A little ”taste” of Bolivian Christmas fare……….

Paneton and cola de mono

Instead of Christmas cake or pudding we have paneton, or Christmas bread. This is a mini paneton-they usually come much larger than this!

The drink is cola de mono-literally ”monkey’s tail” and is a traditional Christmas drink in Chile. During my five years in Chile we had this every Christmas but it was always home made and, therefore, always slightly different as everyone seemed to have their own recipe. The typical ingredients are coffee, milk, vanilla, cinnamon or nutmeg and cloves and a white alcohol, like white rum, pisco or aguardiente. I managed to find a bottle of it made here in Bolivia for this Christmas.

Those festive little llamas are bread dough figures that I bought in Ecuador. The town of Calderon, near Quito, is famous for these handmade figures. Bread dough baby figures were originally made and the practice has pre- Columbian origins when the figures were associated with death and burial rituals. The rituals were modified with the arrival of the Spanish and mixed with Christian traditions and are now made for All Souls’ Day ceremonies in November each year. Originally fashioned from corn, pumpkin, honey and beeswax, the figures are now made from wheat flour and heavily varnished for durability. All kinds of figures are now  made  and sold all year round.

Bread dough figures from Ecuador

Finally, they are all seated on a little pinwheel cloth that I have been making with a rigid heddle on my backstrap loom.

Salud! and happy holidays to all!!

Laverne