This year, Time magazine listed two Mexican women among the world’s most influential people: chef Gabriela Cámara and feminist activist Arussi Unda .
Chef José Andrés, the founder of World Central Kitchen, wrote Cámara’s profile for Time magazine. He argues the Mexican chef is “more than a chef—she is a Renaissance woman on the front lines of our industry, fearlessly forging a path toward the more perfect society she envisions.”
Cámara has to restaurants: Contramar in Mexico City and Cala in San Francisco. There, she offers a glimpse into Mexico’s culinary heritage through her delicious dishes. She recently became an adviser to President Andrés Manuel López Obrador.
José Andrés added that Gabriela Cámara “leads from the front at her restaurants, putting social justice first, and advocating for those whose voices are too often marginalized.”
Recommended: Learn to cook authentic Mexican food with chef Gabriela Cámara
Human rights activist and journalist Lydia Cacho wrote Unda’s profile for Time magazine’s list.
Arussi Unda is a feminist activist who gained notoriety in March 2020, when she called for a national strike on March 9. Cacho writes that “in response to her call, millions of women in Mexico stayed home from work and refused to care for others, reminding the world of the important role women of all ages, races and economic statuses play in making democracy work.”
Arussi is the spokesperson for Las Brujas Del Mar (Witches of the Sea), a feminist group that fights for equality and justice in Veracruz and Mexico.
Cacho adds that “Arussi’s leadership as a spokesperson for feminist organization Witches of the Sea (Las Brujas del Mar) and her clear-minded call for a united front of all feminist movements have rocked Mexico’s young generations. Hers has now become part of a bigger movement across the country calling for an immediate stop to inequality and violence against women. Arussi is unstoppable with her pro-diversity-feminism call for peace: just what Mexico needs right now.”
Recommended: Mexican women call for a national strike after a series of brutal femicides
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