Jordan Flores Schwartz is the co-founder and producing director of the Fonseca Theatre Company, but she remembers growing up in Atlanta.
One of her favorite memories is of her mother’s kitchen coming alive with the smell of arroz a la Mexicana, a dish of rice with bits of peas and carrots cooked slowly in a spiced tomato broth. The rice would then be paired with black beans and chicken, beef or another protein.
Schwartz, an avid traveler, knows that rice and beans are a staple of many cultures besides her own.
“It’s the same ingredients, but there’s a different heart behind them that you can taste in those flavor profiles,” she said. “It’s like a little peek into someone’s home and someone’s community.”
Fonseca Theatre Company is based in Haughville, which has a long multicultural history that includes people from eastern Europe, African Americans and Latin Americans. Schwartz said now, more than ever, it’s important for people to engage with other cultures.
That’s why the Fonseca Theatre Company holds a Rice and Beans Festival every year as a way for westside residents to learn more about each other and other cultures.
Rice and beans from around the world
This year, the festival featured two American dishes: New Orleans-style red beans and smoked sausage and vegan fluffy rice and beans. It also featured Mexican rice and beans and chana masala, a curry dish from northern India made with white chickpeas, onions, tomatoes, spices and herbs.
Westside residents Vera Ibanez and Fatima Perry grew up with Mexican rice and beans and wanted to try a new dish. The friends tried out the chana masala and found that tasting something different inspired thoughts about eating and what they liked individually.
“We started talking about the texture and how it was seasoned,” Perry said. “Then we started talking more about the food and where it comes from, and all of the meanings behind how you’re cooking it. Now, I’m more open to the food of this culture and that opens the door to everything else.”
Haughville resident Susanne Yarborough grew up eating only plain brown or white rice. But despite the lack of complexity in the dish, she grew up loving rice as a side dish.
Yarborough tried all three dishes, but couldn’t pick a favorite.
For her, the Rice and Beans Festival was more about togetherness than the food.
“It brings the community together and allows us to experience different cultures,” she said. “I think it helps promote more peace with each other and neighbors with all the violence going on in the world.”
Fonseca’s next cultural event
The next chance to celebrate diverse cultures at the Fonseca Theatre Company will be during its Boo-La-La! Show that runs from Oct. 17-Nov. 2. The show features plays about folklore and superstitions around the world told by Midwestern playwrights. There will be storytelling, music and dance performances.
Ticket prices range from $17.50-27.50 and can be purchased online.
For more information, call Fonseca Theatre Company at 317-653-1519 or email them.
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Mirror Indy reporter Enrique Saenz covers west Indianapolis. Contact him at 317-983-4203 or enrique.saenz@mirrorindy.org. Follow him on Bluesky at @enriquesaenz.bsky.social.
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