Cooking Up “Peace”
White Middle-Class Paraguayan Women in the Kitchen during the Stronato
Bibliographic Data
| ID | 22350032 |
|---|---|
| Authors | Bridget María Chesterton (0009-0003-5874-5136, Buffalo State University, corresponding author) |
| Year | 2025 |
| Volume | 9 |
| Issue | 1 |
| Pages | 6-26 |
| Publication date | 2025-06-29 |
| Peer Reviewed | Yes |
| Open Access | Yes |
| Type | ARTICLE |
| Venue | Middle Atlantic Review of Latin American Studies (JOURNAL) |
| Journal identifiers | ISSN: 2474-9621 • E-ISSN: 2474-9621 |
| Publisher | Middle Atlantic Review of Latin American Studies (PUBLISHER) |
| DOI | 10.23870/marlas..484 |
| OpenAlex | W4412990062 |
| Language | EN |
| References cited | 2 |
Using oral histories, magazine and newspaper articles, and historical analyses, this study examines the lives and work of two of Paraguay’s most important twentieth-century cooks, Josefina “Chichita” Velilla de Aquino and Clara “Chuta” Benza de Garófalo. Both women helped shape and reinforce ideas about gender, race, and class in the Paraguayan kitchen under the Stroessner dictatorship (1954–1989). Working with white, middle-class Paraguayans, they influenced notions of domestic “peace” and the roles women should play in household management. In a country often studied as mestizo (mixed race), these women of European descent helped define the proper place and nourishment of white Paraguayan bodies. By educating Paraguayan women in the culinary arts and operating within existing social and political structures, they contributed significantly to the culinary landscape of Paraguay. A través de historias orales, artículos de revistas y periódicos y análisis históricos, este estudio examina la vida y obra de dos de las cocineras más importantes del siglo veinte en Paraguay, Josefina "Chichita" Velilla de Aquino y Clara "Chuta" Benza de Garófalo. Ambas mujeres ayudaron a dar forma y reforzar las ideas sobre género, raza y clase en la cocina paraguaya bajo la dictadura de Stroessner (1954–1989). Al trabajar con paraguayos blancos de clase media, influyeron en las nociones de “paz” doméstica y en el papel que las mujeres debían desempeñar en la administración del hogar. En un país a menudo estudiado como mestizo, estas mujeres de ascendencia europea ayudaron a definir el lugar adecuado y la alimentación de los cuerpos blancos paraguayos. Al educar a las mujeres paraguayas en las artes culinarias y operar dentro de las estructuras sociales y políticas existentes, contribuyeron de modo significativo al panorama culinario de Paraguay
Animal science · Biology · Chemistry · Computer Science · Medicine · Sex work and related issues · Artificial Intelligence · Biochemistry · Endocrinology · Internal Medicine
| Citation velocity | historical |
|---|---|
| Highly cited | No |