11 October, 2021
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In Puerto Rico, there is a passion for eating well-seasoned roast suckling pig to celebrate important dates or family gatherings. It has become a tradition on the island for many years.
Historical records about this exquisite Puerto Rican dish mention that it arrived in Puerto Rico with the Spanish colonizers, along with the technique of cooking over a spit and its seasonings, which were adopted by Puerto Rican culture, becoming a tradition.
By the end of the 15th century, the Spaniards expelled Muslims from the south of their country. As a result of this war, the Spaniards became fanatical Catholics, rejecting everything associated with Muslim customs. They practiced everything Muslims had forbidden, one of which was eating pork. Therefore, the pig became one of the Spaniards’ favorite dishes and was also used to test who was Christian and who was a covert Muslim.
To ensure someone was Christian, when there were suspicions, they would invite them and offer a plate of pork. If the guest showed disgust or refused to eat it, that was enough proof to declare they were not Christian, and they would be denounced to the Inquisition as heretics. This is how pork came to appear on the tables of Puerto Rico, in absolute rejection by the Spaniards of Muslim culture. As an act of rebellion, they began to eat pork, a food that, with colonization, spread throughout America and the Caribbean.
