If you want to know what plataninas, papalinas, poporopos and churros are, just follow the white rabbit!
Guatemala’s rich gastronomic heritage is “disappearing” right before our own very eyes. I try to capture and document some of it, but I am afraid I am doing it too slow.
Let me explain.
The other day I went to the tienda to buy some papalinas and I asked the girl at the counter for bag of papalinas. She looked dazed and confused and her hand kept on moving between the papalinas, plataninas and yuquitas. Finally, she admitted she did not know which was which. She solicited help to show her which was papalinas. She was about 18 years old so I inquired about her provenance; not willing to admit to myself that it was feasible for a Guatemalan teenager to not know what papalinas were.
In Guatemala, however, everyday the limits of what’s possible are pushed further out.
The tienda attendant was from a village not to far from La Antigua Guatemala.
Guatemala is certainly the land of “los desaparecidos (as).” 🙁
To counteract el olvido, here’s a dose of Sobrevivencia… A Guatemalan Mayan rock band. Enjoy and let me know if you need more doses of Sobrevivencia!