We were fortunate last summer to spend many warm New York evenings outdoors, savoring good food and conversation with Cynthia Delgado Huitrón and Susana Garibay (inextricably Cy and Sus in our hearts and minds). We´ve admired them both individually and as a formidable pair, as established scholars, budding art collectors, activists and brilliant home cooks.
They’re two people unafraid to dive into what moves them and move the world in turn, and we’re so glad to share this excerpt of our conversation with you.
How long have you been in New York and what brought you and kept you here?
Cy: I’ve been in NYC for eight years now (!), and am just starting my 9th this Fall. I came here to do my PhD, which I did at the department of Performance Studies at NYU. NYC was not necessarily always a “dream” for me, but it’s definitely become a home. It’s the place I’ve lived the longest in my life.
Sus: I got to NYC in the summer of 2018 to start my PhD at the New School. I’m going to be romantic and say that what brought me to NYC was love. Haha. If I hadn’t been accepted into the PhD in NYC we wouldn’t be together now.
Where did you two meet?
Sus- We met in CDMX through friends of friends (lesbian world is a small world). I made the first move and we started seeing each other for the next 4 months until Cynthia left for grad school in London. Luckily, I got a big scholarship from the UK Gov to do my masters in London as well, so the affair continued overseas.
Cy: Lol. The cute part of the story for me though, which I only learned recently, is that in that grad-school-between-time, Sus quit her job and used all the money she got from her final paycheck to come to London to see me.
What are your favorite ways to use your foutas?
Cy: They are so versatile, we use them for so many things. But I think my favorite and most common use is as a scarf and shawl – not only is it perfect for transitional seasons (when you can’t figure it out if it’s cold or hot out anymore), but then it’s easy to take off and use it as a blanket to sit on at the park to read my book. I find my linen ones optimal for this!
Sus: I use my fouta mostly at the beach. I like to be practical and carry as little as possible when going to the beach, so the fouta is the perfect item to take with me. Plus, you always look good and cool wearing a fouta from Fouta Harissa ;)
Did you have or do you remember anything equivalent to the fouta growing up?
Cy: I like to think I “grew up” with foutas – just because I’m so attached to my time living in Tunisia – but the honest answer is that I discovered them then (and it was high school, so I didn’t grow up with them per se). I don’t think I had anything similar to a fouta before in the sense of a textile that can be so many things at once. There were zarapes, but those are for the cold (or maybe a picnic, if you’re flexible), and there are rebozos to cover from the cold – but neither of these are light nor towel-adjacent. So the short answer is no.
Sus: Same. I don’t think we have an equivalent garment in Mexico.
What are your most treasured handmade object(s) in your home?
Sus & Cy: I think hands down our joint favorite is a painting we have hanging in our living room by Mexican painter Alicia Ayanegui. We had been following her work for a while and really loved it, so this was our wedding gift to ourselves.
Cy: I also have a small purple coffee cup that an old coworker made for me when we were both learning how to use the pottery wheel at the highschool where we taught at in 2014, which I use almost everyday.
What food is most frequently prepared in your kitchen?
Cy: We are pretty Mexican in our everyday eating style, I find. In the fridge there are always tortillas, cheese and homemade beans to refry and make quesadillas. And lately, I make fresh salsita verde at least weekly to make sure we eat them how we are meant to! But that’s the emergency, quick-bite dish. We do cook more elaborate dishes: I love to make chiles rellenos with a tomato and chipotle red sauce, for example. And when the weather is nice, we go get fresh fish at the farmer’s market for Sus to make the best ceviche ever. She’s actually the superior cook –her pasta putanesca is my favorite.
Sus: I also make delicious huevos a la mexicana using my dad’s recipe!
What books are on your nightstand at the moment?
Cy: More than there should be. Virginia Woolf’s Mrs. Dalloway ( because I recently taught Orlando), Theodor Adorno’s Stars Down to Earth, Dahlia de la Cerda’s Perras de Reserva, and on my tablet I’m halfway through Toni Morrison’s Bluest Eye.
Sus: I don’t usually read in bed. But I have multiple unfinished history and theory books on my desk (cause dissertation), i.e. Globalists by Quinn Slobodian and Elias Palti’s Misplaced Ideas? The only novel I’m reading atm is Jazz by Toni Morrison.
Speaking of books, Cy you recently earned your PhD from NYU and are now working on your own book. Can you share a little about your research focus?
Yes – I’m writing a book on transfeminist performance in Mexico City, where I think about space, gender, sexuality, performance, art and everyday life alongside the work of five amazing contemporary queer and trans performers and artists. I write about interstitial spaces, everyday life as it intersects with both art and gender and sexual politics.
What's the first thing you tend to do when you go back to Mexico, after a while away?
EAT. We go get tacos and seafood as quickly as we possibly can. Second thing is going for a walk in our old neighborhood of Condesa/Roma (different as it is now!)
Cy, what do you most look forward to about visiting Tunisia again?
Lamia (my best friend since high school, also Fouta Harissa co-founder), Sidi Bou Said, thé aux pignons (mint tea with pine nuts), harissa all day, the sight of the Mediterranean, Celtia (local beer), Boulbaba’s lubia (Lamia's dad's Tunisian tomato sauce and bean dish), the architecture, and then getting to know the art scene some more.
Sus, anything in particular that would make you curious to visit Tunisia?
The food!!! And its history. (And the hammam, lol).
Rapid Fire Questions
1. Most recent art outing in the city?
“The Harlem Renaissance and Transatlantic Modernism” at the MET (and we also went to see the play Appropriate on Broadway and got to go backstage - which was an exciting first!)
2. Top 3 neighborhood spots?
LaLou Wine Bar, Gold Star Beer Counter, and Barboncino Pizzeria.
3. Top favorite NY bookstore(s)?
The Strand, Greenlight and Bluestockings.
4. Do you like Harissa? Preferred way to eat it?
Cy: YES, obsessed! I’m a traditionalist: I like it plain with olive oil, tuna and bread.
5. Top 3 items in your beach bag?
Cy: Aside from fouta? Sunglasses, water bottle, sunblock and a book. (Sorry, that’s 4).
