German, who was raised in Manhattan’s Washington Heights, reflected on the experience of growing up in a Dominican immigrant family and shying away from his language and culture as a child.
“We wanted to fit in so badly to reach that American dream,” he said. “But now things have changed … We now are embracing those parts of ourselves more fully. We are embracing our cultures, our heritage, our motherlands.”
The act of honoring one’s culture, he said, is about looking both forward and back.
“It’s not just about the future; we have to honor the past. The parents and grandparents who work two, three jobs … They gave us a chance to really stand in these kinds of rooms together, so never forget about that.”
For German, who is the executive chef at acclaimed restaurants in Oakland and San Francisco, passing down Dominican culture is done through his work: food.
“The recipes, the stories, they have to stay alive,” he said. “We have to share them with our kids, with our youth … Let’s keep creating opportunities for the next generation while giving them the connection to the generation before them.”
