At home in Zimbabwe, says Bianco Martine, Christmas begins with dramatic festivity. “Uncles and aunties and cousins, they will slaughter a cow and then after church, where we would go for prayer, we would play loud music, make dessert and dance.”
Baker and healthcare worker Martine grew up in Bulawayo, Zimbabwe, the city of kings. Her father died when she was a baby. She was raised by her mother, a soldier, and her stepfather, a policeman, and her grandmother, who at 84, is still going strong. For Christmas, Martine’s grandmother makes umqombothi, a beer made from maize and sorghum that ferments for seven days.