- Video shows Puerto Rican food, barbecue, and an in-depth look at life in Puerto Rico
- Antonio Ramos, the owner of Sabor Taino, brought together a fusion of traditional Puerto Rican cuisine and barbecue to bring the Puerto Rican culture to Kern County.
The Kern County Fair brings together music, fun and food from all across the county.
One of those food trucks whips up a unique fusion to pay homage to Puerto Rican culture.
Salsa music blasts outside the open food truck, an anthem to an island, and a traveling kitchen for a traveling people.
“A lot of people think, oh Puerto Ricans. They’re loud. You know, we are. We’re prideful. We’re prideful, very prideful,” Antonio Ramos, the owner of Sabor Taino said.
Close to 5.8 million Puerto Ricans live in the United States compared to the 3.2 million Puerto Ricans still living on the island, according to the 2020 U.S. Census report, but no matter where they live, one thing is the same, Puerto Ricans bond over great food.
Ramos explains people traveling to the island could get a unique experience if they ask to travel the island the 'native' way.
“They’re most likely going to invite you to their house to eat, and you’re going to have the best freaking food there is there," Ramos said.
That’s why Ramos wants to bring the culture here to Kern County.
“We don’t have that Puerto Rican sazon, as we say over there. We don’t have it anywhere here in town.”
His food truck combines traditional Puerto Rican cuisine with barbecue, and that fusion is no accident.
When the Spanish colonizers arrived on the island… they saw the Taino Indians, the group native to Puerto Rico, cooking on branches over fire.
When asked about the technique, the natives explained, originating the term, barbacoa or barbecue.
“That’s what I kind of wanted to bring back and kind of show people and showcase the Taino culture, and that’s why I chose the design that I did,” Ramos explained.
Sabor Taino parks in Brickyard’s food truck garden, a company started in May by Bonnie Quinonez, her husband, and her business partner Terry Sanchez.
Vendors set up in their garden at no charge to support small businesses and contribute to the revitalization of downtown Bakersfield.
Quinonez shares they plan to open a nonprofit to break the barriers of starting a business for people of all backgrounds
“I know that his parents, my parents, Terry’s parents are all looking at us, down at us because they’ve all since left us, and very proud that we continue to push forward that Hispanic culture and that pride of where we came from and where we’re going,” Quinonez said.
Elvira Torres, another vendor set up in the garden tried Puerto Rican food at Sabor Taino for the first time, saying it’s places like this that expose her to other Hispanic cultures.
“A lot of people think, 'Oh it’s just Mexican food, but this, Puerto Rican food, oh it was wonderful, so it intrigues me to try other Hispanic foods for sure,” Torres smiled.
Ramos tells me sharing the culture with others and educating people comes from his experience visiting the island where he saw people live humble, simple lifestyles.
“You don’t have the money that you have out here and stuff you know so they’re welcoming you into their homes every time you meet someone new, and that’s kind of like how I am I try to welcome everybody to my food truck," Ramos said, later offering a customer food on the house.
Puerto Rico is one of five major territories out of a total of 16 under us possession… meaning Puerto Ricans don’t have voting representation in Congress.
Despite the lack of representation, islanders pay the highest sales tax rate of any U.S. jurisdiction at 11.5%.
Even with the challenges, Ramos said he’s proud of his culture and he plans to add a Puerto Rican flag to his truck soon to show it.
“We’re very proud of our heritage. We’re a very tiny island, and I just wanted to show people.”
Monday was the last day to grab a bite at Sabor Taino at the fair, but you can follow them on social media to find out where to visit next.
Ramos plans to add more traditional Puerto Rican items to the menu soon.
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