Guatemala: The <PERSON> and Other Foods for Day of the Dead · Global Voices
Once upon a time, there were a convent in Antigua, Guatemala, where the nuns had been celebrating the All Saints Day, around the 16th of the month, and they had an uninvited, but important visitor. They were really nervous because they did not have enough food to make a proper dinner for the priest, so they used their creativity instead. They collected and remixed all the leftovers from previous meals, from slices of cheese to potatoes. As a result, the Guatemalan <PERSON> was born and the priest was delighted! Nowadays, it is a celebration for the entire family that begins on the night of October 31. The complex recipe [es] has up to 150 ingredients, from vegetables to meats of all kinds, even fish!
Also you can enjoy camotes en miel (sweet potatoes) and jocotes en miel, as described by Antigua Daily Photo .
Jocotes (/hoe-ko-tes /) or red mombin are often eaten raw, but you can find them as often in tasty preserves. Jocotes en miel or red mombin in syrup (literal translation of miel would be honey, but in this instance it means syrup or almíbar in Spanish) are prepared as dessert to take to the cemetery on Day of the Dead or Día de los difuntos . The idea is to take foods that are prepared in advance and that do not need heating up or that spoil quickly. That’s why you take fiambre , and whatever fruits are in season prepared as dessert.
For many Guatemalans, Fiambre is just too much for some tastes, so some families just order pizza, such as the family of the blogger from Fe de Rata [es] :
De noviembre. Día de los muertos. Día de Fiambre, el platillo tradicional guatemalteco por excelencia. Compuesto de carnes frías, vegetales curtidos, quesos, toda suerte de embutidos y cualquier cosa comestible para el ser humano. Gastronomía infernal a mi paladar. No me gusta, mátenme, lo sé. 186
Ese día en la reunión familiar -para recordar a nuestros muertos-, como pizza con los niños y tomo vodka con los grandes.
November. Day of the Dead. Day of the Fiambre, the traditional Guatemalan Dish par excellence . It is made with meats, prepared vegetables, cheeses, all kinds of cold cuts and any food eatable for a human being. Gastronomy from hell, it is just not for me. I don´t like it. During the family festivities – to honor our dead – I eat pizza with the kids and drink vodka with the adults.
Photo by <PERSON> and used under a Creative Commons license
During the festivities of Day of the Dead, many places have other delicious culinary traditions besides Fiambre, such as pumpkins, sweets, drinks made of corn, as described by <PERSON> [es]
Los habitantes de otras localidades del país practican diferentes costumbres. En Comalapa se prepara el cocimiento, hecho a base de elote, güicoy y güisquil hervidos, acompañados de atol de elote y cusha, una bebida embriagante. Elote, camote y güisquil asados son servidos en San Pedro La Laguna, Sololá. En Petén, los niños salen por la noche del 31 de octubre a pedir Ixpasá para la calavera. El Ixpasá es una bebida hecha de maíz negro, la cual acompaña los bollos y tamales peteneros. Se vacían toronjas y se les hace una carita similar a la de las calabazas y adentro se les pone una velita. También se come dulce de ayote, molletes y jocotes en dulce y, por supuesto, el fiambre.El Ixpasá es una bebida hecha de maíz negro, la cual acompaña los bollos y tamales peteneros. Se vacían toronjas y se les hace una carita similar a la de las calabazas y adentro se les pone una velita. 186