Las Hallacas

Hallacas are a type of food prepared for the Christmas holidays only, which means it’s a big deal when it comes time to prepare them.

Making Hallacas becomes a family affair. It’s such a long process that the more people you involve the faster they get done.

I still remember when I was about 5 or 6 years old in one occasion when at my grandma’s – Lela – house a big table was set up in the garden and all along and on top of the table all the ingredients were ready to assemble the hallacas: Shredded chicken, olives, raisins, pickled vegetables, bacon fat; these served as toppings. In a big pot was the meat stew that had previously been cooking for days. At the other end of the table were the plantain leaves and the cornmeal dough.

Hallacas are a type of tamal. It is stuffed cornmeal dough wrapped in plantain leaves, tied and held together by string and steamed into perfection.

To assemble the hallaca, you need a small army. The first person grabs a piece from the banana leaf that had been previously and carefully cleaned and cut. In the middle of this piece of leaf, a small ball of dough is placed. This dough is rolled out to create a very thin round layer.  Once ready, this is passed on to the next person. This person adds a spoonful of the meat stew on top of the thin dough. The next person adds the first few topping and moving along the table the person after that continues to add the toppings. Once all toppings are added, someone gets the job of closing it up. This is an art because the banana leaf is so fragile it can easily rip. If you’re closing the hallaca you’ve got to make sure nothing comes out through the inevitable rips of the leaves. Once that’s accomplished then the next person ties the hallaca. I always found this part fascinating, so much that I became good at it. To tie the hallaca you’ve got do it ever so gently yet firm enough to hold everything into place.

I know how to make hallacas and everytime I make hallacas I want to recreate this particular moment. I try to gather people around my table and give each person a task. Often I’ved had to do it alone which is not as fun, but recollecting that one memory brings me joy and hope that one day a can recreate that exact memory: a long table under Lela’s mango tree; under beautiful sunny skies, aunts, cousins laughing, music blasting, kids running around -being tapped on their hands when trying to steal the toppings – and Lela yelling commands and hurrying people up.