Cassandra Castillo spoke with Valdemar Ibarra about the recipe for his carnitas. The audio is transcribed in English below.

Ibarra: In my family, we are six siblings — all of us with an interest of learning [and] watching how to make carnitas. 

Castillo: That is the voice of Mr. Valdemar Ibarra. He tells us how the famous recipe fell into his hands at just five years old after his parents hired butchers who made carnitas to later sell. 

Ibarra: The men who were working never thought that my parent’s intentions were to steal the recipe, but they did take care. They asked for ingredients ‘bring [things] to make a smoothie with garlic, onion, [and] condiments. These men would watch my parents to [make sure] they did not see, but they never told the one who was four or five years old— [he] saw everything. And I saw how they made them, and I saw to the last detail because I was the one that was there on my own account, and I saw. [After] the four occasions, I told them ‘don’t pay anyone to make carnitas, you’re going to make them, and I’m going to tell you how.’ And they made them, and we made them, and since then. I learned by watching, by my own interest. 

Castillo: After getting married, Mrs. Carmen Torres had to learn without much help from her mother and began finding out by just watching others.

Torres: I went over to my mom and said ‘mom, can you teach me how to make the tamales’ and she said ‘Now, now you’re interested — no, just remember how to make them’ and she didn’t tell me how. Every time I went to visit [people’s] homes — and it’s what I tell my [son], I tell him, I observed what it had what it accommodated, I watch and everything just sticks. 

Castillo: The couple adds many more ingredients than just physical ones. They always advise their son to use the ingredients one cannot see at the dining table. 

Torres: The important [thing] is to have interest, and the desire to do it — it’s what [my son] says, ‘mom, what do you put in it?’ I say, first of all, love. I tell him. He says ‘why does is this so good?’ because we do it with love, I tell him we cook it, first of all, with drive, with love, and we do it with joy and everything because when you’re making something and you don’t want to make it, just don’t make it because it won’t taste good for you or for anyone

Castillo: This was Cassandra Castillo with Rising Rock Media, music by FreeGroove.