Thesis Advisor: Hypatia Vourloumis

Thesis: Same (PLANT-IN)-Diferente-Tera: A Corm-matic Journey to Find Home

July 2022

Abstract

Growing up in Curaçao, plantain was a staple in everyday cuisine, similar to most other countries in the Caribbean and Latino America. These two concepts of location have been understood as two separate ideas, but they are similar within their differences. There are historical events that bond these concepts together. But these historical events also make this region a mix, a meskla of culture and identity. I've used the rhizomatic root system of the plantain called corm as an analogy, a metaphor, to explain this meskla, the multiplicity of these areas. In this case I’m also questioning the idea of belonging, home, memory and identity as a Curaçaoan through the existence of the plantain and its movement around the world, I question how this ephemeral object of study conjoins locations and creates different narratives that might not connect to a single location, but multiple locations, which are similar in their ways.But what does this corm entail? It involves food, music, the mingling of cultures and more. What happens to a corm when it moves away from home to a different soil? And what is home to a corm? This corm can feel nostalgic towards home, but if there are elements to trigger the senses that will raise memory from home, then home can be anywhere. But can the plantain also be a cure to nostalgia when away from home?

Author: Nash Caldera