Postscript
Sometimes bad things turn good. Guatemala’s postal service is so slow, expensive and unreliable that in Guatemala the concept of junk mail …
Guatemalan Independence Day 2007 Slideshow and Video
I haven’t seen the film yet, but the title alone is hauntingly enough, for me, to make me want to see it. Live and become could be the short answer for those searching how to make a Guatemalan from a newly adopted baby. With that in mind, I leave you a short slide show and a video clip of the activities around the Guatemalan Independence Day.
I dedicate these photos, video and sounds to all my Guatemalan readers living abroad; may these vistas bring you home for a little while.
Guatemalan Kitchen Colors
These are some of the most often used ingredients in the Guatemalan kitchen. This photo was taken on Calle del Arco in front of La Fonda de la Calle Real at a booth that the restaurant put out to showcase their flavors and the ingredients they use in their kitchen. You can take this photo to your local Latin market and start cooking some of the recipes found in this site under the Food and Drinks category. Bon Appetite!
Guatemalan Fair: The French Fries Stall
Papas fritas is the Guatemalan Spanish name for French fries. Here is the abbreviated history that gave us the Guatemalan french fries stall: first the Quechuas or Incas domesticated the potato (Solanum tuberosum) into a crop in southern Peru and northern Bolivia; the Spanish conquistadors took it to Europe where it was an instant hit and along with maize turned a famine-prone population into a healthy society; somewhere in one of the northern European states, quite possibly Germany, the potato lost its skin and got deep-fried; This Eurpean recipe crossed the Atlantic with the new immigrants that came to U.S. and since it was a foreign-looking recipe, they called it French fries (remember Coneheads); so the French fries came to Guatemala along one of the many incursions from the United Stateians (Americans they seem to call themselves 😉 ) as a side dish for the hamburger or the hot dog. Guatemalans thought that French fries were too good to be side dish and turned it into a meal by itself. That is how the papas fritas cart came to be.
Guatemalan Cuisine: Revolcado de Panza
Traditional Guatemalan cuisine refuses to be phased out in favor of international fast food like hamburgers, pizza, hot dogs and chinese food. Even though foreign fast food is convenient, it lacks the complexity in flavors that Guatemalan dishes have. Even a simple dish like Revolcado de Panza, a sort of tomato-based curry with spices and cow’s underbelly brings forth an avalanche of flavors, textures and feelings to the taste buds.
Traditional Guatemalan dishes take a long time to be prepared, sometimes even weeks like the Fiambre (a cold-cuts salad), so they can not compete with fast food junk food in the time of preparation. But who says they have to be prepared the moment you show up to order it? That is fine for sandwiches, but Guatemalan traditional meals are sold by having a ready-made buffet where one can go and just order portions.
Resistance is Futile, We are Pollo Campero Borg
Soon everyone will be familiar with this logotype. Resistance is futile, all of you will be assimilated, we are the borg-campero. Juan José Gutiérrez and Dionisio Gutiérrez remind me of Pinky and The Brain because of their new weekly plans to take over the world. The first plan began over 35 years ago, 1971 to be precise, in tiny joint in Guatemala City. Their plan was very simple: let’s make a clone of Kentucky Fried Chicken and let’s sell it the world over. So far their plan has taken as far many U.S. cities, Madrid and Jakarta and in ten days to Shanghai. In China, Pinky and The Brain Gutiérrez plan to open up 500 new restaurants in the next five years; that is little over 8 restaurants per month. The Gutiérrez plan is to convince-convert the world over to their recipe of fried chicken which is tender, juicy and crunchy by way of plain logic: after all, how can 1.7 billion Chinese be wrong, right?
Guatemalan Sweet Bread Sampler – One Year Anniversary
What about the Guatemalan Sweet Bread?
Oh yeah, I am rambling again. In the photo above you see one of things Guatemalans abroad miss the most: Sweet Guatemalan Bread. I have talked about cutting a cake for this anniversary, but then I decided to shared the poor Guatemalans alternative: La Torta, this huge sweet bread, takes the place of the cake for many Guatemalan families. Also, as suggested by some friends, I decided to include other pieces of the Guatemalan sweet bread repertoire for all those chapines abroad. In Guatemala, we dip the bread in the coffee, as described by Manolo in LD’s entry about Miss Manners International. Since Manolo can not find champurradas (the flat tortilla-like bread in the picture) in Toronto, he dips his cookies in the coffee. I hope you don’t get grossed out by my dipping the bread in the coffee; I am doing it for the full impact on those Guatemalans who live abroad and visit this site infrequently.
The sweet Guatemalan bread in this picture comes from a very popular bakery in La Antigua Guatemala by the name of San Antonio, which stills uses brick ovens and wooden logs. The bread is baked freshly twice a day and with the best recipes from La Antigua Guatemala, the culinary capital of Guatemala. Sweet bread dipped in a cup of the best coffee in the world (from Antigua, of course), what else can you ask from life?
Enjoy it while it lasts!
Sometimes when you start a series you don’t know where to begin. I have colors, rich saturated colors for you. But, I …
Guatemalan Cuisine: Pepian
Yesterday I talked about meeting people and having lunch at La Fuente Restaurant, which is a restaurant I visit often because of …
Guatemalan Tamales for Christmas: colorado, negro & chuchito
A few Guatemalans living abroad asked for photos of tamales colorado (red) and negro (black) made especially for Christmas Eve and Christmas …
Guatemalan Cuisine: Hilachas
Hilachas is the name of the dish based on shredded meat with recado (tomato-based sauce), and cut up potatoes. If you compare …
Guatemalan Cuisine: Frijoles colorados
Frijoles colorados or red beans is the second best dish after black beans, of course, in the Guatemalan kitchen. Here you have …
Guatemalan Cuisine: Chapin Breakfast
First of all, my apologies to all those masochist Guatemalans who are abroad and visit this humble blog to get their daily …
Triangles
It is Sunday and I figure, a nice mellow and tranquil image might be the recipe for a slow day. I want …
Guatemalan Beers
These are the widest available Guatemalan Beers. In the picture you can see the 1 liter container for Gallo, Victoria and Brahva. There are five other brands which belong to Gallo house (CervecerÃÂa Centroamericana) as well as Victoria. Beer is the preferred alcoholic drink for Guatemala and quite understandable since it is a tropical country. My favorite Guatemalan beer is Moza [sp], a bock type recipe.
Shrimp Ceviche in Antigua
Ceviche is very popular food in America. There are many ways to prepare it and there are many recipes per countries. The …