By Christopher Fink and Elizabeth Nix
Two strangers approach on the streets of Hialeah, Florida and nod in recognition of a shared and complex past. Their birth story differs, but each represents a shifting culture, culinary traditions, and resilience during exile. One has grown very popular and their fame is so pervasive that, although not originating there, they are recognized in La Patria, the fatherland. The other, born on the streets of Havana, is less well-known and no longer recognized in La Patria, but has won the hearts of locals across south Florida.
The story above is not about two people, but rather two foods – the Cuban Sandwich and the Frita. These foods illustrate the complex migratory patterns and relationship between the United States (U.S.) and Cuba, which is expertly described by Dr. Ada Ferrer in the book Cuba: An American History, a highly recommended book that highlights the forces that have shaped the story of these two foods.
Pre-revolutionary Cuba was a place of immigration, and Fernando Ortiz, Cuban anthropologist, lawyer, and essayist notably described Cuban culture, or Cubanidad, as an Ajiaco – a Cuban stew dating back to pre-colonial times that typically contains ingredients indigenous to the region such as malanga and yuca, but also foods influenced especially by Spanish and African migratory flows. Spanish pigs (which did their own form of colonization) forever made pork a part of Cuban cuisine, as evidenced by the lechón, a slow-roasted pork dish imbued with mojo flavor.
The 19th century saw the first large-scale emigration flows, and Key West and Tampa, Florida became hubs for Cuban migration and cigar manufacturers who relocated to the U.S. because of tariff policies on Cuban goods. In the early 1900s, after the Cuban War of Independence, U.S. business and plantation owners (and the U.S. mafia) filled Havana, while more Cubans migrated to Florida for work. This time was also marked by changes in working life and food technology, which led to the rise in popularity of handheld meals, and the sandwich made its way to Cuba where the mixto, pan con lechon, and the medianoche, began to appear.
On a recent trip with our students, our Cuban tour guide Alex said “you will not find the Cuban sandwich here.” As it turns out, it does show up on a few tourist-friendly menus in Havana, but Alex’s sentiment largely holds. Though sandwiches such as the mixto were a likely precursor to the modern Cuban, the birthplace of its current form seems to be in Tampa, Florida.
The preparation of the sandwich has morphed over time and for a more thorough history, see The Cuban Sandwich: A History in Layers by Huse, Cruz & Houk. The classic includes slow roasted lechon, which brings Cuban flavor, as well as ham [salami/bologna], swiss cheese, pickles, and mustard, which demonstrate American food culture and the inventiveness of Cuban Americans in exile. While the Cuban was in its infancy in the U.S., another sandwich found its way into the hearts of Cubans: the frita.
Considerable debate exists about the frita’s early timeline, but the term can be found in Fernando Ortiz’s 1923 dictionary of “Cubanisms,” and Miami’s Nuevo Herald has documented its popularity in Cuba (particularly in Havana) in the 1920s. The basic components of the frita are a meat patty, topped with julienned fried potatoes, and served on a bun similar to Cuban bread. Originally, the frita patty was made from lower-quality ground beef and spices such as oregano, cumin, salt, pepper, and most importantly, Spanish paprika. The patty was then smashed onto the griddle and fried. Some friteros reportedly fried their julienned potatoes in the leftover packing fat from Spanish chorizo sold to them by local restaurants, which gave the potatoes an extra hit of flavor. Cuban bread or buns were used to hold it together, and it was all topped with mojo or ketchup, depending on the fritero. It’s unclear whether the originator(s) of the frita had the classic American hamburger in mind, or whether it emerged as a street-friendly version of Cuban picadillo.
Cuban illustrator and humorist Alfredo Pong describes the frita experience of his childhood in Cuba on his blog, explaining that fritaswere typically sold at a puesta, or street food stand, and were cooked on a griddle/fryer using charcoal and later gas. Puestas contained all of the ingredients for the frita, and could be found in Havana and throughout Cuba, with Friteros julienning potatoes, preparing ingredients, and cooking fritas and other foods, such as tortillas (omelets), bollitos de carita (black-eyed pea fritters), and more.
The popularity of the frita continued into the 1950s, but was slowed following restrictions and shortages after the Cuban revolution in 1959. The March 1968 Revolutionary Offensive eliminated privately owned enterprises like the puestas, and the frita disappeared from Cuban life. Fortunately, the frita had begun to take hold in Miami, in both food carts and shops such as Fritas Domino in 1962, started by Ramon Estevill and his sons. Others followed, including two famous rivals – El Rey de las Fritas (the King of the Fritas) and El Mago de las Fritas (the Wizard of the Fritas). For more, see All About the Burger: A History of America’s Favorite Sandwich, by Cuban-American writer Sef Gonzalez.
The two stories of these sandwiches weave in and out of the migratory patterns of Cubans and the influence of both U.S. and Cuban food histories. Though the frita is no longer recognized on the streets of Havana, its memory and ancestors live on in the streets of Miami and reflects an idealized, pre-revolutionary past that no longer exists on the island.
The Cuban sandwich evolved from existing Cuban recipes, though its evolution to the current form was influenced and reinforced by its pervasiveness as a staple food for Tampa cigar workers. Outside of Cuba it has become synonymous with Cuban food culture, so much that this influence is finding its way back to the island as a reflection and projection of what tourists expect as “authentic” Cuban food identity.
Christopher Fink is a professor in the Department of Health & Human Kinetics at Ohio Wesleyan University in Delaware, Ohio, USA, where he also serves as the co-director of the Public Health program. His teaching focuses broadly on food studies, public health, community health education, and qualitative inquiry. Recently, his scholarly work has focused on the community and heritagization aspects of food festivals in Cuba, Italy, and the U.S., Cuban foodways, and oral histories of food and migration, and program development around community food insecurity.
Elizabeth (Liz) Nix is a registered dietitian nutritionist and assistant professor of Nutrition in the Department of Health and Human Kinetics at Ohio Wesleyan University, where she has co-developed a nutrition and public health program. She teaches an introductory nutrition course, food transformation course, food systems and an advanced human nutrition and metabolism course. Her research interests include health behavior changes and the social and systemic influences of health, particularly nutrition. Her interest in the food system and the role it plays in human health has led her to study systemic factors of diet across the world including Italy, Spain and, most recently, Cuba. She has recently led teaching and research projects related to her work with the Cuban community and the Cuban diaspora.