Clip: Special | 3m 17s | Video has closed captioning.
When civil engineer Marcos Lorenzo immigrated from Cuba, he found himself wanting to share the music and food of Cuba with his neighbors in Louisville, Kentucky. At the four Cuban restaurants he has now opened, Lorenzo wants guests to feel like they’ve been transported to Cuba. Lidia visits Marcos at one of his restaurants, Havana Rumba. Together, they cook a classic Cuban dish, Ropa Vieja.
Aired: 05/30/23
(upbeat energetic music) - Marcos!
In the kitchen with you.
He offers to show me how to make Ropa Vieja, a traditional Cuban dish.
So how is the beginning?
I'm gonna steal this recipe from you, how's that?
- Of course, yeah.
You can have it.
It's very easy.
I mean, you just break it apart like this.
And if you see, I mean, and this is what you do.
We gonna make what we call in Cuba, sofrito.
- [Lidia] That looks almost Italian.
- Yes, it is Italian.
It's wine and tomatoes with onion, peppers, garlic, oregano.
- Marcos had been a civil engineer in Cuba.
So now what is the first step?
- Let's just start with this.
I came to the United States when I was 29 years old escaping communism, looking for opportunities.
In a communist country, doesn't matter if you work more or less, you are more productive or not.
There is no difference.
You're gonna get the same pay that your coworkers.
Olives goes next.
- Okay.
The aromatics, the garlic.
- [Lidia] When he came to Louisville, he had to start over.
- Man, you can't think about going back to college and studying again and revalidate your degree.
No, I mean, you have to work.
- Cumin.
- Yes, cumin.
- And then oregano.
- Oregano.
And the seasoning.
- Cuban magic.
- [Marcos] Cuban magic here.
- Many a time in the restaurant business, immigrants would come and I couldn't help myself.
I said, but you are overqualified for that job.
I remember those looks.
He said, just gimme a chance.
I wanna work, I wanna start someplace.
- Next thing we do goes the beef right now.
When I start working in the restaurant, I promised myself that I'm gonna be the best at whatever I do.
I start as a server.
And it was good money, quick money.
And in less than a year, I was already an assistant manager and I end up being like a general manager.
(upbeat music starts) I saw that if I work really hard, I get to advance, I get to move forward, I get to grow.
- [Lidia] Say pepper.
- Perfect pepper.
- Where did you learn to cook?
- First, my mom is a cook, a professional cook.
That's all she did.
She taught me a lot.
And when I came to the United States, so I get into the restaurant business, I have no other choices than grow my kitchens and, but it is fun, it is fun, I love it.
- [Lidia] After working his way up, he decided to take a chance on opening his own restaurant.
- Every single credit card, every saving, everything we had, we putting into the restaurant business.
Next goes the tomato, the sofrito.
- [Lidia] The sofrito, okay!
- Bank didn't want to lend us any money because when they look at our credit history, everything was to the max.
They're like, wait a minute, this is too risky.
- Being accepted as an immigrant, it's not always roses.
As long as you get a chance to put your foot in the door, hopefully show how good you are, and ultimately maybe earn a position.
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To celebrate and the adventures she had making 'Flavors That Define Us', Lidia organizes a potluck-style meal, in Washington D.C., where immigrants, now new friends, share food that is meaningful to them.
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