LW is a retired 74-year-old woman who lives with her husband in Sunnyside, WA. She was born and raised there and came from an immigrant mother and father who came from Guadalajara, Mexico. She never went to college but became a mother to three children and a grandmother to several grandchildren. She was remarried twice and worked two minimum wage jobs to support her family. Her primary language is Spanish but her English is perfect as well.

Are there any holiday traditions or rituals that you have?

LW: I used to make this Mexican pudding on Easter called Capirotada. It is similar to bread pudding and it was made with cheese and raisins and my mother taught me how to make it. It was fairly easy to make and it was a fun thing to do for Easter with my kids. When my oldest daughter got, old enough I tried to teach her, but I don’t think she makes it anymore and neither do I.

Is there an importance to the dish and why its associated with Easter?

LW: It was a reminder of Christ’s suffering on good Friday and the ingredients have something to do with the passion of Christ. I am not sure how but that is what my mother told me when she taught me how to make it. I just know the bread in it symbolizes the body of Christ, as they say in the bible ‘broken and shared so we might live’.

Is there a reason this tradition has become more lost to your family?

LW: I think it was something we just started to forget about. We used to celebrate Easter every year with family, including my grandkids when they were born. But now we live so far and I have gotten older so I don’t spend Easter with them as a family as much anymore.

Analysis:

This dish is common as a Mexican tradition during Easter. As LW explained, it is symbolic of the passion of Christ as the bread of life who suffered to forgive the sins of mankind. The other ingredients stand for the passion as well such as the cinnamon sticks that represent the wood of the cross he died on, the cloves for the nails on the cross, and the cheese for the holy shroud. The dish still continues to be served and has many variations and other recipes as well.