The Dallas Morning News and Al Día are inviting the community to a Spanish-language event highlighting the D-FW Sabores project, which focuses on authentic Mexican cuisine in North Texas.

On Dec. 11, senior food reporter Imelda García, along with three local Mexican chefs featured in the project, will discuss the significance of food and culture within the community. The DFW Sabores en la Comunidad event will take place at the Vickery Park Library, 8333 Park Lane, at 6 p.m.

García said the D-FW Sabores project has been a way to show The News readers that Mexican food is more than just tacos, and how these dishes are an integral part of the cultural richness of North Texas, prepared using techniques that have been passed down from generation to generation.

“Beyond the dishes and their history, this series is about the people who cook them,” García said. “Behind each character, each dish, and each business, there is a story of love, work, memory and nostalgia that brings us closer to understanding the true meaning of food in our Mexican culture.”

Multiple restaurants featured in the project will offer food samples of their signature dishes and sell their menu items.

D-FW Sabores: Chicharrón brings memories of home to North Texas

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This event is part of a series of community listening sessions hosted by The News in English and Spanish. In April, a Spanish-language event in Casa Guanajuato highlighted the challenges of accessing mental health resources in Dallas’ Hispanic community.

Amy Hollyfield, managing editor of The News, said the newsroom was committed to serving the Hispanic community and meeting them where they are.

In Dallas County, approximately 42% of the population identifies as Hispanic, according to the U.S. Census data.

“We are building trust intentionally with our readers,” Hollyfield said. “Food is an equalizer to bring people together, and to highlight this project, which reflects the love for Mexican food and culture, is important for us.”

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The D-FW Sabores project featured more than 30 dishes from multiple Mexican states, such as Oaxaca, Baja California, Nuevo León, Puebla and Jalisco. The News visited a range of places, from high-end restaurants to food trucks to family kitchens. Juan Figueroa, a photojournalist with The News, captured videos and photos of the process throughout the Metroplex.

The event is free and open to anyone in the community who is interested.

Event details

Date: Thursday, December 11

Time: Check-in at 6:00 p.m., panel discussion starts at 6:30 p.m., Q&A at 7:15 p.m.

Location: The Vickery Park Library branch, 8333 Park Lane, Dallas, TX 75231. Free parking is available.

RSVP encouraged

For any questions about the event, please email reporters María Ramos Pacheco, maria.ramos@dallasnews.com and Imelda García, imelda.garcia@dallasnews.com.

Looking at it, it looks like a normal practice at the Star in Frisco for the Cowboys. But today, players had more than pads and helmets weighing on them.

This was their first practice since the death of teammate Marshawn Kneeland. For some players, this is a form of therapy.

“Having dealt with a loss, and that is the best medicine for me,” Cowboys quarterback Dak Prescott said. “So getting back out there, handing the ball off, and sprinting an extra 10 yards and making sure I’m doing it hard. Marshawn went through my mind a few times in practice today, and I just counted that with running harder after a play or trying to do something to better this team and to show that.”

This is the first time some are speaking publicly about what Kneeland meant to them and the team.

“Someone who didn’t take each day for granted, and to have that spirit and that just person missing in your room is devastating,” Cowboys defensive tackle Solomon Thomas said.

Prescott added, “His saying was one love, and I think you just felt that. You felt that aura, you felt that demeanor, you felt him carry that, and that’s everything that he did, the way he played this game, the way he took care of his body.”

Now, as they prepare for their next game, they know it will be emotionally…but they are taking the memory of Kneeland out there with them to honor him the best way they know how.

“The only way I know how to get out of it, to move forward from a tragic situation like this, is to live for that person,” Thomas said. “Take the amazing qualities that you learned from them, take the smiles and memories that you gave from them, and apply them to your life every day.”

“He’ll be missed, definitely not forgotten, and we’re going to move forward,” Prescott said. “We’re going to move forward to carry on his legacy, and just everything that we can do, just try and do it the best we can.”