Authentically Mexican: A Family History in Six Dishes

by J.P. Brammer

¡Hola Papi! columnist John Paul Brammer’s Authentically Mexican is the hilarious and heartfelt story of his Mexican American family in diaspora, exploring his heritage and identity through six meaningful meals.

Many Mexican American families bond over traditional foods and recipes: sweating over steaming tamales at Christmastime, chopping up vegetables for pozole, prepping tortillas with a splintery wooden block and roller. This was not the case for John Paul Brammer. His parents barely cooked, and when dinnertime rolled around, he could often find his mother and grandmother fighting over whether to dine at Pizza Hut or Golden Corral. Years later, when John Paul began to explore the role that food plays in his life, he soon realized that, while it may be unusual, he did have a culinary tradition all his own: No matter the circumstances, the story of a family can be told through the recipes and meals that have sustained it, the meals we come back to eating, time and again - for nostalgia, for comfort, for a deeper kind of sustenance.

The perfect next listen for fans of Samantha Irby and R. Eric Thomas, this unforgettable personal essay is full of both laugh-out-loud moments and poignant observations about what it means to celebrate your heritage and culture “authentically”, wherever you are - from Mexico City’s Día de Muertos parade to the Taco Bueno drive-through in Lawton, Oklahoma.

Genres: Audiobook, Nonfiction, Memoir, Food, Biography, Autobiography, Humor

Audible Audio

Published December 22, 2020

Reviews

[Ksenia (vaenn) · Rating 4 out of 5]

"Authentically Mexican" належить до когорти Audible Originals - і в цьому випадку це щось середнє між подкастом та цілком традиційним розлогим есеєм на шість частин про вперте намацування меж власної культурно-етнічної ідентичності.

Колумніст Джон-Пол Браммер півтори години з дошкульною іронією розповідає про те, як він довго й доволі болісно розкопував своє чиканське коріння. Його родина належить до тих, для кого власна "мексиканськість" асоціювалася з бідністю, і кожне успішніше покоління все далі й далі відривалося від коренів. Покоління автора - вже те, котре іспанській старші не вчили, олтарі до Дня мертвих ладнати не кликали, "І навіть фамільних рецептів у нас нема!" - бідкається автор. Хіба що абуелині тортильї зарахувати. Чекайте... А чому не можна рахувати абуелині тортильї?

Власне, вся ця невеличка оповідь - це навіть не стільки історія родини в шести стравах (хоча технічно - саме вона і є), скільки сповідь "Як я намагався зрозуміти, що таке "автентичність" і чи конче вона потрібна". І це така... шорсткувато-химерна сповідь, людям із чітко осмисленим уявленням про своє місце у всесвіті проблеми автора можуть бути, м'яко кажучи, неблизькими, а прямо кажучи - стрьомно-незрозумілими. Але мені деякі фрагменти просто в серденько цілили. Оте саме осердя власної ідентичності - таке ж безмовне, таке ж химерне, таке, що складається із уривків традицій, клаптів фраз, із запахів, інтонацій, пороху між пальцями та смаків, воно ж дійсно чи не в першу чергу складається зі смаків, от ніде правди діти.

[Emmalita · Rating 4 out of 5]

I decided I needed a breather before diving into Harrow the Ninth, so I looked at was very different and available on Audible. I chose JP Brammer’s Authentically Mexican: A Family History in Six Dishes. This is a food book, but not a food book. It is a family history and a cultural identity with food as a touchstone.

Brammer, writer of the excellent ¡Hola Papi! column (now on Substack), explores his feelings about his own cultural identity – fake Mexican, authentic Mexican, his own kind of Mexican American. At one hour and twenty-six minutes long, Brammer packs in a lot of memory, feeling, and context while also keeping the story tightly focused on his point – he is authentic because he is.

Brammer begins and ends reflecting on a regular visit to the local Taco Bueno with his sister, abuelo and abuela. He explores his relationship with his cultural identity, the tensions in his family, and the whole idea of identity and authenticity in six short sections around food. His abuela had stopped cooking before he was born, but she would still make tortillas. He wanted her to teach him, but she never did and he was left to cobble together a close approximation from white women on YouTube. All of his reflections are tinged with humor, anger, sorrow, and the kind of acceptance that comes from knowing that the broken thing wasn’t about you and you aren’t going to get any answers.

I would listen to Brammer talk about himself, food, his family, anything he wanted to talk about for hours.

[Sara Habein · Rating 5 out of 5]

Loved this. What a great set of personal food stories to finish out 2020 with.

[Lauran Burnham · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was a very interesting collection of essays where the author explored his cultural identity through memories that revolves around the few dishes that his family would make. I have seen themes of identity confusion in families of of first generation Americans. There is a divide between the culture that the parents came from and the culture that their children are born into. Are they Chinese, Mexican, etc? Or are they American? Each essay identifies a characteristic of what defines identity, and there is much to think about. The essays go quickly, so this was a very interesting quick read that I would recommend to people who like to think about what shapes our identities.

[Nerine Dorman · Rating 4 out of 5]

In the spirit of mixing things up, I downloaded Authentically Mexican by John Paul Brammer, which was included in my Audible subscription. It's not a long audiobook, but in terms of it being vastly different from the cultural slant I'm accustomed to, it nevertheless offered a slice of novelty for me.

I admit that I struggled a bit with the narration – Brammer reads his own work, and he has a particular upward inflection that annoys me. So it took me a bit to get into the audiobook. What I did love was his discussion of identity – something I do relate to a lot. Brammer stands in a cultural no-man's land somewhere between his Mexican and American heritage, and most of the book is about how he tries to bridge that gap and find an identity that is uniquely his own – by digging into his Mexican roots through food.

His family is anything but standard, but what shines through is Brammer's love for his grandmother and the recipes that underpinned his world. This book is part discussion on food, family, cultural heritage, and identity, and how all are inextricably linked. Joy, sorrow, and nostalgia mingle in a way that you can almost taste and touch the meals discussed. As a South African, the chances of me ever getting to eat any of the foods mentioned here, as cooked authentically across the pond, are slim, but I do feel like I've stepped away from this reading with a better understanding of the complexities of a culture that is vastly different from my own yet has some universalities that transcend culture geographic separation.

[Lulú · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5 stars

I really like Authentically Mexican. JP Brammer describes specific memories about his family and culture surrounding a couple of Mexican dishes, all the while revealing a bit of the identity crisis went through before coming to terms to who he is. It’s nice to see that food is deeply ingrained in memories of his family and culture.

[Jordan Cruz · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a great bit of family history and cultural significance wrapped up in stories of meals. Food plays such such big role in many cultures and this just brings to light the connection it can provide us as well.

[Cassandra Joseph · Rating 4 out of 5]

Fun little listen. Love the family memories that food brings up...totally my memories too

[Adriana · Rating 5 out of 5]

Although JP's experiences are different from my own, his stories made me nostalgic. He also made me laugh and miss my family. My rating is based on other similar length and style of book.

[Corinne · Rating 5 out of 5]

Rounding up from 4.5. An interesting and relatable reflection on identity, performance of identity and being part of a mostly-assimilated immigrant family, told through a focus on food.

[Pduit · Rating 5 out of 5]

I’m glad this is the first story I heard for 2021. It’s about family, belonging and life. I relate because my wife is Hispanic, I’m half Asian and half white, and we grew up in Altus, OK, a town so small that we went to Lawton for our entertainment.

My wife always tells me to write my story and I always see it as my life, and not some story that others might want to read. I think differently now. After listening to this short narrative by JB Brammer, I was drawn in. I was emotional and when I tried to tell my wife about the stories within, she could tell I was choked up and teary eyed. When I tried to explain it, I think it was because it helped me witness things she grew up with and also things I related to as an interracial child. I always thought of myself as a white American, but my mother was from Thailand and that gave me a skin tone that blended in with Hispanics in southern Oklahoma. But I had nothing in common with Hispanics or Asians, as I grew up in a typical white household. But I do think it’s not discussed enough how different it is to be half something, and never feel wholly excepted by either side.
I have gone many years blind to the prejudices that others have displayed towards me and maybe that’s not a bad thing growing up, but as an adult I should be more aware to help stop it for those that are unable to defend themselves.

This story by Brammer has shown me that everyone’s life is a story that someone can relate to. There is an audience out there willing to listen, learn and share in your experiences.

I think I have this new year of 2021 to get my pen and paper out and start to put some of my life down in writing and hope to share it with the world someday. At least I plan to share it with my wife.

[Sof Ocampo · Rating 5 out of 5]

A raw view of feeling connected to one's culture from the perspective of family meals. These all-too-real stories give a good perspective of how Mexican Americans can feel alienated when trying to find cultural identity. The story is light-hearted and humorous while also touching on identity and familial bonds.

[Melissa · Rating 3 out of 5]

3 1/2 star, interesting, slightly disjointed essays about cultural food memories and what it means to be Mexican

[Sierra Lirette · Rating 3 out of 5]

Funny at times, but would have liked more stories to get a complete view at his life, especially as an adult.

[Alex Shrugged · Rating 4 out of 5]

The author is what I suppose would be called "half-Hispanic," and the rest of his family is all into assimilation. Yet he wants to capture some of his heritage in food while still enjoying the Taco Bell knock-off in his home town. I understand. I am what might be called Hispanic myself, but my neighbor once told me, "Alex, you are practically white". True enough, but from the perspective of what I am racially (if there is such a thing) I am every bit as Hispanic as my neighbor. But like the author's family my family chose to assimilate... on purpose.

So, I identify with the author and his attempt to recapture his heritage. He started with tortillas. So did I. I suck at making tortillas. I do bagels much better. Go figure.

So, I had fun with this audiobook. The author does a fine job of narrating his own book. I'll probably listen to this audiobook again.

[Dasha · Rating 5 out of 5]

Authentically Mexican is a short listen, yet it has a fully thought out arc, plus it's uplifting. Since the main character spent his childhood obsessed with searching for a subterranean cohesive identity, he grew up resenting his mother for not making him authentically Mexican through food or traditions. He used to get jealous of his Mexican friends because in contrast he had no memories of his mother cooking elaborate dishes, let alone cooking authentic Mexican dishes. She was a busy mother and a school teacher, they ate out most of the time, but he wanted memories of his mother making enchiladas and birthday cakes. He wanted these memories because he thought they would legitimize him, but legitimize him as what exactly? He had no answer for this. Thankfully over time he learned to reframe his experiences and embrace agnosticism over how he formerly identified himself. He closed the story by sharing this new healing mental framework…

"Authenticity is not performing struggle, not a specific language, skin color, refusal to stray too far from a recipe or try anything new. It's not taking a stance against rainbow concho's on Twitter, or arguing with online trolls about the right way to make tamales. Authenticity is whatever reflects your reality. You'll know it when you see it. You'll taste it when you eat it. It's anything that isn't trying to be anything it's not. And here in this headspace, I found my peace. I am what I am. I've got what I've got. When I tell the story of my family, I tend to tell it in the negative. I talk about the things they didn't have. Things my parents and grandparents didn't pass on to me. This is for one, my own culture at play. I love to complain, but it's also distinctly Chicano, or Mexican American, or whatever you want to call it. Experience as defined by lost languages you don't speak, by the family members you don't see, by the things you don't eat. I've done it again here and I'm mostly fine with that, but it's just as important to look at the things you do have."

From one Okie (person from Oklahoma) to another, his fast food stories are also my family's fast food stories, so it brought heartwarming memories to the surface for me. I also deeply appreciate the author's ability to bring fun and light heartedness to the heavy topics of assimilation, cultural identity, and identity performance. Shout out to the author's mom, her son's writing skills are a testament to the foundation she provided as his English Teacher!

[Juan Carlos Nuño · Rating 5 out of 5]

A short and amazing listening!

Audible suggested me this title and I started it listening with no expectations. It was such a wonderful decision.

Please, allow me to congratulate JP. He really knows how to use his voice to keep you interested on the story. He changes his volume, intonation and makes different voices as he sees fit. And this really help the whole listening experience.

I really liked that this story feels happy and melancholic at the same time. The focus is on his relationship with his grandparents and his mother and how food brought them together (even in difficult times).

I loved the "Tortillas" chapter. I wished I had tried those tortillas. The way he described them sound amazing. Also, "Caldo de Pollo" as a medicine is a tale as old as time in mexican culture.

The "Capirotada" chapter brought memories back from my own grandmother. When I was a kid, she used to make capirotada during lent. It was delicious. I miss it. And I miss her more.

That being said, I liked how JP stood out for himself. Although his mother and his family seemed to have forgotten his mexican heritage, he was interested into learning recipes and his own culture. He embraced it. And he continued learning from it. He really transmits that passion to the listeners.

My favorite thing that this audiobook did was to mix dishes with his own life experiences. How he loved "fake tacos", but it was a time that brought him, his sister and his grandparents together at a table. How "arroz con leche" is one of the few memories that he has of her mother cooking. How "cafecito" bring families and friends together just for the pleasure to chat with each other.

One of my favs in 2021. 5/5

My favorite quotes:

"In my head, being a real mexican had to do a lot with suffering"

"Poverty is a full-time job"

"When I think of happiness, I think of the color yellow. Of conchas"

"Every family has a history told by food"

"Food ought to make you feel at home"

[Karla · Rating 3 out of 5]

Years ago, I did research on the communication of identity through food in the home. Who we are (or who we want to be) is wrapped up so much in what we eat and how we eat it. Also, coming from a mixed cultural experience, I have at times felt like I wasn't enough this or that to have a relatable and authentic voice. I felt very much like a person in the background, hanging in the wings, because I was never quite enough to be a full-fledged member of some cultural groups.

In this book, Brammer explores his chicano-ness through food dishes. Interestingly, his family culture wasn't much for cooking at home. Being a third generation separated from Mexico, with a father who was not of Mexican descent, he also felt like that was a culture to which he belonged tangentially. After time, he appears to have found his own identity in his family, in his culture and in his cuisine. I really liked the book. I liked that I could understand, even though my experience is so different from his. In a society aggrieved by cultural appropriation, it's nice to see that those of us struggling to have our roots make sense still have an identity that is valid and real.

[The Media Coven · Rating 4 out of 5]

I was a bit hesitant when picking this out because Authentically Mexican sounded very Taco Bueno and not "real" Mexican...this explains itself in the reading.

This is a point of view from the other side, I am also Mexican American but I didn't have that separation in my case my parents were the Mexican so am I so I had closer experiences in somethings. And I can also relate to the grandmother.

In my family we would call a family like his that have tradicional Mexican traditions but are slowly loosing them "Pochos" and yes in many cases it is an insult.

I do understand this character, the wanting to be connected to your character and feeling like an outsider looking in. It's our traditions our customs but when you grow up here they also feel alien to us.

Having two cultures does create something new and thats a good thing. But we struggle with fitting in.

What a coincidence that I am also from Chihuahua so I knew of the food and what it goes into it. The loss of traditions and ways of doing things and the urge we have for it. We feel like tourist in our own home.

Very enjoyable, hope to find more things on this author.

[Jennifer · Rating 2 out of 5]

I'm not sure how to feel about this. On one hand I can understand not feeling connected to your culture, I'm Hispanic so I thought this would fit me. On the other I'm a bit taken aback by how he views being connected to his culture. It's weird i know and I can't really put the right words to it. Maybe it was how his grandma treated them. She seemed so mean.

My grandparents on both sides went through the same basic concept of being poor, having a big family to take care of and having to struggle through life. They weren't bitter or cruel, or maybe they weren't around me.

I also wasn't bullied so that I know it's a big difference between myself and the author.

I appreciate the story for what it is but I'm glad I'm done reading it.

[Amanda · Rating 4 out of 5]

2021 Winter (February);

This was one I picked up for The 2021 Reading Bingo Board Challenges as 'something near to your home (literally and figuratively), and this checked all the boxes. As someone living in the lower half of Texas, Mexican culture and the Hispanic population makes up far more the 50% of our lovely city, which means, of course, my city, its mixed culture, and my own background is full of ther interweaving of Mexican Culture and Food.

I really like how honest and revealing this book was. It made me wince, smile, and laugh. I recognized every single dish, and felt poignantly moved by how they'd shaped the authors life, and even more, how this challenge choice and book, made me reflect on how each of those dishes had helped shaped parts of my past and present.

[Curlypati · Rating 1 out of 5]

This was a millennial complaining and trying to “find his identity”. It’s a way of thinking that I can’t understand. I am the child of immigrant parents who came to the US when they were already 30, so it’s not a completely alien background story, but his point of view is ridiculous to me. I take particular offense to his characterization of the United States and his flip commentary on how it crushes other cultures or forces conformity. I wonder how many countries he has lived in that make him qualified to make that determination? I’ll tell you that I’ve lived in 3 different countries and the US enjoys FAR more freedom to be yourself than any other place I’ve lived in. And I have many friends from other countries who fought like hell to come to the US for exactly those reasons.

[Luke · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was a really surprising listen because I was anticipating it to talk about how to make specific foods. But instead what I got was a “fake Mexican,” as the author put it, describing what his view of being authentic meant. He didn’t know the Spanish language and he didn’t grow up eating a lot of the customary Mexican foods. So the majority of his life he felt like an absolute phony. He tried for so long to find ways to authenticate himself as a Mexican but he just kept failing. What he ends up realizing is that authenticity is who you are, at the time, with what you understand about the world and how you see it. And I really like that.

[Xenia · Rating 5 out of 5]

As a 40-something, Oklahoma-raised, third-generation, Mexican-American who "didn't become Mexican until my high school Spanish class" & a trip to Mexico City with my grandma Herminia, this story rang so true and so deep en mi corazón.
This man read my mind and my frustrations of the struggle to ...fit in... be more ethnic... without being too trendy...
And my struggle to make Mexican dishes, when I'm not really good at making homemade dinner every night anyway; much less for my gringo husband wo wants "kinda" authentic; aaaand I've got to shuttle around the world with activities; so I felt like a Mexican failure.

Gracias Señor Brammer, for putting my feelings into words!!!

[Rach · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is so beautifully written (and spoken)! This was a very personal look into the transition to American-ized daily life and what qualifies as family traditions.

Maybe I have a soft spot for grandmas, but I absolutely loved the descriptions of the author’s grandmother: The fresh tortillas that she expertly churned out, the nurturing way she would nurse him back to health when he was sick as a kid, and the deterioration of her health and state of mind. It reminded me of one of my favorite movies: The Farewell. It was a slow and sweet appreciation of familial relationships, even as complicated as they may be.

[Susan · Rating 2 out of 5]

It is what is says - a family history through food. It is the author's reminiscences about his family and their relationship with food.

He is a Mexican American - his grandmother was poor and could cook authentic Mexican food but didn't any longer. His mother, a school teacher didn't cook through choice so the family always ate out at fast food places.

The author decided he wanted to learn to cook authentic Mexican food but his grandmother wouldn't show him so he taught himself from on line recipes

It was interesting but not a book that I couldn't put down

[Brycen · Rating 5 out of 5]

This story made me think about how my time living in Mexico as a white person shaped who I am. All the trips back to Mexico to visit the old neighborhood after we returned to the states. I would be a different person if my dad had gone to an American medical school instead of Guadalajara. It also made me think of recipes that died with family members in my family as well. That bit makes me sad. Things I wish my mom had taught me. The writers memories are so well described that it will invoke your own memories.

[Whithardy · Rating 4 out of 5]

Quick afternoon listen 🎧. In older generations food was a HUGE part of one’s identity. When people ate together and communicated in person. Recipes being passed down and celebrated. Holidays were a big deal with food preparation. Certain foods or smells bring back feeling and memories as we get older and loose people dear.
This felt like hanging out with a friend talking about our youth, food and family in the kitchen as we made some delicious food! I’m sad for the people that can’t relate to this. Hugs

[Angela · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really enjoyed this sweet little book. It was witty, vulnerable, and self-aware. Cultural Identity and food are so intrinsically connected and this book lovingly put experiences and self into foods that are at the heart of a Mexicanidad and some that are not. I loved the honesty about the struggles to understand authenticity in such a profoundly compounded mixing of borders that manifests in the people living in between.

[Neha Agarwal · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a very amusing piece about the author's traditional family meals. The story has 6 parts and each of the parts had a sort of random ending, but its not a traditional novel.

Each time the author (also the narrator) spoke about a dish, I googled it to understand what he was talking about. It was interesting to hear his personal experience with each of the dishes. Overall it was a fun read.