Did you know that Antigua Guatemala is the birthplace for the California/Hass Avocado?

The chief agronomist of The United Fruit Company, Wilson Popenoe, took the local avocado variant to California and from it the California avocado emerged (Hass). Read the plaque placed by the California Avocado Society in Antigua Guatemala’s main square in which they recognized and appreciated the contribution of Antigua Guatemala to the development of the avocado industry in California.

Guatemala and Mexico are the birth places for the delicious avocado fruit. The three mother seeds for avocado are from Antigua Guatemala, Barcenas [Guatemala] and Atlixco, Puebla [Mexico]. The word avocado comes from the the Spanish word aguacate which in turn comes from the Mexican Nahuatl language word ahuacacuauhitl, which means testicle tree. Avocado in Maya is on and palta en Quechua. Source: UC Davis.

The people from La Antigua Guatemala are known as Panzas Verdes, green bellies. They have gotten this non-offensive nickname for the great amounts of avocados they ate in the past, so the myth goes. Do you want to know what the real origin for the panza verde nickname?

Avocado is a fruit, not a vegetable as most people believe. Avocados provide the good fat necessary for a healthy diet in the milpa crops which include maize, beans, chiles, tomato, squash, etc.

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