The third of Sunday of Lent is the turn for the church of Jocotenango to put the best procession possible and believe, they do. For this Sunday’s procession, Nelo Mijangos took 925 photos and walked for 21.6 kms or 13.4 miles for those live in the cocoon known as the United States. How do you … Read more
The second Sunday of Lent is the turn for the village of Santa Inés del Monte Pulciano. It is at this processional float when many cucuruchos from Guatemala City make their first appearance. For this procession, Nelo Mijangos took 752 photos and “only” walked 19.4 kilometers or 12 miles. You can see his route on … Read more
Beginning with the first Sunday after Ash Wednesday, there are processions each Sunday of Lent and the first procession comes out the village of Santa Catarina Bobadilla. Make sure you click on the images to look at a larger version to really appreciate all the details. Each day this week, Nelo will share his most … Read more
As explained before, corbatas are fried flour-based crunchy dessert soaked in syrup or honey. Corbatas take their name from the shape they are cooked into. I believe corbatas are known as buñuelos in Mexico, which are not at all like the Guatemalan buñuelos. What’s the name of corbatas in English? When was the last time … Read more
Chomín de mango or mango chow mein simply refers to the mango sliced very thinly so it looks like chow mein pasta. As you can guess, mangoes are very popular in Guatemala; especially when they are in season. Chomín de mango is usually served inside a transparent plastic bag with pepitoria (ground roasted squash seeds), … Read more
As explained before, elotes locos are chucherías (snacks) that are always present in the typical Guatemalan county or town fair. To make elotes locos at home you basically add butter, mayonnaise, ketchup, and some dry cheese like parmesan on top of your corn on the cob. Some people also put hot sauce on it. One … Read more
Panes con pollo, chevere hot dogs and shuco hot dogs are the sandwiches that are present at every town fair and velación, vigil. Of course, there is a big difference between a shuco and chevere hot dog as I explained before: To the uneducated eye the Guatemalan Chevere and Shuco hotdogs are just exotic hotdogs, … Read more
These apples will soon turn into caramelized apples. Toffee apples, as they are known in England, are a good example of the syncretism found in the Guatemalan gastronomy, don’t you think?
Batido is a fruity drink topped with a powder called pinol, a coarse flour made from ground toasted maize kernels, often in a mixture with a variety of herbs and ground seeds, which can be eaten by itself or be used as the base for a beverage*. The old man serving the batido here told … Read more
Panes con pollo or chicken sandwiches are the staple food of velaciones, vigils, along with batido, a drink made from tropical fruits and pinol. You better come back tomorrow for the full recipe of the batido drink. Panes con pollo are basically pirujo bread with lettuce, chicken, mayo, ketchup and salsa; one can hot sauce … Read more
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, such as plataninas, rellenitos (deep-fried stuffed platains balls), fritos (fried), atol de platano, chairbroiled and baked; just to name a few. For this entire series, I decided to go as early … Read more
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 … Read more
Just as in other celebrations, Lent has a food that is sold at the food stalls out side where velación, vigil, is held. Some of the food is also found during other celebrations such buñuelos which I believe were first covered during the Christmas season. Here we see the king of buñuelos preparing the first … Read more
It’s impossible to miss the Lent, Cuaresma we call it in Spanish, in Antigua Guatemala as you encounter decorations, shrines, carpets, vigils and processions through out the city and villages. Here you see the purple banners hanging from the Ayuntamiento building; that’s city hall for you.
Lent is also the time for shrines, carpets, vigils and processions. Out of nowhere any of these things can appear anywhere and at anytime as was the case for this altar and carpet that in less than 15 minutes showed up right across from the office because in 20 minutes there was going to be … Read more