The Kansas Humanities Council (KHC) recently awarded Wichita State University a $10,000 grant for the “Cocin(ando) Wichita” project, an interdisciplinary project about tradition, immigration, storytelling and empowerment through recipes.

Rocio Del Aguila, Modern and Classical Languages and Literature assistant professor, is the project director.

The purpose of the project, Aguila says, is to honor the cooking traditions of Hispanic immigrants in Wichita. It acknowledges the immense value of people who have kept their cooking traditions in the places where they immigrate and how that has shaped their culture and their communities.

“With this project, we will increase awareness of the cultural traditions of Hispanic communities in the city; we will empower these groups to share the diversity and beauty of their stories with the Wichita community at large; and we will create a narrative of the joys and sorrows of immigration,” he says.

Assistant Spanish Professor Enrique Navarro serves as the creative director for the project. Together, they will work with a group of undergraduate and graduate students from various departments to create a documentary and food videos.

Carolyn Speer, manager of Instructional and Design Technology at WSU, serves as the humanities consultant.

“KHC Humanities grants support projects that connect people with ideas and engage Kansans with the humanities,” said Julie Mulvihill, executive director of the Kansas Humanities Council. “This project will explore the cultural and culinary traditions of Hispanic communities in Wichita.”