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We get a lot of things from our neighbors from the big white north like remittances, retired chicken buses, junk cars, and so on. Now, it it looks like we are also getting the eating habits and as a result Guatemala has made the top ten of the most obese countries.

Other Latin American countries with high obesity rates are Mexico (fifth) and Venezuela (sixth) according to an article recently published by the newspaper El Tiempo.

It seems like Guatemalans are abandoning the traditional cuisine in favor of fast food. This can be seen even in the remote villages where pizza, hot dogs, french fries, tacos, hamburgers, et cetera, can be found at town fairs.

What do you think of this switch in eating habits?

Democracy Now Podcast Aside: I am subscribed to receive the Democracy Now podcasts which go directly to my iPod Touch to listen to anywhere I find the time. Interesting enough today’s podcast from Democracy Now was an interview to Michael Pollan, who is the author of Food Rules: An Eater’s Manual. He is a professor of journalism at the University of California, Berkeley. His earlier books, In Defense of Food: An Eater’s Manifesto and The Omnivore’s Dilemma: The Secrets Behind What You Eat. Below you can read the introductory paragraph to the very interesting interview or listen to the entire podcast.

MICHAEL POLLAN: The way we eat has changed more in the last fifty years than in the previous 10,000. The modern supermarket has, on average, 47,000 products. The industry doesn’t want you to know the truth about what you’re eating, because if you knew, you might not want to eat it. (… Continue reading the entire interview transcript at DemocracyNow.Org)

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Chelada or Michelada, or which ever way you have them, Guatemalan beers are so refreshing!

How many Guatemalan beers can you name? How many different Guatemalan beers have you tried? What’s your favorite Guatemalan beer?

Ephemerides Aside: 34 years ago today Guatemala had the most devastating earthquake of its recent history. On February 4th, 1976 Guatemala experienced a 7.5 earthquake that killed over 24,000 and injured over 77,000 Guatemalans and changed Guatemala forever. Read all the details and about it at ClimaYa.Com and the eye-witness interview to Kara Andrade’s abuelita at NewMaya.org; both great readings.

In La Antigua Guatemala we are so lucky to be able to get excellent coffee just about everywhere. Cafetenango in Finca Filadelfia is such a place where one can drink an amazing coffee grown, harvested, dried and roasted in the premises. At Cafetenango there are baristas on site who like to draw all kinds of figures over the milk foam. I really like the views available from Cafetenango with all three volcanoes, Agua, Fuego and Acatenango, breaking away from La Antigua’s skyline. If you come to Finca Filadelfia for the Antigua Canopy Tours, make sure you make time for coffee; you won’t regret it.

We continue with tortillas con carne adobada and longanizas. I can easily explain longanizas as Guatemalan white sausage which has chopped onions and yerba buena, mint, along the ground meat. However, carne adobada is a little more difficult since I don’t know what’s in the adobo mixture, except for achiote (annatto).

Can anybody help explaining what carne adobada is or how it is marinated?

Tortillas con carne could be the Guatemalan equivalent of the Mexican taco. Tortilla con carne is basically a piece of charbroiled steak of beef, adobo marinated pork steak, chicken, chorizo (Guatemalan red sausage) or longaniza (Guatemalan white sausage), served over two or three grill-heated corn tortillas and top with chirmol (Guatemalan tomato-based salsa), guacamol (Guatemalan style avocado sauce) and cebollines (baby onions or chives). I use the term carne, meat, as umbrella term for all the different cuts that are charbroiled.

I say that tortillas con carne could be the equivalent of the taco because they are omnipresent in every little corner of Guatemala. There are tortillas con carne at every town fair and market. There is at least one booth charbroiling meats in every street food stand plazas. Chuparrascos, the weekend and holiday get-togethers, are organized around tortillas con carne. There restaurant chains based on tortillas con carne as their main menu. All Guatemalas, from the Maya to Ladinos, from the less fortunate to the wealthy, enjoy tortillas con carne.

Gringas are tacos made with flour tortillas and cheese. For some unknown reason, gringas are very popular in Guatemala. Believe it or not, Mexican cuisine has not succeeded into making its way into Guatemala the same way as in the U.S.A. and the world. I find this very strange since there’s a huge overlap of ingredients in both kitchens. Tacos and gringas are probably the best samples of Mexican cuisine available in Guatemala, yet the selection of tacos and salsas leaves much to be desired and the flavor is not quite right. I would venture to say that tacos and gringas taste more like Guatemalan cuisine than Mexican.

Why do think Mexican cuisine has failed to enter the Guatemalan palate?

Please, could anyone provide the recipe for Guatemalan quesadillas. Thanks!

Minimum Wage Salary Aside: Today Guatemala’s President Alvaro Colom announced a minimum salary increase for 2010 from Q52/$6.23 per day to Q56/$6-71 per day which translates into a monthly salary of Q1953,33/$234.21, up 7.69% for agriculture and city workers and 8.37% for maquila workers (Q1824.06/$218.71). The Canasta Básica (basic food basket) in Guatemala costs Q1917,34/$229.89. The exchange rate used is Q8.34 per 1 Dollar. Source: Prensa Libre.

I will let you guys do the caption for this photo by digging through the archives of AntiguaDailyPhoto. Here are the hints: Churrasco and Convivio.

Guatemalan Film Trailers Aside: Once again, we continue showing trailers of Guatemalan films and short films. This is the trailer for Puro mula, the first film by Best Picture System. Puro mula was recently film between August and September 2009 in Guatemala City. “I hope you like the trailer, and if you do, gives money to finish it” the caption reads.

When you go to Héctor’s restaurant you are surely getting the freshest al dente fettucini pasta in La Antigua Guatemala. I chose fettucini alfredo; it was delicious!

With kind of sauce do you prefer for pasta dishes?

One of the things I look forward to most when venturing out on a little jaunt outside of La Antigua is elote. There is a strip along the road that heads to Chimaltenango that is lined with Maya women fanning their grilled corn, waving drivers to stop for a quick roadside treat. You can find elote in La Antigua Guatemala (LAG), but the traditional munchie just seems a bit more rico when you’re in the car driving through the rural highlands surrounding LAG. And talk about an excellent alternative to fast food. I wish I could drive down the highway in the U.S. and quickly pull through a drive-through for a freshly grilled elote instead of greasy, stale french fries!

It’s also fun to think about the tradition behind the Maya and their connection to corn as you get elote caught in your teeth. According to Popol Vuh —a sacred book that is casually referred to as the Maya Bible— the first man and woman were made from corn. Thus, corn is a huge part of the Maya culture and diet. Unfortunately, corn has predominated the diet of the poorer populations so much that they lack vital variance in nutrients due to their reliance on the staple crop.

text and photos by Laura McNamara

Guatemala is such a colorful country; everything from flora to textiles, from architecture to food is saturated with the richest rainbow. If the entries from the last seven days weren’t proof enough, take a look at today’s colorful fiambre chapín.

Have you ever seen more colorful salad?

Here I present to you the fiambre creator from La Antigua Guatemala. Every first and second of November he withdraws the fiambre recipe that has delighted the taste buds of the most demanding fiambre connoisseur for over 27 years. From his unassuming Lo-Mix comedor set on 7a calle poniente No. 25B, he begins, like an artist, to paint the canvas with different shades of green lettuce, adding more colors, textures and flavors with each layer from a tasteful palette of over 40 ingredients.

Below you can find a slideshow with each step of the process of creating the colorful fiambre chapín. (more…)

Quiebradientes, teethbrakers, are typical and traditional hard candy from Guatemala. As the name implies, it is hard and it can break your teeth you have weak pearly whites. These candies may be appropriate to entertain the trick-or-treaters for a long while on the eve of Día de los difuntos, Day of the Dead, also known as Halloween; don’t you think?.

Here are many traditional Guatemalan desserts and sweets to take to the cemetery on Day of the Dead and All Saints’ Day.

Wow, I can’t remember when was the last time I have any of these desserts; maybe the espumillas back in May. How about you? When was the last time you had any of the desserts above?

For three years I have focused on world-famous and omnipresent dish of Fiambre as the main food served for Day of the Dead and All Saints’ Day in Guatemala. I believe that has been too much emphasis on a salad, which mostly has meats, all kinds: sausages, hams, chicken, sea food, meats pork and beef; don’t you think?

Once again, I have to thank Erin who mentioned last week it was about time to begin preparing “fiambre” and the dulce de ayote. It is amusing that one needs other people to point the obvious. I say this because every year my wife and I set up a Day of the Dead Altar which amalgamates the Mexican and the Guatemalan tradition with foods from both cultures and of course with plenty of desserts.

Chilacayote is basically a Guatemalan-type of squash sweet or candy. I don’t have the recipe, but I am sure Erin or other kind Guatemalan will come forward with the recipe for chilacayote, camotes and dulce de ayote… anyone, anyone?

Here’s one more dose of Sobrevivencia… A Guatemalan Mayan rock band. This time Sobrevivencia performs a rock version of “Guate caricia.” Enjoy!

These caramelized apples are a good example of the syncretism found in the Guatemalan gastronomy.

As Pascu mentioned yesterday, “I find Guatemalan cuisine unique: the blend of three cultures, each completely different. Mayan heritage brings the slow cooking stew style with thick sauces. African, the taste for deep fry food. Finally Spanish culture brought the oven, baked delicacies: bread, dough, roast, “dulces”… local fruits and vegetables mixed with 3 european basic ingredients: milk, sugar and eggs.”

Erin also added a few ingredients to stew, “It is important to keep in mind that the lists of local ingredients and dishes were enlarged and improved in many ways, during the colonial times. I am not taking out any credit to the local indigenous ingredients and methods; I am only saying that what we now know as ethnic food is a glorious combination of our past in its purest form, the colonial times, and some contemporary additions. Anyway, whatever the background in our extensive list of dishes, all of them are a feast to the senses. What a joy!”

How funny that Erin should mention Feast of the Senses since that was precisely the name of the exhibit of Central American gastronomy in which I participated two years ago. As always, follow the white rabbit to see some of the photographs that were on display at Fiesta de los Sentidos.

On a totally unrelated subject, it just occurred to me that the United States is one of the largest Spanish-speaking countries since it has one of the largest populations of Spanish speakers. Spanish has been spoken in the U.S. from a time before its independence; heck from before English was spoken there. And at the rate at which the Spanish-speaking population grows, faster than any other, you may have to hablar español sooner or después or move to Canada. Remember that you can always come to La Antigua Guatemala to take Spanish classes in the more than 65 Spanish Schools available in this tiny colonial town.

Por favor dejar sus comentarios y preguntas abajo; hay mucho espacio abajo y esta bitácora digital es ecológicamente verde, panza verde verde verde pues.

Here’s another dose of Sobrevivencia… A Guatemalan Mayan rock band. This Kaqchikel rock song is called Ruq’ojom Tat Mak (El Son De San Marcos); below you can also hear it performed in Spanish in case your Kaqchikel is a little rusty.