Santana Caress Benitez
Where are you from? Where are you now?
As a "military brat", I'm from nowhere and everywhere. Born in England, raised around the world. I am currently living in Santurce, Puerto Rico.
You have a multifaceted career. Before you were on camera, you were in the Air Force. Thank you for your service. What led you to pursue that route?
My parents met in the military and I am a product of that lifestyle. I was actually resistant to it, but my mom sat me down one day and broke it down on how beneficial it could be. I joined and spent 6 years in the military. It wasn't easy for me, either. As I got older, my worldview and politics shifted and influenced my decision to leave the military.
From there, you dove into a deep passion of culinary artistry. This path led you to whipping up dinners & dishes for the corporate & celebrity elites from NYC to DC. Who was the best client you had in those days, and why?
I always remember how cool Rosario Dawson was when I cooked for her fashion line party during New York Fashion Week. She was down to earth and very gracious.
The Spotify team came from Sweden to NYC to host a workshop with their NYC team and they were also memorable because they were big fans of the food and super grateful.
Kevin Bacon and Krya Sedgwick were also dream clients; laid back, easy, down to earth.
Many of your fans & followers first learned of you in 2016 after you appeared on the Food Network's cooking competition series, 'Chopped'. Of course, you won. What inspired you to try out for that? What was that experience like? and do the judges actually taste everybody's food?
My homegirl Fadia Kader who runs music partnerships at Instagram has always been really well connected and she hit me up one day, urging me to apply. She caught word from someone she knew that they were casting and she thought I should apply. I did and I got a call back within a week.
The experience was surreal and dope. It was a LONG shoot day (call time was 6am and I left a little bit after midnight). The way you see it on tv with the timed cooking is exactly how it is in real life. It was high pressure, fast paced and exciting. The judges taste it all!
Apparently, you've been bitten by the television bug. Because the following year, you were cast in the Spike Lee's "She's Gotta Have It" Netflix series as 'Lulu', a santería-practicing Brooklynite & sister to 'Mars' (anchored by the multi-talented Anthony Ramos) and daughter to Rosie Perez. What was it like under the direction of Spike Lee? Were you a fan of the original film? What was your first emotion on learning you earned the role? How much of Santana can be found in your character's personality? Is Rosie Perez now your adopted mother?
Spike is my dude and he's a legendary director for a reason. Believe it or not, he's quite collaborative. He knows what he wants from a shot/scene but he let us ad-lib and give input a whole lot. He would walk onto the set during takes and talk a scene through with us, which was really cool. Surreal, but cool. I was huge fan of Spike and his work before working with him. Most Black families in the 80s and 90s were very aware of his work (my family was definitely no exception), (so) it was MAJOR when I landed the role. I had never done any acting prior to SGHI, I STILL don't have an agent or manager.
Of course, working with Ant was also super dope. He's incredibly talented, authentic and unbelievably down to earth. That's the homie.
Unfortunately, I only got to shoot with Rosie for one day, which is all that was required out of her scenes. I realllllly wanted season 3 to happen simply because I know it would have been fun as hell to explore the family dynamics and shoot with Rosie, Ant and Spike (he would have revised his role as Mookie).
Speaking of mothers: the chef's life never stopped for you. You launched your own web cooking series, 'I'll cook like your mother'. Okay let's talk facts: that's a big statement. Are you really out here putting moms to shame in the kitchen? What's the absolute slam-dunk dish from your menu that makes grown folks cry every time?
I will go TOE TO TOE with any mama! Put that on everything!! (laughs)...the name ‘I'll Cook Like Your Mother’ actually came from a (Erykah) Badu line where she says "fresher than the others, i'll cook like your mother". I thought that shit was genius because mamas set the standard of excellent cooking that touches the soul. If can't do nothing else, I know I can fucking cook.
Hmmm...I slam dunk all kinds of cuisines (laughs): pan Asian dishes, pan Caribbean food, Black American classics...It's really hard for me to choose. Peep the hashtag #illcooklikeyourmother for thousands of my food pics.
Your cooking goes straight to the heart, and you continue to show the love to the people. 'La Clinica de la Comida' (aka The Food Clinic) is your program that feeds communities & educates people on healthy alternatives to medicine & well-being. What inspired you to start this? How often & where does this take place?
I was very much inspired by the work I witnessed folks in social justice spaces do; take care of community and contribute talents where you can. The Black Panthers started the model of providing free breakfasts and meals for the hood, while also providing alternative healing methods like acupuncture. This in turn heavily influenced the Young Lords to do the same. I am only aiming to continue the work they started and help keep the legacy going. Before covid, we were running clinics monthly.
As a biological product of US Virgin Islands & Puerto Rico, you are damn proud of your Caribbean roots. Despite your bright successes in the States, you packed up, shipped out, and replanted your life in Puerto Rico. Did you feel La Isla calling you?
Yeah, I definitely felt called to the island. After spending half of 2017 (pre-Maria) living there, I knew I had to make it permanent. Caribbean life is the life for me, without a doubt.
2020 has been a Godzilla-type year...and (at the time of this interview) the Autumn has just started. What are you most looking forward to in 2021?
My career has always been my focus and it still is, but I am looking forward to building my personal relationships and focusing on love in 2021. I am also looking forward to the world shifting to a safer, more balanced place.
I know you like music as much as the next person. What song or artist has kept you sane during the quarantine lockdown?
I am always creating playlists on Spotify and I include a lot of music from songs I hear on shows I watch. "I May Destroy You" and "Insecure" had some heat this season. Some artists I have been playing on repeat are:
-Sons of Kemet "My Queen is Nanny of the Maroons"
-Cleo Soul "Sweet Blue"
-Moses Sumney "Keeps me Alive"
-Children of Zeus "Hard Work"
-Vicente Garcia "Carmesi"
-Juls "Soweto Blues"
what advice would you give to a young person from the diaspora who wants to do what you do?
Be good to yourself...always look out for YOUR happiness and YOUR needs. If you know you've got the talent and you want to do it, you absolutely can. Stay dreaming but, DO THE WORK.