Ode to the rice and the beans
By Elket Rodríguez
In 1954, Pablo Neruda, one of the most influential Latin American poets, published "Ode to the Onion." The Chilean praised the onion—the cheapest vegetable, and therefore most accessible in the homes of the poor. In doing so, Neruda uncovered Latin America’s soul and identity defined by simplicity, observable in sharing plain food.
Today, in the midst of the pandemic, hurricanes, financial crises, economic and political declines, and the collapse of the health systems of our Latin American siblings, I find wish to honor our many Latino cultures with an ode to the rice and the beans.
The staple foods of our Latin American homes have persisted in our cupboards, despite the onslaught of devastation. Like Neruda, I could thank the rice and the beans for continuing to feed my family and those of my brothers. I could even highlight their nutritional values.
But I know rice and beans do not deserve a poem. Unlike Neruda, I know, in the depths of my heart, who causes the seed to germinate and reach, without the effort of the beneficiaries, the tables of our homes.
I’m talking about the One who multiplied the loaves and the fishes. I’m talking about the One who deserves all glory and all honor. I speak of the One who is the Bread of Life. He is the rice and beans of all we breathe. I’m not talking about the God who only strengthens my physical life, but the only One who can satisfy our souls with his love.
I am referring to the One who not only saved in the past but continues to save all peoples today. To the One who becomes rice and beans for my house, for my people and those who are not Latinos. And he only does it out of his love and his power.
Only God is worthy of our ode. And the only poem I can offer at this hour is to give thanks.
Thank you, God, because—out of the abundance of your infinite grace and mercy—you have allowed a sick and lost humanity to continue alive through months of so much tragedy and pain.
Thank you, God, for being the strength of the poor, the rock of the needy, the strength of the downcast and the hope of the oppressed.
Thank you, God ,because in your economy, tears and gratitude are the best reward and the best bargaining chips.
Thank you, God, that in the midst of so much darkness, you continue to do justice and fill the path of our lives with virtue.
Thank you, God, because I can't find another metaphor that can explain what many of us Latinos feel. When our soul is caught by your grace, there are not enough words of gratitude.
Thank you, God, because precious are the feet of those who announce peace with their acts of justice. Of those who become your feet and hands.
Ode to Marv Knox and Fellowship Southwest for continuing to feed and protect thousands in the Mexican shelters.
Ode to Jorge Zapata and Hearts4Kids for passionately feeding and assisting the poor and disenfranchised in the colonias of the Rio Grande Valley in South Texas.
Ode Rubén Ortiz of CBF Latino Fellowship for assisting the many needs of Venezuelan, Cuban and Chilean families.
Ode to Emily and Israel Loachamin and La Puerta in Waco, Texas, for accompanying many immigrants on their journey in the U.S.
Ode to Anyra Cano, Carlos Valencia and the Ruth Project for their sacrifices tending to immigrants in Fort Worth, Texas.
Ode to Marc and Kim Wyatt and the Welcome House Community Network for being God’s refuge to refugees.
Ode to Greg and Sue Smith and LUCHA Ministries for their tireless care and advocacy for the immigrants in Fredericksburg, Va.
Thank you, God, for all those who distribute your rice and your beans to the needy. To you be the glory and the honor forever and ever. Amen.
Elket Rodríguez is an immigrant and refugee advocacy and missions specialist for the Cooperative Baptist Fellowship and Fellowship Southwest.