Gracia, Alex & the Battle for Central America’s Culinary Soul

Centro America Unida.

Criollo corn in Chimaltenango. Photo by Nicholas Gill.

Gracia Navarro and Alex Herrera grew up in Sonsonate, the western part of El Salvador. It’s a place that has gained a bad reputation for violence, but it’s also one of the rare places in the country where some still speak Nahuatl.

It isn’t a wealthy part of the world, but childhood was warm and pleasa…