Pupusas: Over 2000 Years in the Making

Hello!

My name is Daniel Resendiz Cordova, a fourth-year student at the University of San Diego, currently pursuing a bachelor's degree in International Business!

Introduction:

As the world becomes more globalized than ever it is important to understand different cultures through food and while El Salvador is a relatively small country, I believe it houses one of the most delicious foods you can eat in the world. Originating in El Salvador and Western Honduras, pupusas have been a staple and influential dish in El Salvador’s cultural history. As the national dish, it is an essential key component to its rich culture, and studying its history will better help us understand the country's culture. This topic is significant to me because it is a food that deeply connects me to my Salvadorian background and culture that I am not able to often experience as I have spent most of my life in the US and have only been able to visit my family relatives only a handful of times. However, by simply studying what pupusas mean to the Salvadorian culture it is clear to see how this dish expands from simply just being a tasty cuisine to its connection to a decade-long civil war, and its unrivaled ability to bring a community together to enjoy themselves. Thus after careful examination, I argue that pupusas have the ability to connect us to our identity, connect the Salvadoran community on a global level, and finally analyze how it can be implemented into a healthy diet.

Origin:

Before we can begin to understand the cultural influential impact pupusas have had on millions of Salvadorians, it is important to analyze the history of the cuisine. While the exact origins are not completely known with concrete evidence, pupusas are believed to have appeared over 2000 years ago for the first time by an indigenous migrant group that was known as the Pipil tribe. These people are direct descendants of the famous and well-known Aztec tribe and inhibited the western and central areas of present-day El Salvador. The Pipil people would roll maize into the round shape that we see today and then use it to stuff ingredients inside. The first pupusas are thought to have been fully vegetarian with it mainly being filled with squash blossoms, herbs, and mushrooms. It was not until some time around the 1570s was meat such as pork started to be introduced along with different fillings such as refried beans. The name of the dish itself, pupusa, is also thought to come from a Pipil word “pupusawa” which means to puff up which directly correlates to how pupusas puff up during the cooking phase

Civil War and how Pupusas Connect us to our Identity

One of the biggest factors that cause pupusas to have such a cultural impact on the Salvadoran population is its ability to connect us to our identity and give us a taste of home. This realization has only come recently after large masses of Salvadorians had to flee from their home country due to a very bloody decade-long civil war that took place in the country from the years 1979-1992. The civil war was fought between several leftist revolutionary organizations that all merged to form the Farabundo Marti National Liberation Front (FMLN) against the national government and its right-wing paramilitary forces. After an all-out offensive attack by the FMLN on the government in 1981, the United States decided to involve itself in the matter and began supplying the Salvadoran government with military aid and advisors. At the same time, the FMLN was receiving aid from communist allies such as the Soviet Union up until their collapse in 1991. It was not long after this in 1992 that the US would play a crucial role in ending the war by pushing for a peace settlement between the FMLN and the Salvadoran government which was signed on January 16 of that year and was named the Chapultepec Peace Accords. However, this was only heavily pushed by the US because of the horrors of human rights violations and crimes that were being committed during the decade-long war by both sides. Reinaldo Figueredo, part of the U.N. Truth Commission stated, “In examining the staggering breadth of the violence that occurred in El Salvador, the Commission was moved by the senselessness of the killings, the brutality with which they were committed, the terror that they created in the people, in other words, the madness, or locura, of the war”. It was found that during the 1980s when the war was still at its worst between the government and FMLN forces, civilians were being ruthlessly dragged into the killings, oftentimes being subjugated to torture, mutilation, sudden disappearance, extrajudicial killings, and mass rape. It was estimated that around 75,000 total casualties occurred during the civil war and oftentimes many were killed in masses when villages were raided, hidden landmines planted, and random bombings. During this time it is believed that nearly two million Salvadorians fled the country looking for refuge in foreign countries namely the United States who offered to give temporary protected status due to the war.

In an article written by BBC reporters Laura Kiniry and Daniel Kavanaugh on July 11, 2019, reveals several stories of Salvadoran refugees who specifically left El Salvador to escape from the war and find shelter in the United States. One of these people Raul Montalvo was featured as someone who fled from El Salvador primarily because of the war in 1982 at the age of 26 to San Francisco, California. In the interview, he states what exactly makes him feel connected back to his home country and culture. It reads, “The peculiar smell, the combination of the hot pupusa topped with chilled curtido [pickled slaw]... For me, getting pupusas every so often is the closest form of being back home” (Kiniry and Kavanaugh). Pupusas have a way to connect natives to their homeland due to its distinct smell, particularly from the maize that mixes with the melted cheese which gives off an aroma so peculiarly that it sucks one into an experience only someone who has grown up with this cuisine can understand. For many of these new Salvadorians coming to the US and other foreign countries, food is one of the only ways they can feel remotely close to their native homeland. Whether it be through cooking at home or eating at restaurants that specialize in their native food, just consuming it can unlock memories from their childhood or recent lives where they would be eating this type of food in their daily lives because it was so prevalent in their diet back home. Food has the ability to make us feel happy and escape our current realities or the feelings of homesickness due to having to leave because of uncontrollable unfortunate events which in the case of a great many Salvadorians was the case. This is why pupusas carry the ability to make us feel connected to our identity and give us a taste of home.

Pupusa Festival: Connecting Salvadorians on a Global Scale

The love Salvadorians have for pupusas is not just at a personal cultural level where it is just a popular food that many like to indulge in, but is recognized heavily on a national level. Not only was it crowned the national dish of El Salvador in April 2005, but it was given its own festival that is celebrated in a town called Olocuilta on the second Sunday in November every year. The start of this yearly tradition coincided with the declaration of its title of national dish in 2005 and has been an ongoing event that has taken place every year when possible from then on. Olocuilta as a town has also grown its name in popularity and now it is mostly associated with having some of the best pupusas in the country. Firstly, it is an extremely popular location for many Salvadorans to eat pupusas at and it is mainly due to its location. The town lies in the city of La Paz, which directly connects the international airport and the country’s capital city of San Salvador. This makes it one of the easiest and closest places for returning Salvadorian citizens who are returning home to stop and enjoy pupusas due to its convenience of proximity. Thus, this has created a market of competition within this certain location which drives more business and now Olocuilta has become a neighborhood known for having some of the best pupusas one can find in El Salvador, making it fit as a location to have the pupusa festival at.

On the day of the Pupusa festival, citizens from all over the country will gather in Olocuilta to enjoy this special day of festivities and celebrate this wonderful dish as a community in unity. During the event, traditional music can be heard around the town along with dance performances for attendees to enjoy while enjoying their favorite pupusas. This is also a day where pupuserias can get creative and display all different kinds of pupusas to appeal to all kinds of different tastes. Along with these traditional forms of entertainment, there will be a number of festive contests for the public to enjoy which all pertain to the topic of pupusas. Some crowd favorites include a contest to see who the fastest Pupuseria is, a food-eating contest to see who can eat the most pupusas, and lastly, sometimes all the Pupuserias will come together to create one large pupusa for everyone to eat together! However, this traditional holiday is not just stuck in El Salvador anymore because, with the globalization of the Salvadoran population, there are now (albeit on a much smaller scale) pupusa festivals taking place in different parts of the world. The most prevalent cases are in the United States where pupusa festivals are being held in places like New Jersey and Los Angeles. While it typically is celebrated on a different day from the El Salvador date, it is still being celebrated as a day that brings the Salvadoran population living in that area together and enjoy several traditional dishes such as pupusas a prime example, and enjoy traditional music, dance performances, and each other's companies. It is clear to see how pupusas have become such an influence on Salvadorians to celebrate our culture.

Analyzing where Pupusas fit into a Healthy Diet

While we have seen why pupusas carry a significant role in Salvadorian culture it is important to analyze the healthy ways we can enjoy eating our delicious dish. Pupusas by themselves have some pros and cons in terms of nutritional benefits which makes it a food that should be understood if someone would want to incorporate or has already been incorporating the dish into their normal diet. On average, pupusas carry a caloric content of somewhere between 200-300 calories per pupusa, and since there are any number of combinations you can choose to have there can not be a set number but rather an acknowledgment of the range that can vary. In addition, while pupusas do offer adequate protein and fiber, and if paired with curtido and refried beans a good amount of essential nutrients there are some drawbacks. Unfortunately, most pupusas made have a moderately high percentage of saturated fats (cheese being very high) and sodium which can raise bad cholesterol and increase blood pressure respectively. Although, once again adding nutritious fillings like refried beans offers vitamin B, and curtido offers high amounts of vitamin C along with rich antioxidants that promote overall health.

One other way that completely changes the way pupusas affect its nutrition offering is the type of maize or flour that is being used. The primary options to choose from are either rice or corn flour and each has major differences found in the macronutrients. Both offer different choices to their consumer such as rice tends to have more carbs but is also lower in fat, while corn is richer in dietary fiber and offers slightly higher protein. Rice flour also contains minerals such as magnesium and potassium while corn provides a good source of vitamin B6 and iron. Knowing these choices allows the consumer to make a more educated decision based on their nutritional needs. However, if the love for pupusas is too great there are plenty of ways to make them much healthier if made at home compared to eating out. Generally cooking at home will always be healthier as it allows for much higher quality control in terms of ingredients, freshness, preparation methods, and cooking methods. The easiest way to make pupusas a much healthier option is simply using healthier alternatives in the ingredient list even if it means sacrificing a little bit of the taste. For example, low-fat cheese that normally would not be used is a great alternative, along with using whole grain flour to provide more fiber, and using leaner meats such as ground turkey all make for quality alternatives that provide for healthier daily consumption. As for the cooking method, using a higher quality oil such as pure avocado oil makes such a big difference compared to the oils that pupuserias may be using which could add even more unhealthy saturated fats to the dish. Overall, when looking at the micro and macronutrients of pupusas, while there are some clear positives it also comes with its drawbacks which should be watched in a balanced diet making it a dish that is best consumed in moderation. However, its homemade counterpart can allow for a very high degree of quality control allowing the individual to control portion sizes and ingredients which can allow for the dish to be eaten at a much more regular basis if the time commitment to make them is not an issue.

Concluding Thoughts:

The evolution of pupusas from its origin with the Pipil tribe to its modern-day form which sees a whole country recognize it as its national dish and dedicate a day to celebrate its creation is truly remarkable. Whether it be in its place of origin El Salvador or in a foreign country such as the United States, pupusas hold this incredible ability to bring Salvadorians closer together, connect us to our identity, and make it so that we want to enjoy its taste every day even if we know that it should only be consumed in moderation within a healthy balanced diet. Pupusas in nature are a family-oriented dish that should be eaten together as a community, with great company, friends, or anyone you can share laughter with because Salvadorian culture is one of family and unity over the hardships its people have had to endure in its history. However, in that same way, pupusas can help provide an outlet of nostalgia and comfort, if even just for a moment, to those Salvadorians who have had to flee from their country and now endure the hardships of living in a land not familiar to them. For those who do not know, pupusas may just seem like a tasty dish, but for those interested in analyzing its cultural relevance in Salvadorian culture it is clear to see why we take such pride and honor this dish to the extent that it is.

References:

Kavanaugh, Laura Kiniry & Daniel. “For Salvadorans, Pupusas Mean Comfort.” BBC News, September 15, 2023. https://www.bbc.com/travel/article/20190711-for-salvadorans-pupusas-mean-comfort.

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