Chocolate: Drink of Gods, Food of Mortals - The Exhibit

Last Spring I had the joy of curating an exhibit for the UIC Latino Cultural Center, based on a series of public programs we hosted exploring the many dimensions of Chocolate. The exhibit was put on display in April 2015 in the UIC Library, where it remains on display until April 2016. Check it out while you have a chance!

So why chocolate? you might ask. Chocolate has its roots in the heart of the Americas, where indigenous communities saw spiritual and cultural importance in this bitter drink. Since the 15th century, when European colonization brought the continents into more contact, Chocolate has spread from its Latino origins around the world, where it has become important to many other cultures as well. Theobroma Cacao (the tree that produces Chocolate's base ingredient) grows only in tropical regions, but the later stages of processing usually happen in wealthier northern industrial countries. This transnational nature of chocolate ties together many people, and many structural systems of labor, environment, and cultural concern. Chicago has also been a hub for chocolate production, reaching its peak as the Candy Capital of America in the mid-20th century.
Chocolate is something that ties us together, but can also help us to see stark differences between our cultural and economic situations. Chocolate growers in Cote D'Ivoire might have never actually eaten the final product they're producing, while factory workers in Chicago might work long hard hours. Indigenous growers in central America recognize the ways Theobroma Cacao is intertwined with the whole rainforest ecosystem, while someone in Japan might marvel at a massive chocolate waterfall in a local mall. Check out the full online exhibit here.

Here's a couple of examples of objects and labels I created for the exhibit:

Theobroma Cacao Tree Replica
Paper Mache; Chicago, USA
LCC Staff, 2015

This replica was made by students at the UIC Latino Cultural Center out of recycled materials, but real cacao trees can grow up to 40 feet tall! The Theobroma (“Food of the Gods”) cacao tree is originally from the rainforests of Central and South America, where shade, heat, and humidity are essential for this sensitive species. Tiny midge flies pollinate the tree’s white flowers, which then fruit into large multicolored cacao pods.
Today, chocolate sales expand around the world, but the areas it can grow are actually shrinking. Climate change and devastating deforestation are threatening the future of the cacao plant, along with many other essential products from the rainforest. This important ecosystem is the source of 80% of foods used by the developed world, from avocados to essential medicines. Be mindful buying tropical resources to help protect the rainforest for future generations.


 
Children in Hull-House Courtyard
Photograph; Chicago, USA
UIC Hull-House Yearbook collection, 1895

“Our very first Christmas at Hull-House, when we as yet knew nothing of child labor, a number of little girls refused the candy which was offered them as part of the Christmas good cheer, saying simply that they “worked in a candy factory and could not bear the sight of it.” We discovered that for six weeks they had worked from seven in the morning until nine at night, and were exhausted as well as satiated. The sharp consciousness of stern economic conditions was thus thrust upon us in the midst of the season of good will.”

– Jane Addams, 20 Years at Hull-House, 1910

Today, UIC stands in a neighborhood that was once dense with industrial factories, sweatshops, and tenement housing. Many children never attended school, but rather worked to support their families. Hull-House advocates like Jane Addams and others made great strides to limit child labor, improve local working conditions, and increase access to education and recreation. Despite this progress, these issues remain relevant in Chicago and around the world.
Was child labor involved with producing your holiday candy?


Molinillo
Wood; Mexico
2006
Early waves of Latino Chicagoans arrived in the 1910s and 20s, bringing with them different cultural practices and chocolate recipes! The 1930s and 40s saw new waves of Latino immigration, drawn by jobs like chocolate production. By the 1950s, the neighborhood around Halsted and Polk streets was the heart of Mexican Chicago. When the University took over in the 1960s, much of the community moved southwest to Pilsen and La Villita, but symbols from the old neighborhood remain, like St. Francis Church on Roosevelt or Cordi Marian Settlement on May Street. This chocolate stirrer (molinillo) could have been purchased at the nearby multicultural Maxwell Street market, alongside other chocolate utensils.


How does chocolate connect to your life? Contribute your own choco-story to the project here.
Want to see the traveling exhibit come to your library or exhibit space? Contact the UIC Rafael Cintrón Ortiz Latino Cultural Center at lcc@uic.edu