Corn is one of the food we eat the most in the city of Cuzco as well as in our towns. This time of year the fields are filling with corn plants rising towards the sun thanks to our regular rains. The plants seem to spring upward as if by magic; they start so small and grow so tall. Farmers produce corn to dry and preserve all year but they also harvest fresh corn and bring it little by little to the city where we love it.
This is one of our principle foods. We do not just eat corn alone, but from it make many dishes, such as the wonderful humitas, tamales, our lawa de maiz, a thick corn soup or gruel, fresh corn and cheese (choclo con queso), popped giant kernels of corn (mana), chicha, and mote or kernels of boiled corn served along with meals.
We have a great variety of corn in all kinds of colors and sizes. They make up a rainbow when put side by side from yellow, to red, blue, purple and many other combinations.
All of these are grown and harvested in the communities and towns of Cuzco. Our farmers work hard through the year in order to provision us with this grain that is one of the staffs of our life. They keep us supplied with corn and, as a result, keep us healthy and happy.
