Mariano Carranza became part of the documentary series that he watched so much on the Netflix platform. The Peruvian filmmaker who has lived in New York for almost 15 years knocked on doors to be taken into account in the third season of Street Food, the audiovisual production that explores street food, created by David Gelb and Brian McGinn.

Initially, they proposed to him to do the research for the New York chapter. Then, thanks to his ability to find inspiring stories, he was commissioned to direct the episode that shows Miami street food, where options such as fries (Cuban burgers) or characters from the community are shown.

Being at the helm of the latest episode of Street Food: USA was his biggest challenge so far. Not only because it was his first job as a director for the streaming giant, which for him means "the highest standard around documentaries", but because he needed to tell the events in the most authentic way possible.

"Reducing the culinary history of a city to a half-hour chapter is difficult because one always wants to be as fair as possible," he says from Spain, where he came to spend a few days on vacation.

Carranza, 33, believes the documentary fulfilled its goal of showing that food is more than a business. "It is redemption, it is therapy, it is a community," he quotes his friend Stephanie. “I couldn't agree with her more. I would add that food is about our roots, our identity, and our stories. It's about where we came from and where we're going."

His golden decade

Carranza knows that he is privileged. From the age of 15, he was clear about what he was going to do. Días de Santiago (2004), starring Pietro Sibille, awakened his desire to be a filmmaker. As soon as he finished high school and with the support of his parents, the man from Lima headed to the United States to study film and television at New York University (NYU). Then came the opportunity to join VICE, the Canadian television, radio, and digital media company that started out as a magazine. He started as an intern and then worked his way up to become an associate producer of documentaries.

Five years later, he joined "Great Big Story", a division of CNN, that specialized in making short documentaries, but with a lot of appeal to millennials. This job allowed him to travel almost all over the world, accompanied by a camera and always on the lookout for characters who have a lot to say.

Although he clarifies that he is only the vehicle, the stories are of his protagonists. Perhaps that is why he was called for Street Food, devised by the producers of Chef's Table, winner of the James Beard award, called the Oscar of gastronomy.

United to the country

Mariano does not need to say that he is Peruvian. The decorations and books in his house reveal it. Nor does he need to say that he loves Peruvian food, the ingredients in his refrigerator give him away. The only thing he regrets is that in New York they don't sell passion fruit, charapita chili, or cocona.

His work as a documentary filmmaker has been the perfect excuse to never separate from his homeland. Every time he steps on Peruvian soil, once or twice a year, he can't stop looking for stories. Stories not only from Peru but from the region. Because he feels more and more Latin American. And as long as you can give voice to stories that deserve it, your camera will start recording.