Kitchens as Cultural Mediums: The Food Experiences of Mexican Immigrants in Minnesota

Abstract

Under conditions of displacement, food has been linked to physical and emotional well-being and has been positioned as a stabilizing cultural element, one imbued with symbolic meaning when deployed in the construction of identity. However, limited research has delved into the role of kitchens in the adjustment process of immigrant groups. Understanding how food practices relate to the built environment, and particularly kitchens, enriches the potential solutions by which designers, housing professionals, educators, and policymakers can work toward culturally sensitive housing; that is, housing that supports various ways of living. Drawing from 25 in-home interviews with Mexican immigrants and Mexican-Americans living in Minnesota, this article investigated their kitchen needs as a way to more fully understand the role of domestic interiors in immigrants’ attempts to navigate life in displacement. A background on Mexican immigration, the culture’s foundations, and the study’s methodology preceded the discussion of the findings which pointed to the value of Mexican foods in constructing and nourishing the Mexican sense of difference. As kitchens were found to act as cultural mediums, capable of supporting and/or suppressing the practice of Mexican food traditions and thereby delineating the direction of cultural change, the article concluded with culturally sensitive design solutions and a call for future research.