Guatemalan Spanish Words for Lent Food

Today we will begin our Spanish lesson with some very important Guatemalan Spanish words: Poporopos, Plataninas, Papalinas and Churros.

Poporopos: This is the Guatemalan Spanish for pop corn. Most other Spanish-speaking countries use palomitas. I believe Guatemala is the only country that uses the word poporopos.

Plataninas: Basically, plataninas are green platano/plantains chips. Plantains are like bananas, but much bigger and with a unique flavor. Guatemalans eat platanos in many forms, like plataninas, rellenitos, fritos (fried), atol de platano, chairbroiled and baked; just to name a few.

Papalinas: This is the Guatemalan Spanish word for potato chips. Like poporopos, I don’t think papalinas is used in any other Spanish-speaking country.

Churros: A churreria is the place where they make churros; [CHOOR-roh] Similiar to a cruller, this Spanish, Mexican and Guatemalan specialty consists of a sweet-dough spiral that is deep-fried and eaten like a doughnut. Churros are usually coated with a mixture of cinnamon and confectioners’ (or granulated) sugar (source Answers.com).

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