Rubí Orozco
Nourishing Baby
This project is centered on a cultural organizing process that seeks to document and disseminate the knowledge of people of the El Paso borderland in regards to the first year of life – with cultural wisdom, advice, and recipes that support families during this critical period of time. The resulting knowledge product is a bilingual (English/Spanish) anthology titled “The First Year of Life: Recipes of Care from the Frontera / El primer año de vida: Recetas de cariño desde la frontera.” It is a collection of essays, poetry, recipes, and advice from knowledgeable people of this community.
Contributor Work
Project contributor, Virginia Fuentes Ibarra, demonstrates an infant bathing technique passed down in her family.
Photograph by Rubí Orozco Santos
Contributor Profile
Rubí is a poet, storyteller, and wellness worker – the granddaughter of Mexican janitors and migrant farmworkers who were also musicians and poets. As part of community-based processes in the El Paso borderland, she contributes to the revitalization of ancestral foodways and wordways: the manner in which food is grown and shared, as well as the narratives that accompany land and heritage foods. She is a lifelong student of elders, poets, and writers in both the US and Mexico, and holds a graduate degree from UC Berkeley. Her documentary poetry book, Inventos Míos, received the 2019 Tejas Poetry Book Award from the National Association for Chicana and Chicano Studies. Her work has been featured in podcasts and public radio programs including Proof (from America’s Test Kitchen), Toasted Sister, Words on a Wire, and State of the Arts. She is currently Director of Storytelling and Development at La Semilla Food Center.