Camilo Demarco is cooking for Trish, and his mum

★ Cam Demarco is cooking for Trish, and his mum ★

When Camilo Demarco’s parents arrived in Melbourne after fleeing Uruguay’s dictatorship in 1973, they found themselves standing on the corner of Flinders and Swanston Streets on a Saturday night. It was 7pm in the heart of the city and everything was closed.

“They just stood there and cried. In Latin American, that is not the vibe,” he says.

Cam carries that sense of being between cultures.

“I introduce myself as a Uruguayan man living on Djaara Country,” he says. “Not a blackfella, not a whitefella… I kind of live in this in-between space.”

At Nalderun Aboriginal Education Corporation, CEO Kath Coff calls him the “glue guy” — someone who moves between people and communities that don’t always easily connect.

It’s work he’s been doing for more than 15 years, across family violence, men’s health, youth justice and alcohol and other drug support. Much of that has been alongside Uncle Rick Nelson, including the Merrijig Mooroopook (Healthy Spirits) program for Aboriginal men who have used family violence.

“I’m really aware of the importance of that role,” he says. “I don’t take it lightly.”

Growing up, politics and organising were constant. His parents rebuilt their lives here from nothing, while staying connected to what was happening back home. That activist background makes his current work feel like a continuation, even if he doesn’t always feel fully at home in the spaces he’s in.

“In regional Victoria… it can feel very Anglo-centric,” he says. “There’s an othering that you’re always aware of.”

At the opening of the Castlemaine State Festival, Cam was on the mic in a T-shirt that read BLOW IN, made especially for the night.

“Unless you're Djaara mob, everyone here is a blow in. I think that gets missed,” he says. “It’s a real bullshit thing.”

This weekend, he’ll step onto a different kind of stage to honour two important women.

Cam is part of the Village World Kitchen — a live cooking and storytelling event at the Festival’s closing garden party in the Castlemaine Botanical Gardens.

His late partner, Trish Hay, was deeply connected to the World Kitchen project before her death ten years ago.

“Being part of it feels like a way to honour her,” he says.

Trish was a big presence in Castlemaine. 

"She was known for her cooking, big time. Food was her world and she was also excellent at whipping together something that's in the pantry, putting it together, having a bunch of people over, doing it with fun and pizazz and some wacky theatre and a big heart and keeping it real."

In memory of Trish, Cam will be cooking the Uruguayan comfort food he grew up on with his mum, Ana Demarco.

There’ll be asado (slow-cooked ribs), chorizo, and chimichurri made on the spot. Ana will whip up a a well-practised potato tortilla that is not to be messed with.

“My mum has her suite of dishes that she just nails,” he says. “It hasn’t changed. Exactly the same.”

Food, for Cam, is never just food. It's a pathway for bringing people together and in this case, putting his colourful, vibrant mum in the spotlight.

“I just want people to meet my mum,” he says. “I want her to be celebrated.”

“I see the holding that women do… the emotional labour, the physical labour,” he says. “It feels really unjust, the way that plays out.”

“There have been so many times where I’ve had the chance to speak,” he says. “In this space, I’d love my mum’s voice to be heard and not mine.”

The Village World Kitchen runs from 11am to 5pm this Sunday, featuring an epic lineup of local chefs including Bar Midland's Alex Marano, the incredible Duang Tengtrirat and physical comedian Dandyman.

Come hungry and, most importantly, ready to meet Cam’s mum.

• See the schedule for the Village World Kitchen culinary stage. It’s free and there will be tastings!

❀ Welcome, Andino ❀

New food options are always a cause for celebration in a petite town.

And friends, there is cause for celebration. Latin American restaurant, Andino, is opening this weekend in the old fire station on Templeton St.

Check it out!

♡˖ Events ˖♡

• 🎵 Seduceaphones (last regional show) Shedshaker, Fri, 27 Mar, 8:00 PM *high-octane brass party band

• Groundswell, Castlemaine Art Museum, Fri, 27 Mar, 10:00 AM - 4:00 PM *Historical objects paired w/ work of contemporary artists

• 🎵 Toad, Maurocco Bar, Fri, 27 Mar, 6:30 PM *With The Lexies, soul, psychadelic blues

• 🎵 Underland, Punctum ICU Basement, Fri, 27 Mar, 9:00 PM

• Orchestra of Extinction, Tutes Cottage, Sat, 28 Mar, 11:00 AM - 4:00 PM *Explore the habitat of threatened species

• Extraordinary/Ordinary, Maldon Progress Hall, Sat, 28 Mar, 2:00 PM *Learn about remarkable local women from history

• 🎵 Mimi Gilbert + Ruby Gill, The Bridge, Sat, 28 Mar, 2:30 PM - 5:30 PM *Alt-folk

• 🎵 MSO Chamber Players, Castlemaine Town Hall, Sat, 28 Mar, 4:00 PM *Lush sounds of Brahms & Tchaikovsky

• 🎵 Tubango, Castlemaine Goods Shed, Sat, 28 Mar, 7:00 PM *Tango + jazz, feat. TangoMundo + Thompsons Foundry Band

• 🎵 The Meir Cats, Maurocco Bar, Sat, 28 Mar, 7:45 PM *Jazz, Latin, swing

• 🎵 Aryo Seno Ensenble Concert, Phee Broadway Theatre, Sat, 28 Mar, 9:00 PM *Intricate rhythms, lyrical melodies

• Traces, The Stables (behind Cantwells), Sun, 29 Mar, 11:00 AM - 4:00 PM *Collaborative work about memories

• State Festival Garden Party, Castlemaine Bot Gardens, Sun, 29 Mar, 11:00 AM - 5:00 PM *Music, dance, performance, food!

• Duang Tengtrirat, World Kitchen Stage, Castlemaine Bot Gardens, Sun, 29 Mar, 12:00 PM *Thai omlette!

• Camilo + Ana Demarco, World Kitchen Stage, Castlemaine Bot Gardens, Sun, 29 Mar, 1:00 PM *BBQ ribs, chimichurri!

• 🎵 Breaker Breaker, The Bridge, Sun, 29 Mar, 3:00 PM - 5:00 PM *Vintage surf tunes

• Alex Marano, World Kitchen Stage, Castlemaine Bot Gardens, Sun, 29 Mar, 4:00 PM *Agnolotti w/ smoked eggplant!

• 🎵 Vardos, Shedshaker, Sun, 29 Mar, 5:00 PM *Eastern European music, complete w/ an accordion

• 🏳️‍⚧️ Trans Day of Visibility Afternoon Tea, Castlemaine Community House Kitchen, Tues, 31 Mar, 5:30 PM - 7:00 PM

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