The Avocado Lady
Ever since I came to Antigua about four years ago, I often come across this lady who is always selling avocados. I believe she must have a small parcel of avocado trees. Anyhow, it is a pleasure to see her and her avocados, the local variety, are always of good quality. Mexico and Guatemala are the birth places for this delicious fruit.
Trivia 1: 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.
Trivia 2: The people of Antigua 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.
Trivia 3: Local hearsay is that Wilson Popenoe took the local avocado variant to California and from it the California avocado emerged (hass). More on Mr. Popenoe on the June 12h post.
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