Cuy

When I was younger, my older sister had a pet guinea pig named Mr. Bubbles. Mr. Bubbles was everything a pet is supposed to be: adorable, furry, and easy to take care of for a teenage girl. Little did I know, before coming to Peru, that the beloved furry, big-cheeked pets that we in North America have learned to come and love as domestic pets are, in fact, raised more like livestock in South American countries such as Peru and Ecuador. In these countries, guinea pigs are referred to as cuy and they are often grilled, fried, and roasted for cuisine purposes. 

Cuy is majorly important to the culture of Peru, as I saw multiple times throughout my trip. In the main cathedral in the Cusco Plaza de Armas, one can find a painting painted by Marcos Zapata entitled La Ultima cena in which Jesus and his 12 disciples are sitted around a dinner table eating, you guessed it, a sacrificed cuy. In the cooking practice of pachamanca, a method that utilized earthen ovens, cuy is often prepared and sold as a delicacy. 

When I tried cuy myself, I compared it to bird meat, such as turkey or chicken. It is often compared to rabbit meat, as well, even though I haven't ever eaten rabbit. I'm glad I got to try it and it was actually quite tasty! My mom sent me pictures of Mr. Bubbles, later, after I told her I ate one. She's trying to guilt trip me...