FORT WORTH, Texas — As Cuban anti-regime demonstrations continue across the United States, a Fort Worth food truck has become a hub for Cubans to meet and organize to support the island from afar.
It allows those who have nostalgia and heartbreak over the situation going on in their homeland to feel a little more in touch with their culture through traditional cuisine and the sound of salsa music.
As one of the few authentic Cuban cuisine spots in North Texas, Lola’s is introducing people to traditional recipes, and bringing back memories for those who grew up eating Cuban food like ropa vieja.
“We put a little bit of everything so that people can get a taste of Cuba,” said Miquelin Herrera, owner of Lola’s Cuban Food.
Lola’s Cuban Food is named after Herrera’s grandmother Lola. Guests can order a tour of Cuba, a dish with all the classics prepared with Lola’s very own recipes.
“When she was still alive I called her and asked her how to prepare this and that,” said Herrera.
The small business is the fruit of a long journey to freedom to come live in a land where they are allowed to earn and own everything they work hard for.
“We came to this country seven years ago looking for freedom, looking for a better life,” said Liliam Morin, owner of Lolas Cuban Food.
It is a food truck with a lot of flavor and purpose.
“As Cubans we are losing our culture to this dictatorship and tyranny to the point that the young people doesn’t know the recipes of the cuban food that we used to have, that’s what we want to preserve,” added Morin.
Morin said loss of culture is the result of the communist government their homeland is under. Currently some people do not even have enough food to survive, much less to prepare traditional dishes.
“We want our people to earn their food and shelter and everything by being free,” she said.
That frustration and feeling of helplessness has made more Cubans in the area stop at Lola’s for support and familiarity.
“All of us are feeling sad right now because we feel so impotent, so much anger we’re feeling also because we cannot help them in the way that they need,” said Morin.
“We're all family because in Cuba your neighbor is considered family, because we all know each other over there,” said Herrera.
Lola’s has become a place to go for Cubans in the area who can't do much else for their fellow brothers and sisters on the island, and it becomes too hard to cope with alone.
“Even if we're far away from Cuba we want to be present and we want to support our people and our family,” added Herrera who was a physical therapist in Cuba before leaving.
Herrera said he knows all too well how nostalgia can affect exiled Cubans who miss their homeland, but know there is no going back.
“Many times lots of people come for coffee and sit out here listening to our music, just because they want to feel what it’s like to have Cuba here,” he said.
For now Lola’s, a little piece of Cuba for the soul, helps make it a little more bearable.
