The Fiesta and The Guinea Pig
Monday, January 11th, 2010Sunday marked Hermando´s birthday, who turned 61. He was joined by his wife, three daughters, four grandchildren, Dutch-Belgian son-in-law, and two foreigners. All of whom live in the same compound, and happily supported him on his big day.
In Peru, the birthday cake is served for breakfast, and in this case also some of the most delicious hot chocolate that I have ever tasted. Around a dozen people sat around the dining room table for the sweet meal, but since most people in attendance had to go to work, the celebratory meal only lasted around fifteen minutes. The big meal was to come for lunch.
At one o´clock, the same party crowd re-assembled, but this time for a proper feast. Hermando´s wife had cooked what I believe was an entire pig in the communal oven on the street, and everyone in attendance received a sizeable hunk that took up a majority of the plate. As well as the swine, potato, corn and roasted Cuy sat waiting to be eaten. Cuy is Spanish for guinea pig, and is considered a delicacy in Peru. It is only brought out for the most special of occasions.
At first glance the guinea pig looked like a potato, but on flipping the ¨potato¨ upside down it revealed what appeared to be claws, what was most certainly a rib cage, and a few internal organs that were black in color and incredibly un-appetizing.
The Peruvians dug right in. Peeling off the skin and digging deep with their hands. Cuy had been described to me as ¨a lot of bones, and very little meat,¨which is exactly what it was.
My first step was to peel the skin off the beast, which required me to cradle the rib cage and still-intact organs in my palm, and violently tear the leathery skin from the remaining part of the animal. This was perhaps the most unsettling part, having bare guinea pig bones graze my hand, and being ever-so-careful to stay as far away from the exposed organ as I could. Once the skin was off, it was possible to see what I was searching for: tiny strings of meat that lay just under the skin.
The meat is actually very tasty. It resembles chicken in color and texture, but is chewier, and from an uglier animal. The process of getting through tough skin and internal organs was really the most disturbing and difficult part of the whole endeavor. The Peruvians at the table devoured the entire thing, skin and all, but left the bones.
While those who were on their lunch break returned to work, those of us with nothing else to do sat in the kitchen through the rain, and drank too sweet Peruvian wine amid conversation. For his birthday, I gave Hermando a Rite in the Rain notebook, which with a pencil you can actually write in the rain. I thought it might come in handy when he surveys his fields during the wet season, which it shall be for at least a few more months. More to come, Ciao!
jfin