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00:00It's the best part of my day.
00:07No emails, no phone calls, just the perfect snack.
00:11An Ecuadorian empanada in my own private refuge.
00:15It's a small taste of how food can be a powerful sanctuary.
00:25I'm Suresh Das.
00:27I've spent my career writing about the local favorites
00:29that make Canada's food scene truly unique.
00:32I believe every bite tells a story.
00:35Now, I want to share those stories with you.
00:43The connection between food and the feeling of sanctuary
00:46is one of the most primal we have,
00:48and it's deeply personal to me.
00:51My family fled the Civil War from Sri Lanka,
00:54and we came to Canada in 1990,
00:56so I've gone through my own journey of finding what a sanctuary is.
00:59It's feeling like you belong in a place,
01:02an inclusive place, a safe place,
01:05whether it's a festival, whether it's a restaurant.
01:08For Toronto's Latin American community,
01:10finding places of refuge has always been essential.
01:14Almost half of the recent newcomers from Colombia and El Salvador arrived here as refugees.
01:21And Mexico has now become the leading source of asylum claims in Canada.
01:26These communities have reshaped the city,
01:29creating spaces where traditions are preserved and identities celebrated.
01:33Today, I'm heading over to Comel y Canela,
01:40a cozy Mexican spot in the city's northwest.
01:47Owner and chef Yasmin de Leon is cooking up the flavors she grew up with,
01:51recipes that honor her ancestry and help keep that connection alive here in Toronto.
01:56Hi, how are you?
01:58Oh, buenas tardes, Yasmin.
01:59Muy buenas tardes.
02:00It's very nice to meet you.
02:01Nice to meet you, too.
02:02How are you?
02:03I'm great, thank you.
02:04Do you want to sit down?
02:05Yeah, yeah, let's sit down.
02:06Up my table.
02:09Oh, so this is cucumber limeade.
02:11I'm gonna let you choose, okay?
02:12And this is hibiscus with lime juice.
02:14Which one would you like to try?
02:15Oh, cucumber.
02:16Okay, go ahead.
02:17When my parents left Mexico, I was an infant.
02:22My mother raised us through stories.
02:26About her childhood, about planting the corn, about going to the mill.
02:33She would describe the smells and the colors and the textures
02:37and how the rain would sound on the sink roof.
02:40I lived in this magical world, and it was so vivid.
02:45So I didn't grow up in Mexico.
02:49Mexico grew up inside of me.
02:56I'm trying to recreate the things that my mom told me.
03:01That's why my restaurant looks the way it does.
03:06I wanted people to walk in and forget that they are in Toronto.
03:11We focus on the dishes that bring us together as a community, like mole.
03:18The food that requires a community to make.
03:24This is the mole, yeah.
03:25Oh my goodness.
03:26It looks beautiful.
03:27It's my first time having it.
03:28Why is it that there are not a lot of places in Toronto that have mole on the menu?
03:33Mole takes quite a lot of time to make.
03:35Our mole has 32 ingredients.
03:3832 ingredients.
03:39Yes.
03:40And each ingredient has to be either boiled or toasted or fried.
03:47There's never a moment where we're not making one of the steps for mole.
03:50That's the only way that we can have fresh mole all the time.
03:54For me, it's a personal dish.
03:56I'm from Puebla and our mole is mole poblano.
04:00Mole poblano is probably the best known of the mole sauces, including chocolate and poblano peppers among its many ingredients.
04:09Balancing them is nothing less than an art.
04:13First of all, the chicken is really tender.
04:16It's wonderfully cooked.
04:17The sauce has a nuttiness to it.
04:20Mm-hmm.
04:21Chocolatiness to it.
04:22There is that hint of spice.
04:24Not spicy, but spice.
04:25It's not overpowering so that everyone will enjoy it.
04:31It's hit the right balance.
04:32We've been working on this mole since 2017.
04:36And you're happy with where you are now?
04:37This is, we're happy.
04:38Wow.
04:39Wow.
04:40This is our recipe.
04:41This is what we're going to have to try and replicate every single time.
04:45Wow.
04:46I don't find it spicy at all.
04:47I find it spice-rich.
04:48Yes.
04:49But then you also have your salsas.
04:50Yasmin's house-made salsas are just as complex as our mole.
04:55This is the one I would try.
04:57Matcha is made from nuts and seeds and dried peppers.
05:01Wow, this smells amazing.
05:02Wonderful.
05:05It's got a delicate sort of like a mellow flavor, but there's a silkiness from the oil and a smokiness.
05:12Mm-hmm.
05:13A beautiful smokiness.
05:14It kind of actually opens up the mole.
05:16Mm-hmm.
05:17And makes it even more deep.
05:18Yes.
05:19Yes.
05:21Can you tell me a little bit about your journey and your story and how you ended up in Canada?
05:25My family left Mexico when I was a baby, a baby in arms.
05:30And it was a very traumatic crossing.
05:32We walked across the border illegally.
05:36Hmm.
05:37It was very difficult.
05:38How did you leave?
05:39Like...
05:40There were threats against my father's life.
05:41And then, in fact, when we ended up going back years later when I was 15, my father was murdered.
05:48I'm sorry.
05:49Yeah.
05:50And then my niece must have been a few months old when my older brother was also murdered.
05:56So, yeah.
05:57So that's why we don't...
05:58It's very difficult for us to go back there.
06:03I really appreciate you sharing that story with me.
06:06And I understand that because we left Sri Lanka because of a civil war.
06:13When I was 12 years old, there were school bombings, I wasn't in school, and my parents were worried about my safety.
06:20And one day they just decided, okay, like, they saw violence on the street.
06:25And they were like, okay, time to go.
06:27And then we came to Canada, and Canada was so open and welcoming to us.
06:31Yeah.
06:32We were in Scarborough.
06:33I totally see where, like, where you're coming from.
06:36The desire to find safety and a new life somewhere.
06:40Yes.
06:41So I really appreciate you sharing that story with me.
06:45And I'm really glad that we've been able to kind of come together over your mole, which is so personal to you.
06:54Yeah, it is.
06:55It's definitely a personal item for me.
06:57It's something that I miss and something that I've always wanted to eat.
07:02But for me, it's more about creating the food, coming together and making the food.
07:09Oh, Yasmin, you're spoiling me today.
07:12Gracias.
07:13De nada.
07:15As an immigrant, I know how powerful the smell and taste of food can be in connecting to memories of home.
07:32There's never a moment in my house where there isn't a frozen dish of lamb curry in the freezer.
07:38And that, to me, is a form of sanctuary.
07:41But I think the root of it all comes back to nostalgia.
07:44The idea of a sanctuary is belonging somewhere, being in a safe place, and it transporting you back to the good times and the bad times, meeting with people, having wonderful conversations, laughing, crying, usually over good food.
08:00And today, I'm going to a place that is an institution in Toronto for the Nicaraguan community.
08:07La Beamanagua is the only Nicaraguan restaurant in Toronto.
08:11It's a staple in the trendy Bloor-Ossington neighborhood, going strong for 20 years.
08:16The woman I'm meeting has been coming here for as long as it's been open.
08:24Gracias.
08:25Hi, Marta.
08:26Hey!
08:27Thank you for inviting me for lunch.
08:28This is amazing.
08:29Nice to finally meet you.
08:30Busy, busy restaurant.
08:31It's always busy.
08:32Comedian and playwright Marta Chavez came to Canada from Nicaragua as a 17-year-old student and remained to escape persecution as a gay woman.
08:45I came to, with a scholarship to comfort the university.
08:49Okay, okay.
08:50I protected myself by not being too close to people from back home.
08:55Oh, I see.
08:56I see.
08:57Because you live in a very, in those days, homophobic thing.
09:00Right.
09:01But I found solace in the food.
09:04In the food, yeah.
09:05Ooh.
09:06Oh, my goodness.
09:07Okay, this is it.
09:08Right?
09:09This is it.
09:10Naca tamales.
09:11Please coach me here.
09:12Okay, so you have to open it.
09:14Okay.
09:15Look, look how beautiful this is.
09:16Wow.
09:17Oh, my God.
09:18Mm, it's hot.
09:22Chef owner Jesus Morales knows that Naca tamales is the dish that is most personal for Nicaraguans.
09:28Every Nicaraguan knows Naca tamales.
09:31The word Naca, it means come from Nicaragua.
09:34And tamales is wrapped in the banana leaves.
09:38Masa, or corn flour, is mixed with blended vegetables to form a soft dough.
09:44Muy bien.
09:45Rice.
09:46Pork belly.
09:47Raisins.
09:48And the magical Congo peppers.
09:49They are spicy.
09:50Then, marinated pork.
09:51And this is the trick.
09:52This is the mint.
09:53Like that.
09:54Wanna cross like that.
09:55Excellent.
09:56Wrap into a banana leaves and turn into a tamale.
09:57Ay, Nicaragua, Nicaraguita.
09:59The size and the flavor identify that is from Nicaragua.
10:03My mom's recipe, okay?
10:05This is a recipe Jesus carried with him as he fled Civil War 35 years ago.
10:12Arriving in Canada with the cooking skills he learned from the family farm.
10:18I was about seven years old when I started helping my mother and feeding all the workers at the
10:25farm.
10:26My favorite memory of my mom is she used to put in the Nicaragua tamales on the pot and send me over to watch them and don't get burned.
10:33I will never forget that smell.
10:34I will never forget that she's telling me, don't move, watch them.
10:38Whoa.
10:57Yeah.
10:58Oh my god!
11:01It's so delicious.
11:03Oh my God, it's so delicious.
11:06Imagine there's so much going on in here.
11:08So you have the maize, you have the rice.
11:09You have the pork.
11:10And the banana leaf really adds a nice flavor to it.
11:13Soft with a savory depth and gentle sweetness,
11:17warm by the smoky aroma of banana leaves.
11:20Naka tamales are Nicaragua's ultimate nostalgia food.
11:24Smells like my childhood.
11:25Oh, that's beautiful.
11:27So where does this take you right now?
11:28When we were little, my dad, who was a very serious man,
11:32he would ask us, wanna come with me?
11:35Then we will go to church and then we will eat this.
11:38Mm-hmm.
11:40That's wonderful.
11:41Marta, tell me a little bit about your life journey
11:43and your comedy.
11:44Through my comedy, I have, I think, analyzed myself.
11:49Oh, okay, okay, soft reflection.
11:51Even when my mom passed away, which was horrible,
11:55and I didn't think I was gonna be able to perform,
11:59but it was that bubble.
12:02Where everything still can be as it was.
12:06I can still say a joke about my mom,
12:08as if she's still alive.
12:10Comedy is a sanctuary for you.
12:11Yeah.
12:12Sanctuary means to me a place where I can be myself.
12:17Do you feel like you could be yourself in Nicaragua?
12:20Be who you are?
12:21You mean the most famous Nicaraguan Canadian lesbian comic?
12:29No.
12:29No.
12:30I wouldn't.
12:31I would have never been able to expand my wings like I did here.
12:36So Nicaragua really exists in your heart?
12:40I need my stomach.
12:42No.
12:52No.
12:53No.
12:54No.
12:54No.
12:55No.
12:56No.
12:57Food photographer and writer, Dialla Canello, grew up in the Dominican Republic.
13:00She came to Canada in the 90s to attend a university.
13:04Oh my God, can I give you a hug?
13:06Tiala is a dear friend of mine,
13:08and today she's taking me to a special place
13:10that's become a haven for the Dominican community in Toronto.
13:20I can count maybe on one hand
13:22the number of times I've tried Dominican food,
13:24and I think it's always been at a festival,
13:26never at a restaurant.
13:27So you're going to love this place.
13:28Aquarela is one of the only Dominican restaurants here in Toronto.
13:32They do super authentic food.
13:34It's my fate. I can't wait.
13:36Aquarela in North York is a popular hub for Toronto's
13:39small but mighty Dominican community.
13:42Is there a reason that this place is so special?
13:45It's a place for gathering.
13:47It's a place for community.
13:48People are speaking your language.
13:50You have the foods of your childhood.
13:52You go there and you feel like you're at home.
13:54You just feel seen. You feel loved.
13:56You know, and obviously love shows through food.
13:59I love it.
14:00Yeah, totally. I totally get that.
14:02During the summer months,
14:04Aquarela is set up with a patio
14:06served by a satellite food truck kitchen.
14:08This is where all the action is.
14:11And today, the chef's got something extra special
14:14going on in the parking lot.
14:16So we put it at five o'clock.
14:19In the morning.
14:20Yeah.
14:21Wood and charcoal.
14:22Are you the owner of the restaurant?
14:24I am.
14:25Oh, you are?
14:26I'm Alex.
14:27Fantastic.
14:28Alexander Santos came to Canada 30 years ago,
14:30opening Aquarela in 2010.
14:33If we cut the piece,
14:35you're gonna see a beautiful inside.
14:37Yeah. This is a very low heat.
14:39So very slowly cooked.
14:41So what is the flavor you're looking for?
14:43Is it like a tenderness?
14:44Or is it, what is it?
14:45You know, that oily, lemony
14:47with the oregano and the coriander.
14:49Those are two spices that Dominicans use a lot.
14:52Yeah.
14:53But it's juicy and people usually have the puerco for Christmas.
14:56Usually it's with cassava.
14:58That's amazing.
14:59I'll see you inside.
15:00Okay, okay.
15:07Whoa, whoa.
15:09Hearing the slapping dominoes and the Spanish all around me,
15:13smelling the traditional dishes,
15:15it's clear that the community has made this their own Dominican refuge.
15:23Without the Dominican community, I wouldn't be here.
15:27Since I opened, they've been here for me.
15:34Pascado con coco is one of Sammy's specialties,
15:37featuring red snapper with this luscious coconut milk
15:41that is distinctive of the Dominican region of Samania.
15:44Sammy serves his with fried plantains,
15:47which is a staple in the Dominican diet.
15:50I can't wait for you to try this sauce.
15:52It's gonna be amazing.
15:53Look at these.
15:54Oh, look at that.
15:55Oh, my goodness.
15:56Is fish cooked in a tomato sauce?
15:57In a tomato coconut sauce.
15:58Coconut sauce.
15:59Yeah.
16:00Coconut sauce.
16:01Ooh.
16:02How long have we been here?
16:03Around 14 years, around that.
16:04Do you meet a lot of Dominican people that come here?
16:07All of them come here.
16:08All of them.
16:09Hey, we're like family.
16:11I want to kill them all, but you know, they're family.
16:16I am so excited.
16:17I've been waiting for these.
16:18This is wonderful.
16:19This is beautiful.
16:20Oh.
16:21It's so...
16:22So good.
16:23For me, the marinade is what?
16:26Tastes a lot like oregano.
16:28Mmm.
16:29Mmm.
16:30This is incredible.
16:32Mmm.
16:33It's also really tender.
16:34Mm-hmm.
16:35Right?
16:36You can have it either with plantains, like we're having,
16:39or with white rice.
16:41I close my eyes right now.
16:43It takes me back.
16:44Oh, really?
16:45This actually takes me back.
16:46Yeah.
16:47Yeah.
16:48Makes me wish that I was home.
16:49Yeah.
16:50Pork is coming.
16:51Yay!
16:52Now we have the special one.
16:53Look at this.
16:54There's more.
16:55There you go.
16:56That skin is incredible.
16:57You can hear that.
16:59Yeah.
17:02Super crunchy.
17:03Oh, my God.
17:04You should put some lime in it.
17:07Oh, see.
17:08Oh, yeah.
17:09It's beautifully tender.
17:11The smokiness is amazing, but the texture and the softness of
17:16that is just like, ooh!
17:18Oh, my goodness.
17:19See what I'm telling you?
17:20That is beautiful.
17:21Yeah.
17:22Mmm.
17:27How's everybody feeling tonight?
17:34One of the things I admire most about Latin culture is the way
17:37food, music, and dance come together to create a safe space
17:42where you can go and be yourself and feel completely at home.
17:49I'm en route to a classic Latin nightclub, Lula Lounge,
17:52in Toronto's Dundas West neighbourhood.
17:56I'm heading from the suburbs to the city.
17:58Let's save some gas by switching from hybrid mode to pure mode.
18:01Lula is known for its salsa nights, a big draw ever since salsa
18:05was introduced in the 70s by Latin American and Caribbean
18:09immigrants.
18:14The mix of Afro-Cuban and Latin sounds was the perfect way to
18:17connect with home and to each other.
18:19My dance partner tonight immigrated from Bolivia in 1987 and
18:25now leads the Pan American Food and Music Festival.
18:29Marcella Uriana.
18:31Hi, Marcella.
18:32Nice to see you.
18:33How are you?
18:34Hi, Suresh.
18:35So lovely.
18:36You look lovely.
18:37Good to see you.
18:38Good to see you.
18:39This is amazing.
18:40I haven't been to Lula in quite some time.
18:42You know what?
18:43It's the same.
18:44It's bringing back some memories.
18:45The Lula sign over there.
18:46Yeah.
18:47I mean, it seemed warm feeling actually from way back.
18:50Oh, yeah.
18:51It hasn't changed.
18:52It's going to be a fun night.
18:53Have you danced salsa before?
18:54It's been a while.
18:55Once you start doing it, it comes back to you.
18:57Yeah, yeah.
18:58I'll help you.
18:59Oh, thank you.
19:00You're the best.
19:01We used to have a group of friends, and we used to find a
19:03place to go dancing every night.
19:05Tuesday, there was Berlin, and Wednesday, Park Avenue, and
19:08Thursday, El Rancho, and Friday, plus a Flamingo.
19:11Every day.
19:12Saturday, Lula.
19:13See?
19:14How do you have the energy for that?
19:15It was just the dancing, trying to find things that
19:18reminded me of home.
19:20I'm going to listen to my music.
19:22Yeah.
19:23I want to find my food.
19:24Yeah.
19:25Oh, speaking of food.
19:26Ooh.
19:27Oh, this looks wonderful.
19:28Oh, yeah.
19:29Whoa.
19:33Of the wide variety of regional Latin American dishes on
19:36Lula's menu, one of the most popular is Peruvian-style
19:39Ceviche Carreterio, or Street Cart Ceviche, featuring fresh
19:44shrimp and octopus, rocoto pepper, Andean corn, garnished
19:49with sweet yam, and a cilantro crust.
19:52Mmm.
19:53It is delicious.
19:54Mm-hmm.
19:55Yep.
19:56That hits the spot.
19:57The corn that they serve, it's so hard to find here.
19:58It's easier now, but when I came, I couldn't find it anywhere.
19:59Really?
20:00Yeah.
20:01Mm-hmm.
20:02Mmm.
20:03What made you decide to get into organizing a food festival?
20:05I don't know.
20:06I was always involved in my community.
20:07I miss my country so much that I just wanted to do everything
20:10that was Latin.
20:11Mm-hmm.
20:12I just wanted to be part of it because it's where you go and
20:15find your roots, you find your food, you find your music,
20:18you find your music, you find your music, you find your
20:22people.
20:23What is your favorite food festival?
20:25How is it?
20:26How is it?
20:27How is it?
20:28How is it?
20:29How is it?
20:30You find your food, you find your music, you find your
20:32people.
20:33Mm-hmm.
20:34Everyone wants to find, you know, something from home.
20:35Representation.
20:36Yeah, from home, right.
20:37Yeah.
20:38That's nostalgia right there, right?
20:39That's the idea of the sanctuary.
20:40Sanctuaries are not just restaurants, but there are places
20:42like this, too, that you come to feel included.
20:45100%.
20:46Yeah.
20:47I think it's what brings us together.
20:48You dance, you feel the music, and you just, you let go.
20:53Yeah.
20:54Such a good relief.
20:55Yeah.
20:56It's home.
20:57I can't explain it any other way.
20:58It's like you're home.
20:59Well, shall we go dance?
21:00Yeah, let's go do it.
21:01Shall we?
21:02Yeah.
21:03Sanctuary!
21:04Woo!
21:05Sanctuary isn't just about shelter.
21:10It's about belonging.
21:13You can taste it in every dish, feel it in every beam, and in every connection.
21:22Here in Toronto, the Latin community carries their traditions forward.
21:27Keeping their spirit alive in places that have become home.
21:32The
21:51You'll be right back.
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