- Oh yeah, I don't know about this one.

What is a fun fact that most people might not know about you?

And I was a wild teenager, that was fun.

(group laughing) Yeah, exactly.

- It was considered fun, yeah.

- I dunno if my parents would consider that fun, but I was a wild teenager.

- Is this fun to you?

(group laughing) - [Dani] Yeah, exactly.

(upbeat rhythmic music) (bright music) - [Director] Okay, so each of these cards has a statement on it.

Everybody else has to write on their paddle, "Yes, that's true," or "No, that's not true."

- You're afraid of the spelling right?

(laughing) (group laughing) You're afraid of the spelling.

If what I cook and eat ties me to my country of origin.

- She has to think about that one.

(Remona and Dani laughing) Right?

I have a yes and no.

(Dani and Xavier chuckling) I love Argentinian food, but I love so many foods from other places.

Argentinian food is very simple.

You eat a lot of meat.

So it's meat and salad, meat and something else.

And here, I think I incorporated a lot of other flavors.

- My mom is very similar.

I'm even surprised how she's able to diversify from Nigerian food.

My sister too, she's like making kombucha, fermenting, pickling.

I'm like, that's cool.

- Spice it up, get more flavors.

- Yeah, yeah.

- You know, my mom's food is the best of course, but I wanna cook at home.

I want my own food.

- Like I can cook, but then it's not the same, right?

- Oh yeah.

- When you get it from your mom.

And even like a sandwich, I don't know.

I make a sandwich, and then she makes the same sandwich, and it doesn't taste the same.

(laughing) - It is a very (indistinct).

- With the same ingredients, right?

So like, yeah, I mean... - I always wanted to come to the U.S.

So to me it was like a dream to come to another country, and speak another language.

When I finished high school, my boyfriend at a time moved here with his family to Minnesota.

I talked to my parents.

I remember my dad was super excited.

My mom was in shock.

When I was in love, I was 19.

I came here December 14th.

It was like, you know, two feet of snow everywhere.

That was the first time I saw snow in my life.

So I was fascinated.

I remember right after the airport, I went to the lake, standing in the middle of a frozen lake.

It was like, oh my God, this is so cool.

And it took me like two, three weeks to find a job.

I started working in a restaurant.

And I was like bringing waters and cleaning tables or something like that.

And I was like, "Please don't talk to me, I don't understand."

It was like, I was nervous 24/7.

Everything was new, everything was exciting.

So I think the realization that I left my country didn't hit me until like months after, you know?

(gentle music) (group laughing) For sure!

- Living away from my country of origin has made me identify more with its culture.

Yes.

So I used to take kind of like my culture and what I had around me for granted all the time.

But then I find myself when I'm around my Puerto Rican people, and when I go back to Puerto Rico, I'm- - [Dani] Extra Puerto Rican.

- Extra Puerto Rican.

(group laughing) Like extra Puerto Rican.

- I can let it all out.

- Yeah, my slang like... - So once I was able to meet like, Somali people, Nigerians, a lot of my friends are Vietnamese.

I was like, Oh yeah, that's what we do in Nigeria.

- There's thousands of different stories.

So like, you know, getting together and really talking about it, I think is the coolest thing.

- Like, you know, we grew up in the same culture, and speak the same language, grew up in like a refugee camp.

The experience is totally different.

Like how you see things.

- Even being from the same culture, you can have completely different experiences.

- [Dani] Yeah, definitely.

- And even people that grew in the same household.

- Yeah, definitely.

- They still have different experience.

- I've noticed right away as soon as I came here that I was treated differently from other people because of the way I look.

Even in the restaurant, people were like, oh my God, you look so European!

And that's something that I struggle when I moved here.

Trying to find out, what does it mean to be an Argentinian outside Argentina?

I remember going back and my mom being like, "You're different."

And I'm like, what do you mean?

She couldn't even explain it in words, but Argentinians talk very loud.

So we get together, it's like, whoa!

We talking on top of each other.

And the first few years here, I sort of settled down, and I calmed down a little bit.

So going back, and having family arguments.

We don't listen to each other.

We argue on top of each other.

And I was like, oh my God, these people, how do they do this?

And I think I forgot that was who I am.

So yeah, the first few years were challenging, you know, going back.

I needed to find a balance between adjusting to the culture here, and not letting go of who I am.

(bright music) - [Director] When you get the ball, you're gonna read the question that's closest to your left thumb.

(group laughing) - Oh yeah, I don't know about this one.

What is a fun fact that most people might not know about you?

A thing that people might not know about me, but is not fun, it's that I am a perfectionist.

- [Remona] Oh.

- But it can lead to fun things.

- Oh, it definitely does.

I mean, it helps me in my work, so it's okay, but... One time, my mom took a mosaic class in Argentina, and she's like, "You gotta try this, this is cool."

I was like, 'Nah, mom, forget it."

She's like, "No, no, no, you gotta try it."

Mosaics in Argentina are really popular.

Like she taught me, and we did it together, and I was hooked, I loved it.

We did a mural, and we added mosaics to it, and people loved it.

I don't think I would've got into it if it wasn't for her.

I started working as an artist, and I realized that I was competing with a lot of muralists and trying to find places where I can put mosaics.

I was like, well, maybe I should create my own.

So I got into this culture.

I was like, if I create this culture, and then I put mosaics on it, it's perfect.

I can do, you know, create something from nothing.

And I got into public art about 12 years ago, and it's been an amazing journey.

I work with glass, I work with ceramics, I work with tile.

Anything that you can break and put it together, I am like fascinated by it.

- I remember I moved here with a bag with my clothes, and $700.

- Whoa.

- $700?

- [Dani] It used to be cheap I guess back then, I came with $300.

- Yeah.

And now it's like $700 a night.

(group laughing) - Yeah, that's right.

Do you love (indistinct).

What has been a highlight for you since moving to Minnesota?

Well, besides having a child, finding a community, finding my people.

Argentinian people that we get together.

I feel like they push me through harsh winters in Minnesota.

- [Remona] Yeah.

Find a community, your people.

- Yeah.

(laughing) - Yeah, yeah.

Because like, you know, you don't have to explain yourself.

- Yeah.

- Where are you guys coming from?

- Yeah, and you share the same experiences- - [Remona] Yeah, yeah.

- So it's really cool, yeah.

- [Remona] So it's like, you know.

- Ooh, what is a fun fact that most people may not know about you?

Maybe that when I came here, I didn't know English.

(Xavier chuckling) Where I worked, it was only English speakers, so I had to learn quickly.

Yeah.

- Swim, fish, swim.

(Remona and Xavier laughing) - Being here, I was able to work in a immigration law office.

I remember my first week, this lady was like so thankful.

They haven't seen their family in 25 years.

So it was an old lady, and she came to thank the attorney.

Their immigration status, they adjusted their status, and I was bawling.

Like I couldn't stop crying, because I was able to come with a visa, and take a plane, and come with my suitcase, and my things.

Not so many people have that option.

And I realize that I'm very lucky.

(upbeat music) - [Director] We asked each of you to come up with a food from your childhood, and give your authentic reaction to it.

- Okay, so this is mate.

Mate is the tea, and mate is the word.

Like mate is something that you go to a friend's house, and as soon as you come in, they tell you, "You want some mate?"

It's not like you want a cup of coffee, it's a "You want mate?"

So it's something that is completely engraved in our culture, and our personalities, and it's very social.

It's like you put some herbs in like halfway the gourd, and then you put the herbs to the side, and then you add the hot water on the side that is lowest to the herbs.

You grab the spoon, you have to cover the end of the spoon so the water doesn't go in, and then you stick it in there.

We see these social events as something that fills your soul.

It's like it brings you a little joy, you laugh and then you recharge batteries.

- With family, but also with friends, and... - Anyone, even people that you don't know, you go in it's like, oh, you want some mate?

Yeah, sure.

We never thought of germs, obviously.

- Yeah.

(laughing) - This is something that we never thought about.

- [Remona] It's almost like tea.

- [Dani] It is tea.

It's tea, yeah.

- In Nigeria we have zobo, which is hibiscus tea.

It has less of a ceremonial aspect to it.

- I feel like with the pandemic there's something, the ceremonial part is not lost, but it used to be like, you know, you have a round, and you have to pass it.

If you keep it for too long, they're like, "Okay, it's not a microphone."

(group laughing) I mean, there's like so many things of it that they're being lost, because now you have to have your own and drink it differently.

Okay.

Now these guys are called.

(Dani speaking in Spanish) It's like two cookies with caramel in the middle.

- This is so good.

- [Dani] So good.

I know, right?

(group laughing) I created a group of, I think we're about 100 Argentina girls now that we get together every month.

We call them.

(speaking in Spanish) So we get together just to drink mate.

Everybody makes their own cookies and stuff.

- That's so nice.

- It's wild.

Like we can't even hear each other.

(Remona and Dani laughing) but everybody brings up... Well, every time I had some kind of emergency, like, oh my God, I'm suffering.

I will like text them, and I think thanks to them I was able to overcome so much.

I am a single mom, and I mean, my kid is my joy.

She's a teenager now, and you know, there's a lot of challenges that come with that.

But you know, it's just the two of us, and we're very tied together.

So I absolutely love that.

I love it here.

I raised an amazing kid.

I felt like Minnesota was a safe place to do that.

I am passionate about what I do.

I love my job.

In Argentina I could never do that, you know?

Living as a full-time artist, as a single mom, it beats all the odds.

(upbeat music) - Must mustard, mustard?

Mustache?

Mustard - [Remona] Mustache.

- I have a hard time with it.

- Mine is martial, martial, martial arts.

- [Remona] You gotta make it clap.

- You gotta make it clap, make it clap.

- Oh, now?

(board clapping) Hey.

(group laughing) - Nice.

- Love it.

- [Director] Very good.