Each country, with its distinctive flair, creates a mosaic of experiences unique to Latin America and the legacy of their people.
In this number, he warms up with a drink of Mayan origin, sings a Venezuelan bagpipe and a flank cake from the Dominican Republic.
Guatemala
Guatemalan Christmas celebrations feature a food that is enjoyed in many Latin American cultures; “The main foods we prepare are tamales, made with corn dough and a special sauce we call recado, which includes chile guaque and chile chocolate, among other ingredients. We also went up meats like red meat or chicken,” said Kimberly Loarca, vice president. consul at the Guatemalan consulate in Los Angeles.
Ponche is, for most Guatemalans, a key ancestral element, “without ponche, there is no Christmas or New Year. It is a fruit-based drink that contains pineapple, papaya, coconut, banana, raisins and plums. In Guatemala, we have many ethnic groups, and a large percentage of people are Mayan,” Loarca said. “The ponche was even a tradition of the Mayans. They did not call it ponche but caldo dulce, and they made it to thank the gods for all the harvest they had received during the year.”
Honduras
For the majority of Hondurans, chancho horneado — roast pork — “is usually the main dish, along with tamales, rice and potato salad,” said Martin Pineda, communications manager of the Central American Resource Center in Los Angeles. Served along with those dishes are torrejas, a very popular dessert. Torrejas are small wheat flour cakes cooked in brown sugar syrup infused with cinnamon and spices.
Many Hondurans make wishes on New Year’s Eve by dining on 12 grapes. “Usually about 10 minutes before midnight, everyone gathers in the room. There’s the song “Faltan Cinco Pa Las Doce” by Néstor Zavarce. The host begins to pass cups with grapes and pronouncing that it’s time to make your wishes. It’s just before midnight, and then at midnight; It’s just five minutes of each user kissing.
Venezuela
For many, hallaca is the center of Venezuelan festivities. “Without hallacas there is no Christmas,” said Bruno Romano, a Venezuelan musician in Los Angeles. “Hallaca is like a tamale. It is made from corn masa colored with annatto oil, which gives the dough a unique flavor. The filling is called a stew: it is a tasty stew made with beef, chicken or pork, with vegetables and spices. Hallaca is served with a slice of ham bread. It is a stuffed bread with ham, raisins and olives.
Dulce de lechoza is a sweet holiday treat; it’s “green papaya cooked in a syrup made with sugar, cinnamon, cloves and allspice. I love it,” said Romano.
Venezuelans give a special place to bagpipes. “A very festive kind of music. It’s super traditional. Their lyrics speak to our culture, our people, and our food. My favorite song is “Amparito” to Maracaibo 15. Es very good for dancing. Romano explained.
Cuba
Roast suckling pig with mojo criollo is one of the customs of the Cuban Christmas table. “It’s a total marinated the day before with mojo criollo, which has garlic, lemon, cumin and onion. It is served with yucca and congrí,” said Mari Huerta, prent 2024 of the Cuban Cultural Club founded by Luis and Berta López Blanco in 1968. Congri is a dish that mixes rice with Spanish chorizo, bacon, cumin, and black beans.
For dessert, “nougat is a Christmas Eve staple. The favourites are the egg yolk nougat, the soft nougat and the Alicante nougat. Some people also serve guava shells with cheese or papaya with cheese,” Huerta said. Nougat is made from almonds, honey or sugar syrup and egg white and has an elongated shape.
According to Huerta, New Year’s Eve for Cubans includes a culture of “throwing a bucket of water from the door of the space to [symbolically] leave our space blank and bring us the days to come. “
Dominican Republic
Roast pork is a popular dish among Dominicans during the holidays. It’s “marinated with garlic and spices before roasting and served with moro de guandules con coco,” a dish of rice, pigeon peas and coconut, said Karla Nolasco, owner of an advertising firm in Puerto Rico.
Most families prefer a cocktail called coquito, “a drink made with coconut, rum, condensed milk and spices. ” As for classic liqueurs, ‘mamajuana’ is popular, made with macerated herbs, roots and rum,” says Nolasco.
When it comes to satisfying their sweet tooth, bizcocho dominicano is at the top of the list. “It is a spongy cake made with candied fruits and nuts,” said Nolasco. It’s also popular to prepare “mazamorra, a corn pudding with coconut or flancocho, a sponge cake that is half flan.”
Nicaragua
Lomo Pintado is one of the dishes served at the table of Nicaraguan festivals. It’s a beef or red meat tenderloin with a “filling of bread dipped in milk, pieces of red meat, carrot, onion, plums, capers and ketchup,” Michael explained. Báez, accounting assistant in Managua, Nicaragua.
Pío Quinto is a classic dessert of Nicaraguan festivities. “It’s a national dish. A corn-based cake soaked in cinnamon syrup, spices and rum, topped with a layer of corn atol or atolillo as it’s called here,” Baez said. .
For Christmas Eve and New Year’s Eve, Nicaraguans enjoy the estreno. It is a tradition where all the family members wear new clothes. “On Dec. 24 and Dec. 31 here, wearing new clothes is a must,” said Baez.
Roxsy Lin is a bilingual journalist and illustrator from Venezuela. His paintings focus on the pulse of the rhythms of Latinidad, the arts, and cultura. @roxsy_lin
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