Maria Carolina Guilarte, a dentist turned home chef, is carrying on a beloved Venezuelan tradition. In her Northwest Side home, she’s preparing hallacas, a popular Christmas dish, for friends and family. The process, unfolding on a long table transformed into a makeshift assembly line, sparks a friendly debate: are hallacas essentially the same as Mexican tamales? “An hallaca is an hallaca,” Guilarte insists, “and a tamal is a tamal.”
Hallacas, made of corn dough mixed with chicken or beef and wrapped in banana leaves with peppers, capers, raisins, and olives, are a labor of love, with each family boasting its own unique recipe. Guilarte expertly demonstrates her technique, explaining how she uses achiote for color and texture, carefully spreading the dough onto the leaves. Her method reflects a life deeply rooted in Venezuelan culinary heritage.
Guilarte’s journey to Chicago mirrors that of nearly 8 million Venezuelans who have fled their country since 2013. Four years ago, she joined the exodus amidst a devastating economic collapse, bringing her two children to a new life in Chicago. While she was a dentist in Venezuela, here she’s embraced a catering business, utilizing family recipes passed down from her mother and aunts. She fondly recalls large family gatherings where the hallacas preparation was a collaborative effort: younger children cleaned leaves, teenagers chopped vegetables, and those over 40 took on the more advanced tasks.
Now, mostly alone, she continues the tradition. A Venezuelan friend sits nearby, her teenage children periodically popping in and out. The act of making hallacas is a poignant reminder of her homeland, and a stark contrast to the reality faced by many Venezuelans who may not have enough to celebrate this Christmas. Guilarte reminisces about past Christmases in a more prosperous Venezuela, when abundant ingredients were readily available.
The conversation turns to another culinary debate: the origins of the arepa. Guilarte emphatically asserts that the arepa, often attributed to Colombia, is in fact a Venezuelan staple. Despite the challenges of displacement, Guilarte finds solace and strength in her culinary heritage, preserving a piece of her home through each carefully crafted hallaca.