Hallacas! A Venezuelan Delicacy

My family has had ties to Venezuela for three generations. My parents spent a good chunk of their childhood/formative years growing up in Portuguese and Italian neighborhoods in Maturin and Barquisimeto, and both sets of my grandparents each owned and ran a Portuguese bakery in their respective towns. We're talking about Venezuela in the 60s, 70s and 80s - nothing like what you see in the news today in 2019. Beautiful, safe, prosperous - it was the place to raise your family and run a successful business.

My family speaks Spanish, and we enjoy traditional Venezuelan dishes from time to time - easy to do, considering we live in South Florida where Venezuelan bakeries and restaurants are plentiful.

My parents neighbors across the street are Venezuelan and shortly after the New Year, invited us over for a traditional lunch of hallacas. The closest thing you could compare an hallaca to would be a tamale. Hallacas are made up of corn dough with the filling including a protein (beef, pork or chicken) and other mix-ins (raisins, olives, etc).