Barbacoa, Bomba, and Betrayal

October 15, 2023
Food anthropologist Miriam Qui�ones-Smith discovers that even the colorful world of Caribbean cuisine has its dark side. Awaiting the birth of her second child, Miriam is thrilled when her husband buys her a ticket to the Dominican Republic, where her parents manage a small vacation rental property. Even though she's disappointed that Robert's business doesn't allow him to accompany them, she's pleased that their son, Manny, can visit his grandparents in person before the arrival of his sibling. But things in Punta Palma are not all papayas and crema. Broken water pipes, algae in the pool, and a dead rat on the property have some of the guests up in arms. Before she can get settled in at her folks' place, Delvis, the producer of Miriam's TV cooking show, Abuela Approved, ends her to nearby Puerto Rico to report on the island's Three Kings celebration, leaving her parents to wrangle Manny. Arriving in San Juan, she's met by Delvis' cousin Welmo, who's lost his job as a police officer because of austerity measures imposed by the Financial Oversight Board on the mainland. Traveling with Welmo, she enjoys the rich food culture of Puerto Rico but also sees the privation these measures inflict on much of the island's population. She also sees the threat posed by gentrification, which encourages developer-financed restaurants to put high-quality Mom and Pop eateries out of business. Miriam takes the bitter with the better until the host of her guest house, elderly Do�a Santos, is attacked and ends up in the hospital, the latest casualty of an enterprise built on greed that doesn't hesitate to get nasty. Crime and cuisine really do mix.

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