa: practIcas, teorra
/

concepcos etnicidad, ciudadana y pertenencia que constituyen para

la Red de Investigacin
conceptuales
sobre Amrica Latina instrumentos
para investigar de manera interdisciplinaria tanto
y dimensiones espaciales
dinmicas sociales como procesos de inclusin y exclusin en
sociedades pasadas y presences de Amrica Latina y en otras
latitudes del mundo.

Iberoamericana . Vervuert . 2011


The projecr, on which rhis book is based, has been funded by rhe German Federal Minisrry
INDEX/NDICE
of Educarion and Research (Bundesminisrerium fr Bildung und Forschung, BMBF)
under rhe supporr code 01 UCI012A-E. The responsibiliry for [he conrenr of rhis
publicarion lies wirh rhe edirors.

I
SPONSORED BY THE

.m. Federal Ministry

~y 01Education
and Research

PREFACE/PREFACIO 9

Sarah Albiez, Nei1y Castro, Lara [ssen and Eva Youkhana

INTRODUCTION/INTRODUCCI6N 11

r.
ETHNICITY ANO CITIZENSHIP IN HISTORICAL PERSPECTIVE
ETNICIDAD y CIUDADANA EN PERSPECTIVA HIST6RICA
Reservados todos los derechos
Karoline Noack
Iberoamericana, 201 1
La construccin de diferencia en la zona de contacto: inrerroganres
Amor de Dios, 1 - E-28014 Madrid
Te!': +34 914293522 al respecto de la etnicidad . 35
Fax: +34 91 429 53 97
Wolfgang Gabbert
info@iberoamericanalibros.com
www.ibero-arnericana.ner Shifting Boundaries, Emerging Communities - Erhniciry and Ethno-
genesis on Nicaragua's Adantic Coast . 65
Vervuert, 2011
Elisaberhensrr, 3-9 - 0-60594 Frankfurr am Main Cecilia Mndez G. y Caria Granadas Moya
Te!': +49695974617 Guerra, formacin del Estado e imaginario nacional en el Per . 93
Fax: +49695978743

.. info@iberoamericanalibros.com
www.ibero-arnericana.ner n.
ETHNIC ANO SPATIAL AsPECTS OF CrTIZENSHIP
ISBN 978-84-8489-605-0 (Iberoamericana)
AsPECTOS t.TNICOS y ESPACIALES DE LA CIUDADANA
ISBN 978-3-86527-658-2 (Vervuerr)

Depsito Legal: SE-5967-2011 Rodolfo Stavenhagen

Derechos humanos y ciudadanas ind genas en Amrica Latina 121
Cubierta: Marcela Lpez Parada
Impreso en Espaa por Publidisa Santiago Bastos
The paper on which rhis book is prinred rneers rhe requiremenrs ofISO 9706 Propuestas mayanistas e ideologas rnicas en Guatemala 137


NOSTALGIA, FOOD AND BELONGING:

ECUADORIANS IN NEWYORK CITY

Mara Amelia Viteri

.,
ABSTRACf
Nostalgia is part o/a migrant's everyday lifo: although liued; imagined, inuented and
re-inuented in dramatically diffirent ways. In ibis article, 1 use an interdisciplinary
approach and base my analysis upon two components o/ research: 1) Firstly; data col-
lected at the Queens Museum o/ Art in Queens, Neto York City; tbrougb 'the multi-
media installation Al Lacro Lado, iobereby, my uoice and that o/ my Ecuadorian
anthropology colleague, tuere brought togetber with tbose o/the audience while explor-
ing material elements related to food, nostalgia, identities, symbols, nationbood and
migration. 2) And secondly; data collected betioeen 2009 and 20 10 within tbe Ecuado-
rian community mostly in Queens, New York. 1 use tbese findings to re-think notions o/
space and the continuum o/ transnational identities in relation to flod and citizenship.

INTROOUcrION ANO THEORETlCAL FRAMEWORK

According to Stewart (1988, 227) nostalgia is "not a given content as its

forms, meanings, and effects shift with the context - it depends on where the
speaker stands in the landscape of the present". The irnpossibiliry of a return
to orie's homeland - whether actual or imagined - permeates the lives of
immigrants across the globe. From rhe re-enactrnent of rituals and re-cre-
ation of spaces that resemble the homeland to rhe circulation of "nostalgia
food produces", an estimated 350,000 Ecuadoriarr' immigrants in Queens
and Brooklyn are actively defining alternative ways of belonging to rheir
homeland as well as to the new land, ways thar are never complete nor linear.
According to Yuval-Davis (2007) neither citizenship nor identiry can encap-

I Ecuador has been officially declared as a rnulti-ethnic and plurinarional Srare. Accord-
ing ro rhe lasr survey conducred by INEC (Insrirure for Narional Surveys) in 2006, mestizos
represenr 79.8%; followed by 7% rhar self-idenrify as indigenous. Needless ro sayo staristics
from differenr sources vary grearly as rhese figures are polirically loaded.

222 Maria Amelia Vireri
sulate the norion of belonging (as conrradictory definitioris are called inro
questiori). This author defines belonging as being where "rhe sociology of
emorions inrerfaces wirh rhe sociology of power, where identificario n and
participation collude", Yuval-Oavis analyses how, like other hegemonic con-
strucrio ns, belonging rends to become "naruralised", becoming invisible in
hegemonic formations. In rhe aurhor's words: "it is only when one's safe and
stable connecrion to rhe collecriviry, the homeland, the stare, becomes threat-
ened, that ir becomes articulared and reflexive rather rhan jusr performative."
In accordance with Holrzman (2006, 373) we need to consider rhe ubiq-
uiry of food in maintaining hisrorically constiruted idenrities, as ir owes nor
only ro rhe properries of the food itself but also to rhe social and cultural
condirions that allow 01' encourage this to be a space for resilient identities
where orher arenas are far more stigrnarised. Taking a closer look at rhe way
nostalgia in relarion to food manifests irself in a rnulripliciry of nacional iden-
rities - ranging from Ecuadorian to Latino to American - ir could offer a
potencial window into forros of memory that are more hereroglossic, ambiva-
lenr, layered, and texrured (Holrzrnan 2006,373).2
Food as nostalgia has been primarily conceprualised as a nostalgic enacr-
rnent of idenriry, as a celebrarion of a diasporic cornmuniry's resilience and as
an opporruniry ro bring history and memory rogerher under difficult cir-
cumstances. One of the quesrions guiding my currenr research is how readily
available Ecuadorian food in Queens, New York City (NYC) (labelled by
business and marketing people as "nosralgia food produces") acts as a signifi-
el' in rhe way Ecuadorians re-define their own nacional idenriry wirhin rhe
diaspora as ir overlaps with orher pre-discursive erhnic, racial and gender
idenrities. What we homonymically label as "mernory" ofren refers to an
array of very differenr processes which nor only have a rorally different
dynamic, but rhat we also aim ro undersrand for very different reasons too -
;. ranging from monumental public archirecrure to the nostalgia evoked by a
rea-soaked biscuir (Holrzrnan 2006, 361). A useful concept used by Appadu-
rai (2003, 339) is the terrn "rranslocaliries" ro talk about rhe cornplex condi-
tions for rhe production of ties of marriage, work, business and leisure that
are connecred ro the homeland. According ro Anrhias (2009, 6), a key ques-
1 Similarly, aurhors like Valenrine (1999) illusrrare rhe cornplex ways in which idenriry is
produced, articula red and conresred rhrough food consumprion and rhe sparial dynamics of
cooking and earing ar rhe specific culrurallocarion of"rhe home".
Nostalgia, Food and Belonging: Ecuadorians in New York Ciry 223
rion is how ro think of belonging and identiry wirhin a transnarional and
"rranslocarional" frame which recognises that people have rnulriple locarions,
posirions and belongings, in a situated and conrextual way, but which does
not end up as a thorough reificarion 01' deconsrrucrion of difference.
Similar to Pribilsky (2007), my inicial research findings also identify how
Latino immigrants - in this particular case Ecuadorians - go from stable
idenriries as villagers, farhers, sons and brorhers ro ambiguous subjecr posi-
tions of "illegal'? aliens and second-class cirizens. As we continue ro further
problematise rhe inrerdependence berween these state caregories and those of
others including race, ethniciry, gender and sexualiry, rhe posirions of such
ambiguous subjecrs become even more unsrable. For insrance, if we are to
combine the totaliry of escalaring anti-immigrant discourse in rhe U.s. wirh
the srrong presence of Latinos in cities such as New York then cases will
appear such as rhar of Marcelo Lucero, who was stabbed ro dearh by a young
group of reenagers who called him Mexican in November 2008.
As r include a self-reflexive and auro-erhnographic approach ro this
research study, r combine my own undersrandings and negotiations of being
an Ecuadorian in rhe U.S. wirh rhose of firsr-generarion immigrants Rober-
ro, Franklin and Ricardo and a selecrion of rhe hundreds of nosralgic voices
imprinred in the colourful post-ir notes rhar were part of rhe Al Lacro Lado
mulrimedia insrallarion. Lacro, a eypical Andean Ecuadorian dish made from
poraroes represents the symbolic objecr arourid which my colleague Mara
Fernanda Moscoso and 1 exrracted ingredients ro re-enacr our experiences of
differenr places and memories: our neighbollrhaods, friends, ciries, families
and countries. Al Locro Lado was a multirnedia installarion project composed
of objecrs, video, phorographs, sounds and words (Fig. 1 and 2). The project
was a subjective, rheorerical, polirical, and artisric reflecrion, by which rhe
voices of ourselves - rwo Ecuadorian PhO anrhropologists (residing in the
Unired Srares and Germany ar the rime) - were broughr rogerher wirh rhose
of rhe audience while exploring material elemenrs relared to nostalgia, idenri-
ties, symbols, narionhood and migration.
3 1 fully concur wirh De Genova (2002) in rhar rhere is "norhing marrer-of-lact about rhe
'illegaliry' of undocurnenred migranrs" and rhar rhe rerrn and concepr irself needs ro be refor-
mulared. In a similar way, Kyle's (2000) research in Andean Ecuador invites us ro re-consider
basic disrincrions berween legal and illegal, labour and enrrepreneurial, economic and poliri-
cal, remporary and permanenr migrarions.

224 Maria AmeJia Viteri Nostalgia. Food and Belonging: Ecuadorians in New York Ciry 225

AL LOCROLADO

.,.

FIGURE 1
Writing out Loud/Escribiendo en Voz Alta. Photograph taken by the author,

1 draw upon Mata Codesal's (2010, 24) NYC research study "where
Ecuadorian migrants can easily get into an 'already-present home away from
horne' creating and sustaining a transnational food sphere". The author illus-
trates how migration is then also experienced through rhe body and how
food can be used to fight off the sense of fragmentation or disconrinuiry
brought into people's lives by migration. Other authors such as Fischler
(1988) discuss the relationship between identity formation and food too,
highlighting rhe centrality of food to our sense of identiry, as it asserts diver-
siry, hierarchy and organisation.
The Ecuadorian dispora" is a particularly interesting setting to begin
exploring these conflations considering the irnportant campaign initiated by
the current president, Rafael Correa, to build a sense of "Ecuadorianness"
through certain idealised images of traditional foods found throughout

~ For a more rhorough and updared discussion 011 Ecuadorian migrarion cf. Herrera FIGURE 2

(2005). Insrallarion Al Locro Lado. Phowgraph taken by rhe aurhor,


226 Maria Amefia Vireri
Ecuador. Parallel ro rhis carnpaign, President Correas current policies favour
local investmenr, producrion and consumpcion by applying elevaced raxes on
foreign imporcs in an attempc ro creare a sense of pride and "Ecuadorian-
ness" for rradirionallocal foods. In rhe words of my colleague Barbara Gr-
nenfelder-Elliker (2001, 13) "the massive exodus ofEcuadorians, Azuayos in
particular, (... ) obeys rhe forces of a global finance economy as much as ir
does 'choice' at rhe individual level". The author addresses both rhe general
and gendered shifr in the geopolirical orientarion of Ecuadorian emigranrs to
rhe U.S. and more recenrly, to Spain."
Ir's a challenge ro quantify the exact number of Ecuadorians living in the
NYC afea considering thar a large majoriry had ro resort ro coming ro the
Unired Stares either wirhour papers or using false docurnentation, - rhis par-
ricularly being rhe case afrer Presidenr Mahuad dollarised the currency in
1999, a few weeks before he was overrhrown. Furtherrnore, according to the
Ecuadorian Consulace in NewYork Ciry, rhe respective Ecuadorian cornmu-
niry in rhis locarion is a very mobile popularion changing home ar leasr every
rhree months ro avoid being discovered by the immigracion aurhoriries. Fol-
lowing Grnenfelder-Elliker's (2001, 9) research work in Azuay, Ecuador's
loss of sovereignty over currency coincides wich rhe expansion of "Plan
Colombia" ro include a foreign milirary base on rhe counrry's Pacific Coasr,
rhe building projecr for a new trans-Andean oil pipeline, and a mass exodus
now direcred rowards Europe.
My inirial observarions and interviews were conducred rnosrly in Queens
at different periods of rime during 2008 and 2009 whereas AL Locro Lado
rook place berween January 16rh and 30rh, 2010. The dara collected deals
wirh the rnulriple ways by which rhe re-significarion and re-invention of
(narional) idenriries rhrough "already-presenr home from horne" feelings
allow new transnacional imaginings and conneccions ro the homeland. Ir also
.. illustrates how commodiry chains acc as vehicles rhrough which producers
and consumers interact to create new relarionships across econornic, geo-
graphic and polirical boundaries (Warson 2005). Having said this, ir is cru-
cial rhat we frame rhe social consrrucrion ofbelonging wirh respecc ro Ander-
son's concepcualisacion of "cornmuniries", whereby emphasis should not be
, For more informarion on Ecuadorians migrarion [Q Spain, cf Camacho and Hernndez
(2008).
Nosralgia, Food and Bdonging: Ecuadorians in New York Ciry 227
upon rheir falsicy/genuineness buc insread, upon how chey are imagined.
Wichin chis framework, Sutron (2001, 83) calks about the process of synaes-
rhesia defined as food's memory power derived from rhe crossing of experi-
ences from differenc sensory regiscers. Synaeschesia, according ro Surron's
erhnography wich rhe Kalymnos, could help us underscand the significance
of food as parc of idenriry rnainrenance (and re-significacion) when migrants
leave their homeland.
NOSTALGIA, Fooo ANo IDENTITY(IES)
As Larino imrnigranrs, and immigrants in general, carry a myriad of idenri-
ries rhar are nor sraric, rhese idenriries are subjecr ro consranr negoriarion
before, during and after rhe experience ofborder-crossing in non-linear ways.
In addirion ro rhis, rhe "immigrarion problern" is more ofren chan nor
analysed wirhin a herero-norrnative framework rhar assumes mosr irn mi-
granrs have eirher a nuclear family of rheir own in rheir home counrries or
rhar rhey wish to have one in rhe u.s.
Immigrarion restrictions and exclusions are hisrorically rooted in rhe con-
cern for maintaining power and shaping policies on citizenship (Cant 2009,
42). That is ro say, cultural cirizenship as discussed by Rosaldo (1989) and
Ong (1999) will go beyond enabling assimilarion to enforcing ir when.ever
possible chrough the various mechanisms of power rhat end up as rmrrugra-
rion policies in rhe U.S. .
Those same cacegories char rhe government has created to granr nghts to
whac they have concepcualised as minoriries, pose a serious limit to full c~ri-
zenship in rerms of how we perceive, imagine and act upon sexual, racial,
ethn ic, class and gender represencacions char accompany rheir interprera-
rion. Modern conceprions of cirizenship, ried up wich various forms of
dernocratic universalism, cend ro demand a homogenous people wich a stan-
dardised package of righcs (Appadurai 2003, 339). An immigrant's culcural
practices, despire persecurion and concradicrory discourse regardi~g rhe~r
rights, are key to further underscanding rhe engagemenc of each diasporic
communiry in whac are usually double tracked polirics: rhose of rheir horne-
land and rhose of cheir currenc residence. In rerrns of culrural pracrices,
food is scrongly arcached ro che creacion,developmenr and reificatio n of
nacional idenri ries.
 226 Maria Arndia Vireri Nostalgia, Food and Belonging: Ecuadorians in New York Ciry 227

Ecuador. Parallel ro this campaign, President Correa's current policies favour upon their falsiry/genuineness but insread, upon how rhey are imagined.
local investrnenr, producrion and consumption by applying elevated taxes on Wimin rhis framework, Surten (2001, 83) ralks abour the process of synaes-
foreign irnports in an attempt [Q creare a sense of pride and "Ecuadorian- rhesia defined as food's memory power derived from the crossing of experi-
ness" for traditionallocal foods. In the words of my coLleague Barbara Gr- ences from differenr sensory regisrers. Synaesrhesia, according ro Surron's
nenfelder-Elliker (2001, 13) "rhe massive exodus ofEcuadorians, Azuayos in erhnography with rhe Kalymnos, could help us undersrand the significance
particular, ( ... ) obeys rhe forces of a global finance economy as much as ir of food as part of idenriry rnaintenance (and re-significarion) when migranrs
does 'choice' at the individual level", The author addresses borh rhe general leave rheir homeland.
and gendered shifr in the geopolirical orientation of Ecuadorian emigrants to
the U.S. and more recendy, to Spain.?
Ir's a challenge ro quantiy me exact number of Ecuadorians living in rhe NOSTALGIA, Fooo ANo IOENTITY(IES)
NYC area considering that a large majoriry had ro resort to coming ro rhe
United Stares either withour papers or using false docurnenrarion, - this par- As Latino immigrants, and immigrants in general, carry a myriad of idenri-
ricularly being rhe case after President Mahuad dollarised rhe currency in ries rhar are nor sratic, rhese idenriries are subject ro consranr negoriation
1999, a few weeks before he was overrhrown. Furtherrnore, according to the before, during and afrer rhe experience ofborder-crossing in non-linear ways.
Ecuadorian Consulare in New York Ciry, the respective Ecuadorian commu- In addirion to rhis, rhe "immigration problem" is more ofren rhan nor
niry in this locarion is a very mobile popularion changing home at least every analysed wirhin a herero-normarive framework rhar assumes most immi-
rhree monrhs ro avoid being discovered by the immigrarion authoriries. Fol- grants have eirher a nuclear family of rheir own in rheir home counrries or
lowing Grnenfelder-Elliker's (2001, 9) research work in Azuay, Ecuador's rhar rhey wish ro have one in rhe U.S.
loss of sovereignry over currency coincides wirh the expansion of "Plan Immigrarion resrricrions and exclusions are historically roored in rhe con-
Colombia" to include a foreign milirary base on the counrry's Pacific Coasr, cern for maintaining power and shaping (Cant 2009,
policies on cirizenship
rhe building project for a new trans-Andean oil pipeline, and a mass exodus 42). That is to say, cultural cirizenship as discussed by Rosaldo (1989) and
now directed rowards Europe. Ong (1999) will go beyond enabling assimilarion ro enforcing ir when.ever
My inicial observations and interviews were conducred mosdy in Queens possible rhrough rhe various mechanisms of power rhar end up as Immlgra-
at differenr periods of time during 2008 and 2009 whereas AL Locro Lado tion policies in rhe U.S. .
rook place between January 16rh and 30rh, 2010. The data collecred deals Those same caregories rhat rhe governmenr has creared to granr f1ghrs ro
wirh the rnultiple ways by which rhe re-significarion and re-invenrion of whar rhey have conceptualised as minorities, pose a serious limir to full c~ri-
(narional) idenriries rhrough "already-presenr home from horne" feelings zenship in rerrns of how we perceive, imagine and act upon sexual, racial,
allow new transnarional imaginings and connections to the homeland. Ir also erhnic, class and gender represenrarions that accompany rheir interpreta-
.l. illusrrates how commodiry chains acr as vehicles through which producers rio n. Modern conceprions of cicizenship, ried up wirh various forms of
and consumers inreract ro create new relarionships across economic, geo- democraric universalism, rend to demand a homogenous people wirh a sean-
graphic and polirical boundaries (Warson 2005). Having said this, ir is cru- dardised package of righrs (Appadurai 2003, 339). An irnrnigranr's cultural
cial rhar we frame rhe social construcrion ofbelonging wirh respect ro Ander- pracrices, despire persecurion and conrradictory discourse regarding rheir
son's conceprualisarion of "cornrnuniries", whereby emphasis should not be righrs, are key to further undersranding rhe engagemenr of each diasporic
communiry in whar are usually double rracked polirics: rhose of their home-
land and rhose of rhei r currenr residence. In rerms of cultural pracrices,
food is srrongly attached ro rhe crearion, 'developmenr and reificario n of
\ For more informarion on Ecuadorians migrarion ro Spain, cf. Camacho and Hernndez
(2008). nacional idenci ties.

228 Maria Arnclia Viteri
As my own prior research work illustrates, belonging, as interpreted ar the
receiving land within an immigration framework is usually described as an
imagined and desired citizenship (cf Viteri 2008a; ibid. 2008b; ibid. 2008c;
Viteri and Tobler 2009). Nevertheless, according to Yuval-Davis (2007),
belonging is not just about membership, rights and duries, but also about the
emotions thar such memberships evoke; nor can belongirig be reduced to
identiries and idenrificarions, which are about individual and collective nar-
rarives of self and orhers, presenration and labelling, myths of origin and
rnyths of desriny, Thar is to say, belonging is not determined eirher solely by
migrarory status; jusr as "American citizenship" do es not necessarily override
the hierarchical rendering of peoples within stereorypically racist and ethno-
centric categorisarions of peoples (Viteri and Tobler 2009).
Different authors such as Stewarr (1988, 227) have conceptualised nos-
talgia as a cultural practice that reminds us of the importance of considering
particular posirionaliries when analysing irs meanings. When critically look-
ing ar food and nostalgia in relation to belonging, we go back to the Nine-
teenrh Century where the srudy of food and eating in rheanthropological
field began as Mintz and Du Bois (2002) furrher illusrrare. What srands out
in some of the literarure Mintz and Du Bois discuss, is rhe role of food in the
social construcrion of memory, rhat is to say, the embodied forms of memo-
ry rhar consrirute food as a locus for historically constructed identiry, be they
ethnic or narionalisr (Holrzrnan 2006, 364).
This embodiment perrains to specific material aspecrs that need to be
considered. In rhe particular case of the Ecuadorian diaspora in NYC the
ability of going back or nor is one aspect thar will trigger different experi-
ences and feelings of the homeland. This ability is usually framed mainly
through the immigration status rather than economic capital.
DESDE QUE LLEGU QUIERO IRME ("SINCE 1 AluuVED 1 WANT
To Go BACK")
Roberto is a mestizo sociologist in his early 30s who carne to NYC around
seven years ago and remained undocumented throughout. Roberro's status
dramatically changed again after his deportation to Quito in November,
2010. Roberto has been not only a marvellous source of information bur a
great friend who generously introduced me to rhe world of "Litrle Ecuador':
Nostalgia. Food and Bdonging: Ecuadorians in New York Ci<y 229
in the NYC area. Roberto's mapping ofEcuadorians in NYC is quite acurate
as it looks at timeframe, historical context and acculturarion processes. For
him, there are three types of Ecuadorian immigrants thar need to be consid-
ered when thinking abour the consumption and understandings of certain
Ecuadorian produces sold in the NYC area. The firsr type are those thar have
adapted to NYC and are able to navigate ir like a fish in a pond ("como pez
en el agua"). The second type are what Roberto calls duales, those that rnove .,
between here and there either physically through constant travel or syrnboli-
cally through the regular exchange of goods, letters, phone calls, and even
fantasies of retuening to ones homeland. The third group is comprised of
those thar have not adapted to rhe NYC life and who never will. Roberto
also mentioned how the latter group represenrs the best rnarker for alcoholic
beverages such as Zhumir, as nostalgia is rendered, reproduced and ernbod-
ied through this iconic sugar cane liquor. According to one young female
Colombian waitress hired to distribute samples of Zhumir at Ecuadorian
and Latin American events, Ecuadorians use Zhumir for everything from
curing a cold to celebrating traditional religious events and even as a lucky
charm. Despite being readily available in NYC, one of the post-ir notes writ-
ten by an Ecuadorian ar the mulrimedia installation mentioned missing Zhu-
miro This could be [urther explained following Moscoso (2010, 178) where
memories of food are arriculated through a particular time and history. With-
in this framework, ir is the people, the dynamics of cooking and the placets)
related to that particular symbolic object - in this case Zhumir - that are
particularly missed.
Ricardo is a 35 year-old indigenous man who carne to NYC 15 years ago
from rhe province of Girn locared in the Azuay Andean Province of
Ecuador. He lives with his wife and two kids in the Bronx. Ricardo is among
those Ecuadorians thar have not been able to return to Ecuador even for a
visit because of his immigration status labelled by the U .S. goveenment as
"illegal". When talking about favourite dishes that we borh miss, Ricardo
looks away while saying "since 1 arrived 1 want to go back" ("Desde que
llegu quiero irrne"). Ricardo could well be a member of the third caregory
described by Roberto as those that might never be able to fully adapto
Some of the elernents through which Ricardo constructs his memories
and his longing for the past are his hornerown, his mother, the "people" and
rhe food. This is very similar to the information gathered at the Al Locro
Lado installation, where almost identical references to the family (including
 230 Maria Amelia Vireri
extended family), rhe landscape, the "people" and rhe food were recorded
alongside many others that included references to either foorball reams or
football irself. The following texr is illustrative of such references: "Extrao
los mores de San Juan, a mis panas de Chimbacalle y el frbol de la Tola." ("I
miss hominy fram San Juan, my buddies ar Chimbacalle and football at la
Tola").
Delving furrher into rhe topic of food Ricardo rnentioned "guatira" as the
dish rhar he misses rhe mosr. Guarita is a tradirional Andean dish of tripe
stew in a potato and peanut sauce. Similar to rhe Zhumir exarnple, 1 know
that guarira is readily available ar alrnosr all of rhe many Ecuadorian restau-
rants on Roosevelr Avenue, so 1 was surprised ar Ricardo's response. Inrer-
preting my surprise Ricardo quickly added, "rhar Guarita is not the same!"
He went on to share how his family sends him cheese and guinea pig.6 The
larter is another Andean traditional dish rhat was repearedly mentioned on
rhe pos.r-ir no res, revealing to us rhe majoriry of Andean people who attend-
ed r~e ms.tallation. Transnarional idenriries are thus forged thraugh material
and lmagmary exchanges of food, phone calls, lerrers, gifrs, donarions and
money rransfers. In Ricardo's own words: "These dishes (tradicional farm
cheese and guinea pig) help a lot because rhen 1 feel as if 1 am myself again"
("se siente como uno mismo").
~imilarly, Franklin, a mestizo man in his 30s working as a technology
engineer ar one of the presrigious universities in NYC, menrioned how
before rhey starred importing Zhumir he would ask his relatives to send
moonshi~e (hard liquor). Franklin has been living in NYC for rwelve years
an~ as Wlt~ Roberto, his emphasis has been upon pursuing a college degree
while ooking for berrer opportuniries in rhe country. Despire having his
dad's partial suppOrt when he firsr carne to NYC, he had to work in all rnan-
~er of differ:nt jobs, fram selling purses to working at a bakery. On reflec-
.. non, he .reahses rhar rhese jobs were transcendenral in helping him speak .
the ~nghsh language thar will now be essenrial for his future career in engi-
neenng.
B~th Ricardo and Roberto speak about rhe mulriple ways in which rhe
exper.lence of food evokes recollection, which is not simply cognirive but also
emocional and physical, paralleling norions such as Bourdieu's (1977) habi-
6 For more on the symbolic meaning of guinea pigs cf. Archerri (I997).
Noscalgia. Food and Belonging: Ecuadorians in New York Ciry 231
rus, Connerro n's (1989) no tio n of bodily memory, and Sro ller's (1995)
emphasis on embodied memries (Holrzman 2006, 365).
Franklin talks about a "still picrure" rhar remains in your mind from rhe
rime you leave your coun rry. This "srill picrure" srays close, .irnmovable,
and unchangeable unril rhe day you rerurn. The problem according to
Franklin is rhar you are never able to match thar "srill picture" wirh rhe real
picture rhar you will see upon your rerur n, whenever rhat may be. Nosral-
gia sers in moriona dialecric of closeness and disrancing (Srewart 1988,
228) where popular Ecuadorian food brands like La Cholira, Van Camps
runa fish, La Universal and Amor, among orhers, trigger a chain of sigui-
fiers where food enables - alrhough only momentarily - a "rerurn" to rhe
losr homeland.
Franklin recalls rhose /1rsr feelings of nosralgia when he /1rsr came to
NYC. Whar he missed rhe mosr were his girlfriend and his friends and he
would call ar leasr rhree times per week. Evenrually, he decided [Q collecr
all of rhe used phone cards ar which he realised rhar he had spent around
US$ 2,000 on internarional calls to Ecuador during a -rnon th periodo
Afrer a rwo-year period of mainraining a long-disrance relarionship with
his girlfriend, he sensed rhar his returri to Ecuador wo uld be delayed,
bringing him ro end the relarionship and, in his own words, "freeing" his
girlfriend.
Is food a central ground rhrough which Franklin furrher connecrs wirh
his Ecuadorian idenriry in NYC? Franklin believes that rhe places where
Ecuadorians play tradirional sports such as volleyball and soccer are rhe
insrances where you "forger rhar you are in rhe Unired Srares". Tradirional
Ecuadorian food and drinks are a vivid part of these evenrs, hence ernbody-
ing nostalgia and consrrucring belonging in non-linear, subjecrive ways.
Orher irnportant events menrioned both by Roberto as well as by Franldin
are rhe Virgin Mary processions rhar closely follow rhe rradirions in Ecuador
but wirh a New York rwist, however rhese are nor rhe focus of rhis paper.
Parks like Flushing Meadows Corona locared in Queens, NYC is, for
instance, a space where mairrly Ecuadorians recrate rhe cultural, social, eco-
nomic and polirical pracrices rhar rhey would usually carry out in rheir narive
homerowns: from discussing politics to organising a march, ro playing rheir
beloved narional sport 'foorball', ro couples caressing each orher on rhe grass.
AlI this is accompanied by tradicional food and usually special Ecuadorian
dances and music organised by the Queens Museum of Arr. Similar scenarios
 232 Maria Amela Vireri
have been reponed in Spain as portrayed in Lisandra 1. Rivera and Manolo
5armienro's docurnenrary "Problemas Personales" (2002, 72').
Franklin and 1 got into an elaborare discussion abour "what acrualIy
changes in your identiryies)" if as an Ecuadorian in NYC, you have access
to traditional food, sports, cultural and religious traditions. As an Ecuadori-
an living in D.C. with only one or two Ecuadorian restaurants scattered
between DulIes Airport and Baltimore and none of the rich cultural and
religious traditions that are paer of the everyday life of Ecuadorians in NYC,
I use NYC as a refuge to calm my nostalgic feelings when the tripback ro
Ecuador seems roo far away on the calendar. What changes according to
Franklin is that the access ro familiar food that is readily available alIows
him to rnaintain a strong Ecuadorian identiry, as restaurants are also places
where you can meet other Ecuadorians for different types of networking.
The fact that 5panish is spoken widely in NYC, paericularly in the enclaves
where Latinos are established, aids significandy rhe ability to navigate the
foreign ciry.
Franklin highlights that some of the tangible changes are how one's "last
name doesn'r count anymore" and how the work one do es in the U.5. acts as
a sort of equaliser whereby people from different social classes can come
together. The references to rhe "lasr name" that Franklin mentioned are
loaded with Ecuadorian understandings around skin colour in relationship
ro social class and "race" categories (cf. Roitman 2008). Broadly speaking,
the lighrer your skin is, the better off you are, which is not restricted to eco-
nomic capital but also social capital when using Bourdieu's terms. These
hierarchies and their inrerprerations will in rurn have an impact upon the
choice of food as well as the value and meaning associated to it. In addirion,
having a lasr name that comes from indigenous originsis stilI devalued by
rhe larger mestizo communiry. A strong sense of regionalism is reified in NYC
where Ecuadorian restaurants, as welI as festivities, are welI delineated
between the Andes and Coasral regions in particular.
As these narratives show, the conflarion of food, memory and nostalgia in
relationship ro idenriryfies) becomes relevant as we move not only between
geographically delirnited borders, but also berween and within these borders
that we negotiate daily crafr our mobiliry in some stances as immigrants and
in others as cirizens. This mobiliry becomes imperative as such borders are
continualIy changing and mutating within the fast-forward dynamics of
globalisation (Giroux 2005,6-7).
Nostalgia. Food and Belonging: Ecuadorians in Ncw York Ciry 233
CONCLUSIONS
Similar to Holtzman (2006, 364), 1 see food as a particularly rich arena in
which to explore such complexities of memory, considering at its forefront
rhe norion of experience in reference ro the pase. In this context, 1 believe
rhat Ecuadorian "nostalgia produces" could be used as a window through
which anrhropologists seek a broader understanding of the dynamics of this
cornmuniry as they continue ro re-configure their past and present, re-draw- ."
ing in a number of unpredictable ways the maps of where rhey belong or nor.
The forging of renewed though malleable identities within the diaspora
are engrained with bodily memory as illusrrated by Franklin's narrative where
he goes back to being himseljafter eating traditional Ecuadorian food, and
particularly so if this food is sent from Ecuador. The senses, as a recollection
of rhe past, become another opporruniry for an interpretive anthropology,
steering us towards an anthropology of the senses, as originally suggested by
Sroller (1995) and Howes (1991), among others. Nevertheless, nostalgia
should not only be interpreted as a re-experiencing of emotional pasts but
also in consideration that it may be a longing for times and places that one
has never experienced (Holtzman 2006, 367).
As 1 am interested in looking at food as a site where the re-construction of
identities takes place, frames ideas and feelings related to citizenship and
influences various facers of an imrnigrant's life, from everyday practices to
more strategic decisions, some important issues are key to this analysis: 1)
legal citizenship versus political participarion even at the risk of deporration,
as in the recent case of Latino students fighting for legal status so that rhey
can enrol in college; 2) nacional and bi-narional identiries in relationship to
belonging and the role of food within this process; 3) methodology-wise,
considering affect in terms of the role of memory in the re-construction of
identities and citizenship in relation to a nation-state; 4) the juxtaposition
and re-signification of a multiplicity of identities and their role in how
Ecuadorians in NYC identify with one or more spaces at the same time.
The ways in which we remember are contingent ro borh bodily memory
and the multipliciry of non-linear ways in which we apply meaning to cer-
tain produces, as well as the particular context where these producrs are avail-
able. Nacional symbols ranging from the colours of the flag to traditional
dishes and the availability of their ingredients are magnified by many
through the lens of nostalgia as illustrared through the successful and massive
 Nosralgia. Food and Bdonging: Ecuadorians in New York Ciry
235
234 Maria Arrielia Vireri

ApPADURA!, Arjun. "Sovereignity wirhour Terrirorialiry: Notes for a Posmarional

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Washington D.C." Estudios sobre Sexualidades en Amrica Latina. Ed. Kathya ber) is one of Mexico's mosr renowned fiestas and promoted widely. The
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cenrres/genderlnews/pastevents/symposium/yuval/>. communiries of migrarion and origin (Burrell 2005). In rhis vein, ir is con-
sidered a field where belonging is enacred and reinforced across inrernational
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