Interview No. 1797

Authors

• Guille Guzman

Publication Date

11-20-2025

Comments

Click here

Abstract

Guille Guzman was born in San Francisco del Oro, Chihuahua, in 1959. She’s the eldest daughter of six siblings and is the only child that lived in the United States. Guille has lived in El Paso, Texas, for over 37 years, and she became a naturalized U.S. citizen in 2016. In this interview, Guille recalls the role of the food salsa has played in her life from childhood all the way to the present day. She remembers her first memories of salsa at the dinner table and even when she first felt the heat of spice. Her parents, funny enough, were born in a town called “El Pueblo Chilero”, so Guille has always felt that chile, and in turn salsa, have always been present in her life. Guille goes into detail about the different salsas she ate throughout her life and their significance to her history. As a child, she remembers eating a salsa with more tomatoes in it than peppers, a salsa for children in her family. Growing up, she began to learn how to make salsa and experimented with ingredients to balance spice with flavor. Once she got a solid understanding of balancing the ingredients, her family and friends began to ask her to make it for them.

Guille was known for her salsa by those around her. She talks about the various recipes and kinds of salsa that her friends and family like.  She talks about her love of the food and the love of making it. At every family meal, holiday dinners, and birthdays, it was always her salsas that filled the tortillas of her loved ones. To quote her, “At a Mexican table, you can’t be without salsa. And in my family, you can’t be without me.”