In Puerto Rico, there is a curious celebration after Carnival, coinciding with Ash Wednesday, known as the traditional Burial of the Sardine. This festivity originates from Spain and dates back to the late 19th century, when a group of young people wearing black hoods carried a coffin with the sardine through the streets during the Carnival parade to burn it at the end.
This tradition became popular in Latin America, and in Puerto Rico, it is famous in Ponce, where the community participates in this parody with cheerfulness, carrying a coffin through the streets, accompanied by Carnival queens as mourners mourning the death of the Sardine with a tone of ironic humor. The Carnival culminates with the Burial of the Sardine, accompanied by the reading of the litanies, which recount the humorous events experienced by the queens and participants of that Carnival.
Without fail, each celebration must include a dish that represents it. In this case, we have Carnival Ears, originating from Galicia. They are made from a dough prepared with flour, egg, pork fat, water, lemon zest, oil, and cinnamon. After shaping it like a pig's ear, they are fried and placed on a tray, sprinkled with sugar or drizzled with honey.
