Guatemalan Christmas Food

Among the most popular foods found for dinner in Christmas Eve and during Christmas are tamales colorados (red tamales), tamales negros (black tamales), pierna, pavo (turkey) for main dishes. Also, apples and grapes are almost always found at the table. For drinks the most popular is ponche (fresh or dried fruit punch), but you can also find chocolate (cocoa), coffee, sodas, sparkling wine (champagne we call it), wine and/or rum.

By the way, I came across this interesting article on NPR entitled: Pride And Prejudice: For Latinos, Tamales Offer Up A Delicious Serving Of Both about tamales which has a especial section about Guatemalan tamales:

Trust me, I understand the pride and prejudice that tamales can engender. Recently, I had to hold myself from snarling back at a commenter on a blog post who called Guatemalan tamales “lousy.” (Yup, I’m Guatemalan.) Many years ago, I briefly considered breaking off relations with a dear Mexican-American friend after she dismissed the bite of Guatemalan-style tamale I offered her with a sour grimace. Perhaps she hadn’t realized that we Guatemalans put our tamales on a green-leaf-lined pedestal. 
 
Like their Mexican counterparts, Guatemalan tamales come in many variations. But the archetypal Guatemalan tamale is made with creamy smooth masa that’s cooked prior to boiling, and stuffed with chicken or pork in a red tomato sauce, with bell peppers, olives and capers. Each is savored slowly as the true luxury that it is — scooping more than one tamale onto your plate at a time is considered bad form. 
 
The taste is amazing – but it’s also quite a departure from that of the Mexican-style, cornhusk-wrapped concoctions that are most frequently encountered in the U.S.  
 
Follow the white rabbit to read the entire article: Pride And Prejudice: For Latinos, Tamales Offer Up A Delicious Serving Of Both

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