Anibal Criollo: “Food nourishes our soul and spirit”

After participating in the Madrid Fusión congress together with the best chefs in the world, Aníbal Criollo arrived in Arrasate this Thursday to continue weaving collaboration networks with Mundukide regarding the cooperation program they share in Colombia.

Aníbal Criollo and his niece Marcela from the indigenous town of Quillasinga, have their NATURALIA restaurant in the Colombian department of Nariño. They develop a cuisine based on affection, history, the intergenerational transmission of knowledge, roots and the intention to share. His story contains numerous references to his mother, to the cultural legacy that she gave him, to rural history, to the land “I had an indigenous mother who told me ‘She is full, happy heart’ and better ‘to be well eaten than well dressed” . For Aníbal, preparing food is showing affection, sharing, socializing, transmitting knowledge, feeding not only the body but also the soul and spirit. For this, the “chagra” is a key piece. It is a living system in which there is a communion between plants, animals and man. And in this relationship there are no leaders, the human being “is not lord and lord, but a part of the system” so that everything evolves and is preserved.

Aníbal and Marcela have been invited to participate in the Madrid Fusión gastronomy congress on May 31 and June 1 and 2 to talk about their cuisine and their vision of the universe. Taking advantage of the trip, they have visited the Mundukide headquarters in Arrasate with the aim of strengthening the relationship that exists between the two entities.

Mundukide collaboration in Colombia

Nariño is one of the most affected departments and with the lowest levels of human development as a result of the Colombian internal armed conflict. 3 years ago Mundukide began to collaborate in the Colombian department of Nariño, with the aim of collaborating with local institutions on the socioeconomic situation of two of the most vulnerable groups. On the one hand, with associations of street recyclers in Pasto and, on the other, with the group of indigenous women of AGROMINDALAE, a group through which Aníbal and Mundukide have met.