Family Preserves

Family Preserves: Homecooked Stories from Immigrant Kitchens is a visual anthology that spotlights the cultural identities of immigrant American families through recipes and reflections. Combining portraits and conversations, this project delves into the food and the cultural identity of multigenerational immigrant families across the United States. Cielito Mercado Vivas explores how food serves as both a source of comfort and a battleground for assimilation, while illuminating the emotional landscape of immigrants and their children living in America.

Inspired by her own immigrant family's journey and the loss of her late father's undocumented recipes, Vivas encourages others to preserve traditions and reveals how food serves as a powerful vehicle for connection. In this modern time where loneliness, solo dining, and the political tension around immigration are on the rise, these intimate stories celebrate the beauty of connection through a cultural archive. The compilation of stories uncovers a unique perspective that weaves together global diasporas and the American experience, highlighting the unspoken bond of navigating a diverse cultural heritage with the rhythms of American life. Family Preserves invites the reader to reflect on the importance of immigrant voices and the powerful influence of food as memory, identity, and resistance.

New book coming soon: spring/summer 2026