Avenue 50 Studio and the UCLA Latin American Institute present:

Decolonize Your Diet: Plant-Based Recipes for Health and Healing

Book Reading and Signing with Luz Calvo and Catriona R. Esquibel

One symptom of accepting colonization is adhering to the typical American Diet, even while it is killing us. —Devon Abbott Mihesuah (Choctaw)

More than just a cookbook, Decolonize Your Diet redefines what is meant by “traditional” Mexican food by reaching back through hundreds of years of history to reclaim heritage crops as a source of protection from diseases, such as diabetes, heart disease, and some cancers.

Authors Luz Calvo and Catriona Rueda Esquibel are life partners. When Luz was diagnosed with breast cancer in 2006, they undertook extensive research to find the healthiest way to eat. As a result of their research, Luz and Catriona promote a diet that is rich in plants indigenous to the Americas such as corn, beans, squash, chiles, herbs, and seeds. They argue against the false belief that Mexican food is unhealthy; instead they reclaim the wisdom of the abuel@s and teach their readers to prepare life-affirming, delicious Mexican meals from scratch.

Luz Calvo and Catriona Rueda Esquibel are professors at California State East Bay and San Francisco State University, respectively. The pair raise chickens and grow fruits, vegetables, and herbs on their small urban farm in Oakland, CA.

Book reading: Friday, March 18, 2016 from 6-7 pm