HONDURAS: A world of Lenca culture to discover, says CANTURH

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Honduran National Chamber of Tourism - CANATURH

Jul 16, 2014, 12:37 ET

TEGUCIGALPA, Honduras, July 16, 2014 /PRNewswire/ -- One of the first things that springs to mind when you speak of Honduras is the Mayas, even though, to the surprise of many, the Mayas are not the predominant indigenous group in the country, it is actually the Lencas who hold that position. The Lencas are a pre-Hispanic culture that developed in Honduras in the first century before Christ, a civilization that accomplished major advances in architecture, gold craftsmanship and agriculture, a people who have resisted and endured through the passing of centuries.

The Lenca people occupy 5 departments in Honduras, and they are the largest ethnic component in the country, though in all of this region it is in the departments of Intibuca and Lempira where it is easiest to make contact with them and their ancestral customs reflected in the colorful attire that they wear with such pride, in their legends and customs, many of them enriched with certain elements of the old world of Europe.

One of these European contributions is "Los Choros", an edible mushroom originally from southern Europe, and which now grows wild in the mountains of Honduras, a mushroom that many years ago was assimilated into Lenca cuisine; the choro mushroom, whose scientific name is Amanita Caesarea, is characterized as "the delicacy of the Caesars," enjoying a splendid reputation all over the world, and this natural treat when prepared in the Lenca style becomes a true delicacy, which is why every year in June in the city of La Esperanza, Intibuca, the "Choro and Wine Festival" is celebrated, an event where the choro is undisputed king, with wine as queenly consort.

To speak of the land of the Lencas is to speak of highlands immersed in blankets of fog, where the pine forests are interrupted by an enormous variety of fruit-bearing plants from which the country's most delicious artisanal wines are produced – strawberry, apple, peach, myrtle, plum and more – making the perfect accompaniment for this delicacy of the Caesars with its Lenca accent.

The festival that took place from June 27 to 29 began with a procession of floats vividly decked out, the adornment of streets and avenues, the parade of the "giant women," which are enormous masked figures symbolizing mythic characters from Lenca and Honduran culture, all by way of preamble to bring you a wide variety of recipes for choros with all the varied wines to beguile you in a moment that will become the high point in a culinary and cultural adventure that you definitely could only find in Honduras.

Native music, exclamations, drums and whistles comprise the fanfare that brings you into the most intimate elements of Lenca culture, brightly colored cloths to protect the heads of Lenca women from the cold, set off against the copper-colored skins of happy, hard-working folk who will be your peerless hosts, and all this is but a single part of a vast celebration that takes on mystical and magical shadings surrounding the King for a Day observance, a festival worth experiencing and enjoying, remembering and cherishing…

A unique event, the city of La Esperanza and the Lenca people await you with open arms, and with the table set in expectation just for you.

Contact:
Lilian Lagos, [email protected]
Tel. +504 2232-1927

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SOURCE Honduran National Chamber of Tourism - CANATURH