Deep Into A Caribbean Book

This poem, titled "La señora hallaca" by Venezuelan poet Arturo Uslar Pietri, is a humorous and allegorical work that personifies the hallaca, a traditional Venezuelan dish during the Christmas season. Through a dialogue between an interlocutor and the hallaca, the author plays with the identity and cultural ingredients that make up this dish.

The hallaca, describes its attire made of banana leaves and its mixture of ingredients, including European, indigenous, African, and Asian influences.

The hallaca blushes from the annatto that is applied, referring to a seasoning used to color the hallaca dough, cleverly interpreted as a blush on the "skin" of the hallaca.☺️