Synopses & Reviews
Tastes Like Cuba is the moving account of an exile searching for the identity he's lost and becoming someone else in the process.". An internationally acclaimed playwright, Eduardo Machado has grappled with questions of identity, loss and resistance throughout his life and work. He hasmore than any other playwrightbeen able to convey the experiences of both the Cubans who chose to stay in Cuba and those who chose to leave. His fearless style and unabashed politicism in the face of dissent have made him a controversial figure to the Cubans and Americans on opposite sides of an intense conflict.
In his memories and in his more recent travels to Cuba, he has found that the most natural means of connecting with todays Cuban experience is through food. Machado says, When I taste something I havent tasted in twenty years, I cant resist that connection to the past, to the conflict, to the identity that is mine. I know the feeling as I taste the flavor. There are no arguments, no political controversies, just the real sensation. If its that complex, it must be Cuban.
To any exile, food represents not only the lost comfort of home, but the best chance to reclaim it. The stories of Machados lifefrom child of privilege in pre-Revolutionary Cuba; to exile in Los Angeles; to actor, director, playwright and professor in New Yorkare interleaved with recipes for the meals that have enriched him. Every recipe has been updated for the modern home cook, enabling us to recreate the flavors of traditional Cuban dishes such as Machados favorite roast pork and his grandfathers arroz con pollo, as well as the cuisine of necessity he encountered in 1960s suburban America: Velveeta, SPAM, and other processed wonders. What emerges is a larger picture of what it means to be a Latino in America today. For anyone who has ever longed for a home, real or imagined, Tastes Like Cuba delivers a fascinating story of two worldsand one delectable life.
Review
"Eduardo Machado's and Michael Domitrovichs, touching, evocative, memoir not only makes the mouth water with its deliciously, descriptive accounts of Cuban Cuisine, but fills the tear ducts with longing for a culture and a people denied us for half a century by the regretful policies of the U. S, Government."
Ed Harris and Amy Madigan
"This book is a feast for the senses and the soul. We bask in the earthly paradise of a boys Cuban childhood, and when he is sent to the U.S. at age 8, we suffer. From then on were in thrall to the drama, (painful, funny, bitter, sweet), of his search for a new life. What better metaphor than food? We all crave recipes for survival. We hunt down the ingredients that will nourish our hopes and memories. Machado has filled his book with richly drawn characters. The richest of them of all may be that neighbor whose complexities we have refused to accept or understand for so long: Cuba."
Margo Jefferson, Critic and Pulitzer Prize winner
"Extraordinary, moving, a great read whether you come from Cuba or Greece."
Olympia Dukakis
"As I have regrettably never traveled to my father's birthplace, Eduardo's vivid memories and specific writer's eye details made his life come alive for me. Maybe it's genetic. Because I share his love of family and the preparation of their meals that is so important in a Cuban household."
Lucie Arnaz
"Tastes like Cuba is a wonderful multi-layered addition to the on going and ever expanding tapestry of exile history; part personal memoir, partly a cook book, it is also has a lot to say about the artistic life and, in particular, what it is like to be a Latino playwright in this country. That alone makes the book unique and worthy of a wide readership."
--Oscar Hijuelos
Synopsis
Tender at the Bone meets Waiting for Snow in Havana in the Cuban kitchen: An acclaimed playwright turns his talents to memoir, recounting his life as an exile, in which recipes represent not only the lost comfort of home but the best chance to get it back.
Eduardo Machado was born in Cuba in 1953. When he and his younger brother were sent to the United States on one of the Peter Pan flights of 1961, they werent sure if they would ever see their parents or their beloved home again. Much of Machados work as a playwright is steeped in this experience of exile. Having spent most of his life in America struggling to feel at home, he eventually returns to Cuba only to find out just how American he has become.
Tastes Like Cuba is about what it means to leave behind the only home you knowand become someone else in the process. Machado chronicles the search for his lost home through the powerful memories of meals that have enriched his life. He includes traditional recipes, such as arroz con pollo and Cuban roast pork, alongside dishes using Velveeta, SPAM, and other processed wonders of 1960s American cuisine. All of the recipes have been tested and updated for the home cook. The main course of each chapter is Machados life storyfrom child of privilege in Cuba; to exile in Los Angeles; to actor, director, and playwright in New York. Tastes Like Cuba delivers a fascinating story of two worldsand one delectable life.
About the Author
Eduardo Machado was born in Cuba in 1953 and came to the United States on the Peter Pan Flights in 1961. In a career spanning more than 25 years, Machado has captivated audiences with over 40 plays including The Cook, Havana is Waiting, and The Floating Island Plays. He has been produced off-Broadway and at regional theatres in the United States, Europe, and Latin America. For sixteen years he taught in Columbia Universitys Graduate Playwriting Program, serving as Head of the program for the last ten. He is the Visiting Arts Professor in the Goldberg Department of Dramatic Writing at New York University and the Artistic Director of INTAR, a Latino theater in New York which has been producing plays for nearly four decades.
Michael Domitrovich was born and raised in a family of restaurateurs and has worked with food all his life. As a playwright his work has been produced off-Broadway and off-off-Broadway. His play Artfuckers premiered to sold out houses in 2007 and will open off-Broadway in early 2008. He was commissioned to write the book of a musical about the record industry called Breach, with music by David Nehls (The Great American Trailer Park Musical), to open in Fall 2008. He is currently writing a play about young NYC chefs, as well as a novel (with recipes) about the waitstaff at a seasonal restaurant on Marthas Vineyard. He is a graduate of NYU Tisch School of the Arts.