Today, the first of November we celebrate the feast of todos santos, All Souls, in the city. On this day we feast all the people who are still in the earthly domain. Tomorrow, the second of November, we feast all of those who have left this world.
Today we will typically enjoy a meal of lechón (roast pork) with tamales and the ever present pan wawa (bread baby) and the pan caballo (bread horse). Everyone will eat some of this delicious food.
You will always find lechón on Cuzco’s tables from time to time throughout the year. Just as they will eat lechón today, they will serve it up on other occasions throughout the year. People have it for Sunday family dinner and it is also one of the dishes that is most prepared for special occasions, such as for example birthdays, baptisms, cargos (feast sponsorships), etc. But today is probably the day in the year in which people most celebrate by enjoying this dish of seasoned roast pork that is very traditional for us.
With every passing year the sales of this dish increase. Today many women will appear on the street to offer their own delicious lechón for sale, each with their own recipe and flavor. Some will be amazing and others not so outstanding. Nevertheless, the demand is so great that they will sell out by the end of the day.
We serve our classical lechón, whose name refers to a young pig, a suckling pig, with our delicious and traditional tamales. There are sweet ones and savory ones so that everyone’s taste will be satisfied. We also accompany our pork with bread, but not any bread, the special bread made in Oropesa. This bread stands above the others for its quality and flavor. It is enormous and contains much more than other breads.
For this occasions our delicious tamales are prepared in large quantities, since ever dish of lechón will be accompanied by two tamales. The women who make up the tamales have been very busy filling orders for this day.
By eating a wonderful dish of lechón we celebrate life and those who still are with us. We share our laughter and our sorrow while enjoying this moment as if it were the last we will every experience.
