By Angel Nuñez
Black Friday Deals is a big day in the business world in the United States of America. It is a day for Cheap Sales on the Day after Thanksgiving which is always a Friday. The deals are incredible- from toys to fashion and clothing, house wares and home goodies, and don’t ask about electronics! The deals are so fantastic that some people camp outside the malls and stores to be able to be first in line at the opening hour of Black Friday Deals. Some of these deals are reaching the shores of San Pedro and Ambergris Caye today.
But what about big deals 25 years ago? You might think, no there could not be any deals with only three or four stores in San Pedro. But think again. Those of us who lived here in the 1950’s can identify with this. The big rush to get this deal was also in November and more or less related to Thanksgiving. In the days when people in San Pedro ate fish seven days a week and for the most part three times a day, you can imagine the rush when meat was available.
And this happened on the eve of All Saints Day on November 1. This was the day when the pig was killed for its meat. When people heard that meat was available, they left everything to rush to the meat place to buy their cuts of meat. If a woman was doing her laundry, she left it and went for the pork deals. If a man was on his way to the fish trap, he delayed his trip to go get a fresh cut of meat. Even children who were engaged in some interesting game would be called by mom and sent by mom without any complaints to go for some meat. Meat was so special that nobody wanted to miss this opportunity for their Meat Deals. This was sort of like the Black Friday Deals that we have today in the U.S.
The killing of a pig was not only about meat. Hold on but they also processed the skin into crispy pork strips called “chicharon” and with this we also got the bacon bits. Then there was the special menu with the liver called “higadia” The Mayan women were also experts in making “morcilla” a type of sausage made by cooking blood or dried blood of pigs, cattle, sheep or goats with a filler until it is thick enough to congeal when cooled. The tail was salted to be used in the black beans. The head and ribs were corned and preserved for dishes later on in the month or weeks ahead.
Other special deals that dealt with meat were occasions when someone brought a small cow from Corozal once in a blue moon, or the processing of a manatee for meat, or even the processing of chickens and ducks from the families’ backyards. San Pedro’s Black Friday Deals all had to do with the availability of meat twenty five years ago.
25 Years Ago Books Can Be Purchased At:
-Ambergris Today -Lala’s Store -Chico’s Meat Shop -Pampered Paws -Ambergris Jade -San Pedro BTB Office -Aquarious Salon (Kim) -S.P. Town Library -Di Bush -Richies Stationery -San Pedrano’s Stationery
Contact the Author at: nunez_nest@yahoo.com
Click Here For More 25 Years Ago Articles
