Father Gregory Boyle describes a visit to a Mexican prison during which he witnesses the prisoners working together to prepare a traditional Mexican stew called caldo de iguana. Though the prisoners have very little individually, they each bring an ingredient—sometimes the only thing they have—to put in the stew. Together, the prisoners make a stew that is tasty and nourishing and everyone gets a bowl of it. Had the prisoners not shared their ingredients and worked together to make the stew, they would have been hungry, so the soup symbolizes the benefits of cooperation and compassion. The stew is the life-affirming result of a group of people with difficult lives realizing that, no matter what their divisions, they are more powerful if they recognize what connects them.
Caldo de Iguana Quotes in Tattoos on the Heart
Maybe there are eight of us or so when the meal finally gets served. Plenty to go around and just as tasty as it could be. Everyone brought his flavor to this forbidden pot of iguana stew and keeping anyone away and excluded was unthinkable to this band of prisoners. Alone, they didn't have much, but together, they had a potful of plenty.
Caldo de Iguana Symbol Timeline in Tattoos on the Heart
