 Beef chimichanga combination, with a chicken fajita taco and a chile rellenos, from Muchas Gracias, regional chain of Mexican food in the Pacific Northwest “Wanna get Mexican?” somebody suggests in the family, or at the office, when everybody’s hungry and wants something quick & easy (quick & easy for the diners, not necessarily for the cook), and usually not expensive for a filling meal. From Taco Tuesday, to TexMex, CalMex . . . we often think of Latinos as specifically Mexicans/Mexican Americans. And Hispanics from Mexico have become such a major influence in our culture that we take them for granted. But more and more Latin American foods are being introduced to the Pacific Northwest, in fact, all of the United States (maybe as much or moreso in the Eastern US . . . remember “Westside Story”?) For a comparison of TexMex and CalMex, see In 2021-22 I got enthused about exploring all kinds of Hispanic influences in the US. Here are some Latino flavors I found around Portland and other cities in the Pacific Northwest. Below that are other cultural influences that have become an integral part of US society. Portland Mercado--a variety of food carts from Latin America, 7238 SE Foster Rd, Portland OR. Picnic tables, including accessible ones, store & restrooms. There's a roof over the picnic tables, but it's high, so you might still get sprizzled in the wind. Some parking in the rear--one day I went it was totally full, another day there was plenty of room. I suspect it has to do with the weather. There's a stage, as well, indicating events might happen there, and the bus has a stop there. List of countries in Latin America
Foods, national dishes of Latin America Argentina--Alecocina, at Portland Mercado, 7238 SE Foster Rd, Portland OR.
Belize--Love Belizean, 1503 SW Broadway, by PSU on a pretty steep hill for a manual wheelchair, M-F til 3pm, except if they run out of food—we got there at 10 min ‘til 3 and they were closed ☹, another try they were closed mid-day, but I ate there 2-3 years ago, and it was very good and not expensive; (503) 421-5599  Bolivia, Chile, & Peru--quinoa Quinoa "originated with the Incas in the mountains of Bolivia, Chile and Peru. It’s been at the forefront in these regions for 5,000 years." Brazil--Fogo de Chao, 930 SW 6th Ave, Portland OR-- downtown Portland Serves a variety of meats brought hot on swords to your table by gaucho-dressed waiters, plus a superior salad/antipasto bar and desserts. Not inexpensive. https://fogodechao.com/menu/?location=70 Chile--LeChon, 113 SW Naito Pkwy, Portland, OR 97204, across from Tom McCall Park; "Vibrant, rustic-chic haunt offering creative South American meals, happy hours & a tapas menu"--Google maps; small place in a big beautiful, historic building. Booths & barstools, but they managed to find a place I could sit in a wheelchair. Columbia--Que Bacano!, at Portland Mercado, 7238 SE Foster Rd, Portland OR. My Spanish and his English were somewhat lacking, but we managed to communicate, and the food and the service were very good.
Costa Rica--La Carreta Pura Vida, at Portland Mercado 7238 SE Foster Road, Portland OR I've never really cared for tamales, but this place could make a believer out of me! I just had to go back and sample the other delish dishes. Cuba--Pambiche, Cuban restaurant at 2811 NE Glisan St, Portland, OR 97232; Excellent food, great decor, somewhat tight quarters inside, outdoor dining with fires (inaccessible for a wheelchair), entrance step bridged with a steep portable ramp for me (requires a helper), friendly patient staff. El Salvador--La Puerta: Killingsworth Station Food Cart Pod, 1331 N Killingsworth St, Portland, OR 97217 Killingsworth Station Food Cart Pod has a number of food trucks with a variety of foods, including Salvadoran, Mexican, BBQ, Jewish, Mardi Gras beignets, Polish, etc. Not all are open all the time. There are covered picnic tables; get a key to the restroom from vendor. Extremely limited street parking, though if you contact any of the vendors ahead (better to text or order online than to call), you may park very briefly to pick up your food in the striped lines around the corner off N Maryland Ave. Steep incline from the sidewalks for a wheelchair.
 Haiti—homemade Joumou My humble effort at left. Recipes & History of Joumou Honduras--Sabor Catracho, 742 NE 18125 Ave, Portland OR (Gresham) I was forewarned this place is difficult to find and not really clearly signed. It was still hard to know if I was in the right place, a shopping strip next to Habitat for Humanity Restore, across from Gresham Police Rockwood station. It's a tiny place, partly restaurant & partly store, offering both Honduran and Mexican dishes. The young man at the counter struggled with English, but had tools to help with communication. He and the customers were so kind and helpful, accommodating for my wheelchair and language limitations. Delicious food, even if not very diabetic friendly. I got one meal to eat there, and one to go for later. Very filling. Mexico Provecho, Vancouver WA, scroll below to "Oct 31--Dia de los Muertos (Day of the Dead)--Vancouver WA"
El Sombrero, Mexican Restaurant, Sandy Blvd, Portland OR In early December of 2021 I went to The Grotto in Portland, and chose to pick up food curbside from El Sombrero, not terribly far away by car. The man was friendly and accommodating, as I was too worn out to go inside to get the food. https://www.elsombreropdx.com/ Las Flamas, Mexican restaurant, Vancouver WA Handicapped parking on the west side. Rather a narrow walk for a wheelchair, but do-able. Great food & decor. Peru--Salt & Pepper, Peruvian food cart, 2623 SE Belmont St, Portland OR M-Sun 10-10pm (503) 757-9442 We arrived about 11am when traffic was light (but parking can be a challenge in this neighborhood--after going around the block on narrow streets filled with cars parked on either side, we were fortunate that a couple cars just across the street from our destiny moved, and we were able to park along the street with room for my ramp to roll out). I had a time (as I always do) choosing between tantalizing menu items. Philippines—homemade holiday While the Philippines are not exactly Latin American, they definitely have Hispanic History as well as American history and culture (both in the US and Philippines). I decided to do Filipino food for Christmas Eve (Nochebuena), and discovered too late that you must order it way ahead if you want someone else to prepare it. So, I forged my way forward (or backward?) to try some Filipino recipes. Fotos follow: Uruguay--PDX Emanadas food truck, Portland Saturday market, Tom McCall Waterfront Park, Portland OR alfajores--"traditional confection found in Argentina, Bolivia, Chile, Colombia, Ecuador, Paraguay, Peru, the Philippines, Southern Brazil, Southern France, Spain, Uruguay, and Venezuela" Wikipedia; the vendor warned me the alfajores (cookie sandwich) was delicate--I daren't unwrap for the photo, so it doesn't show very well. Venezuela--La Arepa, Carts on Foster, 5205 SE Foster Rd (enter SE 52nd Ave & Rhone St), Portland, OR 97206: Pabellon empanada/arepa--deep fried cornmeal pocket stuffed with shredded beef, fried plantain, black beans, and grated white cotija cheese. Quesillo, traditional Venezuelan dessert similar to flan. Like much of Latino food, not great for a diabetic, no matter how tasty!) Very limited, street parking.
Portland Art Museum—1219 SW Park Ave, Portland OR In Feb of 2022 the much anticipated exhibit of Mexican Modernism opened, and we went to see it. Oregon Historical Society Museum—1200 SW Park Ave, Portland OR (across the park from Portland Art Museum) I didn't see much about Latinos at the Oregon Historical Society Museum when I was there (which surprised me, because there are half again as many Hispanics in Oregon as Blacks by percentage, according to the 2020 census), but online I found this resource: Latinos in Oregon, Oregon Encyclopedia: A Project of the Oregon Historical Society Washington State History Museum, 1911 Pacific Ave, Tacoma, WA 98402 The Hispanic exhibit showing in late May of 2022 was not large, and mostly photos and words on the wall (too small to see in this post) about agricultural work. Text was in both English and Spanish. There was a slide show about Mexican family experiences that super-imposed each photo on top of the previous. Very interesting perspectives, but difficult to show here. The show was a collaboration with the University of Washington.
Pasco WA (and a Richland Mexican Restaurant near my hotel) I didn't have much time to explore Pasco, other than Sacajawea State Park, part of my Sacajawea Trail post, but noted a lot of Hispanic businesses in the area. If I could spend more time there, I would wander about in wonder, and try lots of Mexican restaurants and groceries! I was intrigued by Fiesta Mexican Restaurant while I was staying close by in Richland, Aug 2022, and gave it a try. US Census article about Hispanic home life US Census estimates Pasco may have as high as 56% Hispanic/Latino population. Basque Heritage, Boise ID & Ontario OR Basque Museum, Boise ID
Hispanic/Latino Holidays
2021-2022 Latino Celebrations  Once on this Island musical, Haitian culture--Oregon Shakespeare Festival 2022, Ashland OR Jan 1--New Year's Day--Haitian Independence, Joumou soup
Jan 6--Dia de los Reyes (3 Kings Day/Epiphany)--Rosca de Reyes
Feb 2--Dia de la Candelaria/Candlemas--tamales, candles
Mar 1--Carnival (Mardi Gras)--Brazil & New Orleans (at one time under Spanish rule) Mardi Gras around the world, word document Mar 2--Ash Wednesday, beginning of Lent Apr 10 through 17--Holy Week "Since the dietary restrictions of Lent are in effect the days before Easter, food can include, depending on what part of the country you are in, cheese pambazos (a Mexican white bread), fried fish, plantain dishes, tamarind and fruit." https://www.mexpro.com/blog/semana-santa-holy-week-mexico-celebrate/ See also For my Easter week I had hoped to get lamb skewers at Andina in Portland OR, but that didn't work out. I ordered the lamb dish from Salt & Pepper, the Peruvian food cart shown above. For Maundy Thursday/Passover/Pascua(Easter) I prepared a plate that one could say had some elements related to Latin cultures. At Pambiche, the Cuban restaurant above, I enjoyed fish in a coconut milk sauce. Additionally, I found and prepared Chilean sea bass from Uruguay to celebrate Good Friday. May 5--Cinco de Mayo celebration in Sunnyside WA, May 6-8, 2022 Since Portland (OR) wasn't having a Cinco de Mayo celebration this year, I had to look far and wide to find one. Sunnyside is about 3 hours from Portland when conditions are right, but between rain and roadwork, it took me 4 hours. I traveled Hwy 14 east, north on Hwy 97 (from Maryhill), turned east at Toppenish and (with some adapting) drove Hwy 82 to Sunnyside. The rainy side of the Columbia Gorge was crowded with little fishing boats, despite the rain (and some were still there or just leaving as I came back through after 10pm in the dark!). Hwy 97 goes over the hills so it rained again--it's a pretty drive, though plenty of fire damage yet standing. Toppenish and Granger were intriguing, but I daren't divert myself until the way home (more about Hwy 97 in a future post). The carnival was set up (between 4th & 5th, Edison & Grant; vendors on 6th and around the corner by the Safeway). It hadn't really got started, and I expect celebrations would get more lively later in the evening (as people got home from school and work, and probably quite a few travel from other towns of the Yakima Valley). Saturday and Sunday had performers staged and more activities planned, but I couldn't stay. I explored a little around town, then Granger (dinosaurs), and Toppenish (lots of cool murals), and got home about 11 hours from when I started out. Long day, but I was so glad I went and explored new territory. 2023 Portland OR Cinco de Mayo celebration Sept 16--Mexican Independence--Ontario OR Hispanic Heritage Month US Census article for 2022 Hispanic Heritage Month, including Hispanic population statsHispanic population chart, by state"How to Celebrate Hispanic Heritage Month 2021 in Portland - EverOut Portland"
Children's Books for Hispanic Heritage Month--check your local library for these and/or others Oct 31--Dia de los Muertos (Day of the Dead)--Vancouver WA (Oct 30) 2021 Dec 4--Advent--the Grotto; NE 85th Avenue & Sandy Blvd, Portland OR I visited the Grotto early December of 2021, and counted that for all the Latino/Hispanic holidays of December (most of Latin America as well as Hispanics around the world are Catholic; much of the Christian world also celebrate at least some of those religious holidays), since I couldn't find any other venues that were offering those celebrations, due to COVID-19 restrictions. Also, scroll way down at Dec 12--Virgin of Guadalupe Dec 16-24--Los Posadas Dec 24--Nochebuena Filipino Nochebuena—Christmas Eve; photos above at "Philippines—homemade holiday"
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Wheelchair WomanI've been in a wheelchair for 30+ years. It poses some challenges for traveling. Maybe others can benefit from my experiences. Archives
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