A nation is also built from the plate

Abstract:

By 1870, Venezuela could not be yet considered like a true nation. This article aims to make a historical reconstruction of the process initiated by then, which produced not only the geographical cohesion of the incipient nation, but also build a national culinary corpus. During the long presidential term of Antonio Guzman Blanco (1870-1888 period), the first systematic attempt at national modernization was achieved executed. Thus, a set of measures related to the organization of the public administration, to the development of a wide road network to connect the various regions, and to strengthening the political power at the central level were carried out in order to articulate the country to the world capitalist system. In this political project there it was also necessary to found a new national myth, based on national symbols, which fed the Republican collective imagination. Thus, a kind of national culinary corpus in the field of gastronomy was built, quite different to the observed in different regions of the country. It included and highlighted the Caracas’ pavilion (pabellón caraqueño), later called creole native pavilion (pabellón criollo), as well as the Hallaca –a traditional, particularly complex and festive dish. Both plates have become the most popular representatives of Venezuelan cuisine, and therefore, they became key element for strengthening the sense of national belonging, and also the cultural identity of Venezuela’s inhabitants.

Año de publicación:

2015

Keywords:

• Hallaca
• Creole pavilion
• National project
• Venezuelan gastronomy
• Guzman Blanco

Fuente:

scopus