Though the focus of my Capstone is on my grandma and her cooking, I find it necessary to also include my grandpa and the many ways he has contributed to my life and our kitchen memories.

    My grandpa might not have been the best father or husband, to my dad or Elena. But he was the best grandpa I could have asked for. He didn't speak English well and so he often remained an outsider in our family gatherings as we babbled on in English. Because of him, I have worked hard for years to become bilingual, getting a major in Spanish, and chose to study abroad in Mexico.

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   Cruz had a sweet tooth. I can't count how many times he would smuggle me a piece of candy before I would leave to go back home. He was the one who would always rise early in the mornings to buy the freshest conchas and bring them home for all of us to share. 

   We would sit down to dip our conchas in the hot chocolate, he would blare his old ranchera songs or movies in the background. I might not have understood what the words were saying but the tunes became so familiar through the years. 

   At the table, my grandparents would tell me whatever story came to their mind, often repeating the same ones. With his accent as thick as the hot chocolate, he would tell me about his beloved hometown of El Valle, Jalisco. My grandma would then talk about my grandpa being the first Mexican in the steel mills of Chicago to operate the crane. For a man who had little education, he went on to start a successful Mexican video store and restaurant with the help of my grandma.

   After their stories, I always left with pride. I knew I came from laboring immigrants who have gone through so much just to be able to see me living my dreams.