For Irma Cisneros, growing up as the eldest of nine in Cerro meant Thanksgiving was simply about family and having enough for everyone at the table. Raised by Melesio and Locadia Quintana alongside her eight brothers and sisters, the holiday meal was warm and welcoming, but not much different from any other evening at home.
“As far as the turkey was concerned, we probably didn’t have one,” Irma recalls. “We likely had chicken and plenty to eat.”
On the Quintana homestead which was a couple miles from the church in Cerro, life revolved around faith, family, and hard work, things Irma has never left sight of. Being the eldest meant Irma carried a bit of extra responsibility. “I had to help my mom a lot,” she says. “I took care of my younger siblings right alongside her.”
Growing up, Irma and her siblings handled the hoeing and weeding, while her parents tended to the vegetable garden. “My parents built their own horno, and my dad would use it to make chicos,” Irma shares.
It wasn’t until the early 1960s that the traditional Thanksgiving feast became what it is today. In June of 1963, Irma married her husband, the late Milton Cisneros. After marrying, she began alternating the Thanksgiving holiday with his family, bringing her own home-grown traditions to the table. As a mother of two, Nadine and Roger, Irma cooked a classic holiday meal including turkey, sweet potatoes, cranberry relish, gravy, and chile. “I followed in my mom’s footsteps, making sweet potatoes just like her.”
Carrying her family’s love for gardening into adulthood, Irma and Milton grew a garden full of radishes, carrots, lettuce, corn, peas, tomatoes, and green beans. Throughout the year, she baked pumpkin pies using pumpkins harvested directly from her garden. “For Thanksgiving I made pumpkin pies and breads, but it didn’t feel that special to me back then because I made pumpkin pies all the time,” she smiles. “My family just loved pumpkin pies.”
Today, Irma and Milton’s family tree includes their 2 children, 3 grandchildren, and 8 great-grandchildren. The torch for hosting has been passed down, with Thanksgiving now held at Nadine’s house for several years. But some traditions never fade: this year, Irma plans to bake her classic pumpkin pies and fresh bread rolls to share with the generations gathered around the table.