Feasting in Antigua, Guatemala

Pollo Pepían (spiced chicken), recipes below. Photo from (http://exilekiss.blogspot.com/)

Guest Blogger Bio: Blake Pattridge is Chair of the History and Society Division at Babson College.

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My first visit to Guatemala happened in the summer of 1991 as a graduate student. I stayed in Antigua Guatemala, a lovely colonial town with beautiful historic churches, ruins, and colonial edifices. There are many indigenous people who come to Antigua from surrounding pueblos to sell their wares to tourists, and the town’s parque central (central plaza) is usually bustling with commercial and entertainment activities. During my first visit, the family of a fellow graduate student took me to one of the town’s many popular restaurants, La Fonda de la Calle Real. Among some of the local recipes were a Pollo Pepían (spiced chicken) dish and a Sopa de Pavo (turkey soup). The restaurant offered all sorts of meat dishes, usually accompanied by rice and beans and freshly made corn tortillas. One could order Guatemalan cervezas such as Gallo, or be treated to a fruit licuado made of some of the freshest fruits I have ever had. 

Pollo Pepían: http://www.thegringochapin.com/2010/12/pepian-de-pollo-3.html

Sopa to Pavo: http://www.familycookbookproject.com/view_recipesite.asp?rid=246098&uid=1648&sid=3574

Guatemala Stories and Recipes: http://www.foodasalens.com/search?q=Guatemala+

Blake Pattridge's Book: Institution Building and State Formation in Nineteenth Century Latin America: The University of San Carlos, Guatemala (2004) http://www.peterlang.com/index.cfm?event=cmp.ccc.seitenstruktur.detailseiten&seitentyp=produkt&pk=45838.

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