Juayua Food Festival and Fair

Okay if you have ever been to El Salvador or are planning on comeing I have to talk about one place you must visit or if you haven’t experienced is a must. Salvadoran food is at the Juayúa Food Fair held every Sunday. (Pronounced WHY-OOH-AH, with the accent on the OOH, for all you not-Spanish-speaking-quite-yet Gringos out there.)

The town is like most it has a lot of history and ingenuity. During the Sunday festival the town gathers in the small central square for the event. The food is served and eaten under the shades of trees and eaten at plastic tales and chairs in view of the live music you can enjoy there as well.. Dozens of food vendors set up along one side of the plaza and people line up at individual tents to sample their fares. The dining tent is the largest, and live music is as common place as the pupusas! Vendors wander the square selling desserts, toys, CDs… you name it, somebody’s got it!

Juayua is one of the regular events held every weekend and if you’re a traveling gringo it’s the best place to experience all types of delicious delicacies’ from around El Salvador. If your looking for home made popusa or a home style county tomalley. Or pepeska’s if you’re the daring soul. It is basically small minnows that are really salty but they are good.  The elote loco is a little crazy… hence the name… but it’s worth a try: boiled corn, smeared with mustard, sprinkled with Parmesan cheese and topped off with some other sauces… you might just like it.The prices are great and can be experienced even on the modest of budgets.
Juayúa is just a day trip from San Salvador, only about 50 miles (75 km), and is totally worth it to escape the busy hustle and bustle of the city. The food festival in itself is worth the trip, but if you have a chance to look around a bit, the town is actually quite nice. Cobbled streets, colonial architecture… it is a peaceful place to be. If you only have the day, you might think of taking a horse and carriage ride around the city after you are done. It is a nice setting to digest and enjoy the scenery in.

It seems Juayúa has yet to make it big in the foreigner market: normally the tourists are El Salvadorans coming for vacation from another part in the country. Some gringos do make it up here, and the ones who can keep on coming back for more!

I haven’t heard of any problems, but with these massive crowds, it is best to keep your valuables close, and especially be on guard for pick-pockets. It is easy to let your guard down because the Juayúa Food Fair seems like a giant family reunion, or the best summer block party, but as Gringos we stand out as targets for petty crime. Don’t be paranoid, just be aware.