Celebrating Culture Through Food

Written By: Sofia Viruez-Munoz 🇧🇴 🇺🇸

Aaron’s Stir-Fried Rice Cakes (Sofia Viruez-Munoz)

Food is one of the most intuitive ways we learn about the world. Long before passports or

international flights, people understood one another through ingredients and traditions: what they

cooked, why they cooked it, and who gathered around the table.

I want to explore that idea more intentionally.

I attended a gathering with a few friends, and each of us were asked to bring a dish from where

we are from. What unfolded was a night of stories and memories—a celebration of community

and culture hiding in our everyday kitchens.

One of my favorite dishes was Emily’s Bolivian salteñas. Each bite revealed a warm, gently

sweet broth layered with potatoes, spices, and chicken or beef. In Bolivia, salteñas aren’t just

snacks, they’re often served and shared with loved ones and are notoriously meticulous to

make.

Aryan’s spicy chicken curry brought a completely different flavor to the table. Bold and

aromatic, the balance of spices created a bright heat without overwhelming the dish. Everyone

kept going back for more, and it quickly became one of the favorites of the night.

Another one of my favorites was Aaron’s stir-fried rice cakes. It brought a completely new

texture to the table, combining chewy rice cakes with crisp vegetables, soy sauce, and deeply

comforting aroma.

For my own contribution, I brought Bolivian alfajores, a cookie tied closely to my family’s

traditions. This recipe has always been passed down through storytelling rather than exact

measurements, and sharing it with friends felt like I was offering a piece of my childhood.

What struck me most throughout the evening was how seamlessly food can bring up emotions.

You don’t need to speak the language or know the details of someone’s geography to feel the

sense of pride behind their home-cooked meal. Each dish we tried held something personal,

whether it was a memory, a tradition, or a story of where someone came from.

Our gathering also reminded me of how interconnected the world is. Ingredients and cooking

techniques have traveled across continents, yet each dish still remains unique to the people who

prepare it.

Whether you cook a traditional meal every week or only revisit those recipes on special

occasions, food has a way of grounding us. It reminds us where we come from, and invites

others to step into that world with us.

By the end of the evening, our table told a story richer than any single recipe could. The variety

of flavors and stories created something none of us could have experienced alone, reflecting who

we are individually, but also who we become when we’re together.