“Sangibin” Thanksgiving 2022

The fourth Thursday of November being celebrated as Thanksgiving has long since been a part of United States history since the feast between pilgrims and the Wampanoag in 1621. While most United States citizens celebrate it as a joyful and festive time, it is also important to recognize Thanksgiving as a time of mourning for many indigenous peoples in the United States. It was officially recognized as a holiday in 1863 and has been celebrated ever since.

The holiday came to Puerto Rico when the United States military arrived in Puerto Rico in 1898, but we have put our own spin on the holiday. Puerto Rico has a knack for spicing up holidays from the United States of America, and Thanksgiving is no different. It is a time full of family, friends, and, most importantly, food. Thanksgiving in Puerto Rico (or “Sangibin” as we like to pronounce) is characterized by the whole family getting together to have an all you can eat banquet and partying all night long.

Since Puerto Rican families are so large, many families host the party in a backyard or garage, so everyone has space to dance. Everyone grabs a plastic chair where they can find one and an Auntie will go ahead and serve the food. Instead of just turkey, we go ahead and add some pernil (ham). Instead of just potatoes, we add arroz con gandules (yellowed rice with pigeon peas). Instead of just vegetable salad, we add ensalada de coditos (elbow pasta with vegetables and sauce). For dessert, we like to have tembleque (coconut pudding with cinnamon). The star of the show, however, are the pasteles (vegetable dough stuffed with savory meat stew inside a green banana leaf), which are really only made during the holiday season.

After the meal (or even during!), we will go ahead and party all night long, drinking coquito (a thick beverage made from coconut) and dancing salsa, merengue, and bachata.

By Giomar C. López Trinidad