CHAPINADAS

MERRY CHRISTMAS
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HAPPY NEW YEAR’S

Guatemalans eat tamales during the entire year but the tamales eaten during dinner on Christmas nighat are special.  Maybe it is the magic during this celebration, or maybe the sound of the firecrackers, or maybe the time spent with the family the make the tamales during Christmas night very special.  The tamales along woth the chocolate have prehispanic roots.  Some of the ingredients used to make tamales come from the Spanish and Egyptian culture.  The traditional food served along with the tamales are the fruit punch, chocolate, and manzanilla water.  Even though the way of making tamales have changed with time, it has kept its traditional way.  Depending on what area you go to, the tamales are made in different ways.  In Quetzaltenango for example, the tamales have the traditional ingredients and some non-traditional like rice and potato.  There are different king of tamales like sweet, green and paches.  In the east part of Guatemala the tamales are eaten with tortillas and cheese or cream.  In the highlands of Guatemala, it is a costum to bless the pot and the comal where the tamales are cooked.  In Coban, it is organized a Tamal Competition where people compite to show the more exquisite and exotic tamal.  Also in the Verapaces region, the tamales are cooked underground.  Hope you enjoy your tamales with your family.

The Nativity scene was brought to Guatemala by Hermano Pedro de Bethancourt 300 years ago.  In modern times, it is a christmas tradition combining creativity and dedication.  Making a Nativity scene with angels, sheep herders and Baby Jesus is a tradition inherited by generations.  Hermano Pedro de Bethancourt (1626-1667) introduced this tradition in Guatemala.  The makings of the nativity scene and the posadas that remain us of the trip Mary and Joseph took to reach Jerusalem and in doing so accomplished their objective of the Roman census and the birth of Jesus in Belem.

Since the beginnings of the XIX century, the nativity scene was not only seen in churches but also in houses.  The nativity scene is directed mainly by the mother of the house using sawdust from different colors, musk and mud figurines that are sold for this festivities in the markets across the nation.  The nativity scene is an spanish heritage but only in Guatemala has its distinctive characteristic.  It is a colorful display that incorporates Mayan pop art, spanish influence and catholic tradition.

Even though the most important purpose of the nativity scene is to remember the birth of Jesus, the Guatemalan ingenuity can not stand aside.  In the nativity scene of the Deeds of Brother Pedro in Antigua Guatemala, a water fountain, illumination and a house built with authentic adobe was built.  In this nativity scene, four months were spent to make and dress the images, to place the pine, to install the lights and to build the house.  

Guatemala with its fertile land and experienced workers is the ideal place to grow and harvest La pascua Or Eastern Flower seen everywhere for christmas season.  Between july and august, Ecke of Guatemala exports 600000 kilos of pascua.  A quality product and the low production costs has permited Ecke of Guatemala to enter in markets like the USA and Canada.  Ecke counts with 90% of the materials needed to produce the pascua in Guatemala and the remainer 10% comes from a laboratory located in California.  Under strict quality controls and with a year in advance, the Pascua is grown in 80 different varieties in 57 different glasshouses in Sacatepequez, Guatemala.  Guatemala has the capacity of providing 85 % of the demand in the US market.  Ecke of Guatemala, chose Guatemala to produce the eastern flower because of its experienced agricultural workers, adecuate infraestructure to export great volumes of easter flower and the proper environment to attract invertion.  Ecke of Guatemala, has two land holdings in Sacatepequez.  These two holdings are located 1450 meter above sea level.  The growth and harvest of the eastern flower provides 500 jobs during the year and 200 job during harvest time.  Ecke of Guatemala also offers different ornamental plants.  Ecke of Guatemala was recognized in 1996 and 2005 with the award for better exporter in Guatemala.  This year Ecke of Guatemala also won the medal for excellence in Ohio, USA.

The Tamal is the typical Christmas food for Guatemalas.  The Guatemalan Tamal has its own representative way of being presented consisting of Maxan leaves tied with cibaque.  In some areas of Guatemala, Plantain leaves are used to cook the tamales but most people rather have tamales cooked and wrapped in Maxan leaves.  Maxan leaves are bigger, harder and give the tamales more flavour.  Maxan leaves are found in humid places like rivers.  The Cibaque is a thread extracted from the Maxan plants and it is used to tie the maxan leaves with the tamales.  The tamales are cooked in apostes, which are pots made of mud and also give the tamales and exquisite flavor. 

A weekend in contact with nature is a privilege that people visiting Las Escobas get.  Las Escobas is a turistic place in Izabal visited by national and international turists because of its natural beauty and its different water pools to swim.  Las Escobas is a wonder of nature located 314 kilometers from the capital city of Guatemala.  It can be accesses by vehicles and buses. If travelling by bus, the first step is to go to the terminal in the village of Santo Tomas de Castilla where buses can be boarded every half hour.  Some of the attractions in this place are the wooden bridges over the Las Escobas river, the crystal clear waters of the four water pools and  a big and two small waterfalls.  In this place there are also pathways, camping sites and stores where drinks and food can be obtained.

Livingston has a population of 53,653 inhabitants according to a census taken in 2002.  According to the census, the different groups are divided as follows:  9% garifuna and the rest is divided between ladinos, quekchies and hindus.  Livingston celebrates every november 26th as the National Day of the Garifuna People. 

Livingston is characterized because of its paradise-like attributes due to its location in front the the Caribbean.  It has a happy and entertaining population that receives all the national and international visitors with a smile.  According to historians, Livingston was founded by Marcos Sanches in 1802 but it was not until november 26th 1831 that it received its name in honor of US legislator Eduardo Livingston.

Livingston main attractive is its location, where Rio Dulce joins the Atlantic and forming the incredible beaches of the place.  For many turists, Livingston is an enchanting place so much so that they decide to stay and live in the place because it is very quiet during the day and has a lot of nocturnal life.  Livingston is located a few hours of Puerto Barrios.  The Garifunas came to Livingston from the Island of Roatan in Honduras and thier language has roots from arawako, english, french and spanish.

The demand of national products outside of Guatemala is more everyday. There are about 500 guatemalan enterprises that operate outside of Guatemala and offer a variety of products for industry, personal services, raw materials, food and restaurants. Barriers like language, culture and border problems have not stopped Guatemalan entrepenurs from seeking new horizons for their products. Around 500 Guatemalan enterprises have opened new markets for their products in different branches of commerce. The major enterprise where Guatemalan entrepenurs have opened new markets is in the food where there have been a big amount of new restaurant opening. Some of theses restaurants are Pollo Campero, Tre Fratelly, Los Cebollines and Hacienda Real. Even though some of this enterprises have conquered hard markets like in the US, the highest percentaje of operations outside Guatemala are in El Salvador and Honduras. Here are some examples:

CERVEZA GALLO

The main objective of Cerveza Gallo is to exploit and conquer the American and Mexico market to the maximum. Cerveza Gallo iniciated exports to the US since 20 years ago but their exports can grow even more. The Departement of exports of Cerveza Gallo has positioned this beer in 15 different countries around the globe. Cerveza Gallo can be found in countries like France, Germany, Dominican Republic, Belize, Italy, Taiwan and some other Asian countries. Cerveza Gallo exports around 7000 million unites a year.

POLLO CAMPERO

Tender, juicier and crunchier Pollo Campero will form part of the food options in China and Indonesia. In the first part of 2007, Pollo Campero will open new restaurants in China and Indonesia as part of their expantion plan. Pollo Campero was born in Guatemala in 1971 and in the same year it open in El Salvador. In 1997, Pollo Campero already had restaurants in all Central America and Ecuador. In 2001, Pollo Campero opened its doors in Mexico and in 2002 they opened their first store in Los Angeles, California. Pollo Campero has 26 restaurants in the US in the cities of Houston, New York, Dallas and Chicago. In 2006, Pollo Campero open its doors in Spain and for 2007 they expect to open their first store in Asia. Pollo Campero has 220 restaurants throughout the world and counts with 6000 employees.

MALHER

Malher open for business in Mexico with the objective of duplicating the sale of can dehydrated products distributed in the Mexican market. Malher products manufactured in Guatemala and Chimaltenango are already sold in Central America, Dominican Republic, Haiti and Cuba. They also have operations in the Us in the states California, Chicago, New York, Atlanta, Florida and Houston. From Guatemala are exported 400 containers a year with a diversity of products like beans, soups, beverages and spices. These articles compite with a diversity of brands like Nestle, Craft and Uniliver.

RON ZACAPA CENTENARIO

Ron Zacapa Centario and its new presentation, wrapped in a palm container and a new drinking cup for drinking it were the innovations last year to help promove the new image of Ron Zacapa Centario. Ron Zacapa Centario has had a Guatemalan presence for 30 years and also 20 years since it was distributed outside Guatemala. The products of the Botran Brand are present in Central America, Italy, Spain, Germany, Japan, US, Colombia, Mexico and Chile. Ron Zacapa Centenario has also achived an important place with the operators of Duty Free of the world. It also has achieved an important place with international airlines like Thai Airlines, Air Macau and Iberia.