La Tortilla - food staple in most households

            Linda

photo was colored by
Hannah, a volunteer
I thought my grandchildren would
like the monsters.


La Tortilla

Another food staple for most households here is the small hand made tortilla. They are made with finely ground maize or  wheat flour and shaped between the hands to about 4 or 5 inches in diameter. Everyday Don and I get a stack of 8 of these tortillas to go with our lunch. These are brought to Ochenta (the office) hot everyday for lunch. Below is a photo of the cooking surface or comal heated with propane being used by these young ladies to cook their tortillas at lunch time. Sometimes you will see cardboard surrounding a cormal if it is very windy outside.  For a great photo go to this link http://antiguadailyphoto.com/2006/12/19/making-tortillas-in-guatemala/

Inside the shack below, which is just outside and down the road a short distance from a hospital, is a single woman with her comal busy making tortillas. I am sure she hopes to sell to nurses, doctors, visitors and others from the hospital and community.

Outside of Pollo Comparo you will be able to buy all the tortillas you want to go with the chicken you purchase for lunch or dinner. These are so well insulated that they steam when they are opened to serve you. It amazes me how long these women will sit outside selling tortillas every day. They sit on stools or tiny chairs and wait to sell to the lunch crowd. Often they will have very young children with them.

In the last photo is a young woman with a basket full of tortillas that was on her head. I was to slow to catch the basket up on top. She will sell her tortillas as she walks down the street and may knock on a couple of doors and often will be meet with a basket for her to fill with tortillas for the family meal.

Notice the cobblestone street (very rough, noisy, hard to walk on).