Author Archives: afoyle

Buñuelos

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Context: A dessert RF would make with her family during Christmastime, which they call buñuelos. RF recalls the making of this food being an event–her great-grandmother was well-known in the family for making them and would use a specific cooking instrument (a kind of ornamental iron on the end of a long stick) that has since become a family heirloom. The recipe wasn’t written, only in her great-grandmother’s head, but it included some kind of whiskey or bourbon in the batter, and the buñuelos were to be fried in lard. The iron was dipped in the runny batter, then submerged in the hot oil–the batter would instantly begin to fry and fall off of the iron while maintaining shape (usually a snowflake or a pinwheel). Once cooked to a golden brown, the buñuelos would be placed onto a paper towel to drain excess oil, then placed into a large basin of cinnamon sugar. RF recalls being in charge of this step, when she was young, using a fork to roll and coat the buñuelos in the sugar. They would make multiple trays of them for the big family Christmas party, and everyone would take some home at the end of the night–with a reminder to keep them uncovered, as they would get stale otherwise.

Analysis: This is a Latin American dessert that obviously holds significance for this family and their culture. The act of making the food is, in and of itself, a big deal, and it was clearly important that there was more than enough in supply. I see it as a way to provide for the entire family, and a connecting kind of ritual of cooking, especially during the holidays.

Tamales

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RF: The making of the tamales was a big group activity. With everybody, you know, around the table, and the big pots of the masa, and all that stuff. Most of the time we were over at my [aunt]’s house, and my great grandmother was there, and my mom, and–it seems to me like there were so many aunts and uncles around. But, you know, we’d have the big pot with all the masa that they’d mixed, and they’d mixed it up with their hands. We would go to [store name] and get the masa for tortillas, and then we would hand-mix the lard in, and they would do it with their hands and I was always like, “that’s disgusting.”

Interviwer: [laughs]

RF: And then they would have to soak the hojas in water, and you’d have to clean them because there would be like, the strings from the corn, right? And you would have to make sure there were no bugs in there. And then there would be this big spread out on the table and everyone would have a seat, and there would be… the cheese, the grated cheese with the Ortega chilis. And then there would usually be the pork, like shredded red pork. And sometimes there would be the sweet ones, which I didn’t care for–they would put pineapple and cinnamon or raisins, or something, and they would dye the masa different colors. You know, it was just a big deal, very familial. Everyone had the spoons, and spreading out the masa, and then lay the cheese very carefully, and then roll it and tist it and fold it and prop it up, and–it was a big deal. I don’t think it was hours, but it seemed like it did go on all day.

Interviewer: Yeah.

RF: And then they would fill the big pot. And uh, we’d wait and wait for these things to cook, and then we’d have, you know–we’d have dinner the night before, of tamales, and then we would make enough tamales for the party, and then everybody would take home tamales as well.

Context: RF is a woman of mixed Mexican heritage in her mid 50s. She mentions this food being made in her family during Christmastime, and the making and preparation of the tamales being a big event in advance of a large family Christmas party that happened annually. She was born and raised in Southern California, and mentioned the event of going to a very specific store to search for the ingredients for the tamales with her great-grandmother.

Analysis: I think this ritual of food preparation before a big Christmas celebration is a common one, though one as communal and joyous as it is here is not always the case. I think this is a celebration of family, community, and culture, and a way of expressing care for the people around you. This is especially evident in the point made to allow every family member to bring tamales home with them after the event–a show of care and excess made possible only by a festival atmosphere, a way to take care of every member of the family.

Acronyms – OCSA

Text: “OCSA” – “IA,” “MT,” “DM,” “CV,” “CMD,” “DMS,” “VA,” etc.

Context: CS is a 21 year-old college student from Southern California who attended the Orange County School of the Arts in Santa Ana. This school is referred to by its acronym, “OCSA” (pronounced “osha”), and is made up of many different acronyms for the different artistic focuses the school offers. CS discusses being identified by the acronym of the school, as well as one’s artistic focus–acronyms, at this school, become a shorthand for what kind of person an individual is, and what stereotype that person might fulfill. For instance, a Musical Theater (“MT”) student might be seen as highly competitive, whereas a Visual Arts (“VA”) student might be assumed to be much more reserved and introverted than other students. Other acronyms listed above include Integrated Arts (“IA”), Digital Media (“DM”), Classical Voice (“CV”), Commerical Dance (“CMD”), and the Dance, Music, and Science building (the “DMS”).

Analysis: It’s interesting how the proliferation of acronyms at this school led to a kind of stereotyping or role-assigning, almost similar to the clique stereotypes seen at other high schools. CS discussed quizzing substitute teachers on the acronyms of the school, and assimilating quickly to the culture of the school through learning acronyms–she also discussed the panic of not recognizing an acronym that someone identified themselves with. The acronyms, at this school, very much make up a part of student identity and represent being part of an in-group. Not recognizing acronyms or not conforming to the common stereotype of one’s acronym could result in ostracization or judgement from peers, functioning as an extension of the high school social eco-system, rather than something passive outside of it.

Pre-show ritual – Will Bundy

Text:

CS: We would gather… usually it was before every opening. We would all gather together, um, like, everyone on the crew. And the stage manager, who would be calling the show, would say a prayer to the theatre gods. And we would all have out hands on their head in a circle around them. And then they would say like, “I just hope this show goes well, everyone did so good…” usually it was something along those lines. And once they were done, we would all raise up our arms and go “whoooooooa, Bundy!”

Context: CS is a college student in Southern California who attended an arts high school in Santa Ana. This school had conservatories focused on different art forms, and CS was in Production & Design (P&D), which focused on technical theatre and design elements in live performance.

CS: I have been told conflicting things.My brother, he says that it’s like how in The Mighty Ducks, the movies, they would say “quack, quack!” Like, that’s our “quack, quack.” But, um, the lore that I was told is that Will Bundy was the first P&D student admitted to Production & Design. Like, top of the roster, “B,” Bundy, top of the alphabetical order. And so we’re like, honoring him by saying Will Bundy. And it’s either “whoa, Bundy,” or “Will Bundy,” depending on who you ask.

Analysis:

I think this is a very interesting pre-show ritual. It contains some marks of common pre-show theatre rituals–the standing in a circle, touching hands, a “leader” figure within the group saying some kind of affirmation or “prayer” hoping for a good show, as well as recognizing the work of the people around them–but the chant is one I’ve never heard before. I think the supposed connection to the first student of the program is very sweet, and represents a kind of honoring of the work of the students of the program through all the years of its existence. It’s almost a celebration of the technical theatre program and all the unrecognized work that these students would do.

OCSA Symphony Hall Ghost

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CS: Miss Brown, who was my history teacher in 8th grade, she said that, like, the ghost of “Santa Ana,” one of the conquistadors who came through and, like claimed Santa Ana… She said that he lost his leg in battle and that it was buried under Symphony Hall. And that it’ll hop itself across the stage, um, when people aren’t looking.

Context: CS is a college student in Southern California who attended an arts high school in the city of Santa Ana. Symphony Hall was a remodeled church that had been turned into a school building & theatre on campus. Some classes were occasionally held in the basement library.

CS: I never had anything, like, weird happen, per se, at Symphony Hall. I think she just said that to scare the shit out of 13 year olds, but like… I don’t know why it’s specifically a leg, too, I don’t know how that works, exactly. “They’re going to build a church here, eventually, we need to bury your leg right here!”

Analysis: This is a hilarious legend. I attended this school & never heard this story, but I’m kind of endeared by the idea of a ghost story about a leg. I think an arts school is bound to breed creative myths and urban legends among its students and faculty–especially in a building that is possibly the oldest on campus, with something of a mystical air due to it formerly being a church. The idea of the “santa ana” conquistador with a missing leg, as far as I can find, is not based in any fact, but it makes sense that this would be a unifying, silly ghost story in a school full of storytellers and performers.