Piragua (food)

Young girl eating a "piragüa" in Puerto Rico

A piragüa ( /pɪˈrɑːɡwə/) is a Puerto Rican shaved ice dessert, shaped like a pyramid, consisting of shaved ice and covered with fruit flavored syrup which are sold by vendors, known as piragüeros, in small colorful pushcarts. Piragüas are not only sold in Puerto Rico; they can be found in the United States in areas such as New York, where there is a large Puerto Rican community.

Definition

In most Spanish-speaking countries, the word piragua (pi·ra·güa) means pirogue, a small, flat-bottomed boat. In Puerto Rico the word piragüa refers to a frozen treat made of shaved ice and covered with fruit flavored syrup. Unlike the American snow cone which is round and resembles a snowball, the piragüa is pointy and shaped like a pyramid. The word piragüa is derived from the combination of the Spanish words "Pirámide" (pyramid) and "Agua" (water). In Latin America, frozen treats similar to the piragua are known by many different names.

Piragüa and the piragüeros

Customer poses in front of a piragüa pushcart in Puerto Rico

The piragua vendor is known as the "Piragüero". Most Piragüeros sell their product from a colorful wooden pushcart that carries an umbrella, instead of from a fixed stand or kiosk. The Piragüero makes the treats from shavings off a block of solid ice inside his cart and mixtures of fruit-flavored syrups. The tropical syrup flavors vary from lemon and strawberry to passion fruit and guava. Once the syrups are ready, the Piragüero will go to his place of business, which in Puerto Rico is usually close to the town plaza, while in the United States it is usually close to the public parks near Hispanic neighborhoods, to sell his product.

type of Hand Ice Shaver used by the Piragüero

In the process of preparing a piragüa, the piragüero shaves the ice from the block of ice with a Hand Ice Shaver. He then puts the shaved ice into a cup and uses a funnel shaped tool to give it the distinctive pyramid shape. The Piragüero finishes making the piragüa after he pours the desired flavored syrup. Unlike the typical American snow cone, which is often eaten with a spoon, the piragüa is eaten straight out of the cup or is sipped through a straw. Piragüeros are only out on hot sunny days because those are the only days when they can expect good business.

Syrups

The more common flavored syrups used in the "piragüas" are the following:

• Ajonjolí (Sesame seed)
• Anis (Anise)
• Cereza (Cherry)
• China (Orange)
• Coco (Coconut)
• Crema (Cream)
• Frambuesa (Red raspberry)
• Fresa (Strawberry)
• Limón (Lemon)
• Melao (syrup from the Sugar cane)
• Melón (Watermelon)
• Parcha (Passion fruit)
• Piña (Pineapple)
• Tamarindo (Tamarind) and
• Uva (Grape)

• 

  Fruit flavored syrups
• 

  A girl eating a
  "parcha"-flavored piragüa in Puerto Rico

Note: There are certain terms used in Puerto Rico that are not common in other Spanish speaking places. Among those terms used are the flavors China, which in most Spanish speaking locales is referred to as Naranja, and Melón, whose correct name is Sandía. The Puertorrican "china" is much sweeter than the "naranja" customarily eaten or drunk elsewhere and which could even be much bitter in taste; whereas "Melón" is an Anglicism, the word comes from the English "watermelon".

Piraguas in the United States

In the 1940s, during the Puerto Rican Great Migration in which large numbers of Puerto Ricans moved to New York, they took with them their customs, traditions and their piragüas.

A 1920 picture of a piragüero in NYC posing with his Piragüa pushcart

According to Holding Aloft the Banner of Ethiopia: by Winston James, piraguas were introduced in New York by Puerto Ricans as early as 1926. In his book, he describes the presence of piragüa pushcarts during the Harlem Riots against the Puerto Rican migrants in July 1926. Author Miguel Meléndez, who moved from New York City to Chicago in the late 1950s, expresses in his book "We Took the Streets: Fighting for Latino Rights" the following:

"For me, as a Puerto Rican born and raised in New York, a piragüa pushcart vendor is a very special person. He represents an important part of our culture. Those shaved-ice cones filled with Caribbean tropical syrups, not only ease the body during the hot summers, their sweet goodness reminds of us of who we are and where we come from, without words."

The following newspaper articles have also made references to the piragüa:

• "There are also pushcarts serving "piragüas" (shaved ice with your choice of syrup poured over it), and others selling balloons." - 2 September 1968, Bridgeport (CT) Telegram, "‘La Marqueta’ Offers a Slice of Puerto Rico in New York" by Amei Wallach (UPI) pg. 34, col. 1.

• "Piraguas and knishes, It’s the season for the 25-cent hot dog, the 20-cent sundae, the 15-cent pretzel (two for a quarter) and an assortment of ethnic delicacies that range from piragüas (scraped ice with syrup) to potato knishes." — 30 July 1969, New York (NY) Times, "Venders Profits From Universal Taste" by Bernard Weinraub, pg. 41.

• "Piragüas (snow cones) are shaved from blocks of ice inside colorful carts, and offered with sweet syrups poured over them for 30 cents a scoop." - 13 November 1977, New York (NY) Times, "Old San Juan: Vibrant City Life With a Style That’s High and Low" by Robert Friedman, pg. XX14.

The piragüa has even been referred to in a report by the United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) which deals with the quality of water. The agency's reference to the piragüa is in a report titled "What is in your piragua?" of August 2007, and states the following:

" As this commitment (new water treatment plant) is fulfilled, the water will just get cleaner and cleaner whether it is coming out of a tap or is served in a piragüa (no, not a canoe, but a Puerto Rican snow cone) - regardless of the weather".

Piragua vending is not limited to Puerto Rico and New York, piragüeros with their Piragüa pushcarts can be found in Hispanic neighborhoods in Bridgeport, Chicago, Jersey City, Miami, Newark, Philadelphia and elsewhere.

Cultural influence

"Monumento al Piragüero"

The Puerto Rican piragüa has been the subject of paintings and a book. The painting "Carrito de Piragüas" ("Piragua Cart") is a mixed media piece by an unknown artist, on exhibit at El Museo del Barrio in New York. Puerto Rican artist Iván Moura Limardo created various paintings related to the Piragüa, among them are "Piragüero 5" and "Piragüero 10" which are on display in the Siena Art Gallery in San Juan. The town of Coamo commissioned the creation of a monument in the honor of the Piragüeros. The statue which is called "Monumento al Piragüero" is located in the town plaza.

In the book "Luisito and the Piragüa", the author tells the story of Luisito, a little Puerto Rican boy who has recently moved to the United States, and who misses his friends and his afternoon treat, a piragua. The happy ending is that one day, while on an errand for his mother, Luisito sees a piragüero making piragüas, and is happy to find that he can buy piragüas once more.

Spike Lee's 1989 film Do the Right Thing, which is set in the Bed-Stuy neighborhood of Brooklyn on the hottest day of the year, features Puerto Rican actor Shawn Elliott as a friendly Piragüero, who calls himself the "icee icee man." He pushes a well-worn hand lettered cart that reads "Piragüas."

In the 2007 movie "Illegal Tender", there is a scene where the main character, Wilson De Leon Jr. played by Rick Gonzalez, buys a Piragüa from a Piragüero in front of Fort San Felipe del Morro during his first visit to San Juan.

In the 2008 Broadway production of Lin-Manuel Miranda's musical In The Heights, there are songs entitled "Piragüa" and "Piragüa (Reprise)" in which a local piragüero in Washington Heights (known in the play as the Piragua Guy) sings about his life and trade. This character became the basis for a web-based reality-show parody Legally Brown: The Search for the Next Piragüa Guy, which featured several well-known Broadway actors competing to take over the role.

Excerpts about the Puerto Rican piragüa and its influence in Puerto Rican culture are also mentioned and can be found in the following books:

• "Moon Puerto Rico"; by Suzanne Van Atten; page 34
• "Puerto Rico (Regional Guide)"; by Ginger Otis; page 68
• "Lonely Planet Puerto Rico"; by Randall Peffer; page 93
• "Puerto Rico (Regional Guide)"; by Brendan Sainsbury; page 59
• "Insight Guide Puerto Rico (Insight Guides)"; by Barbara Balletto; page 86
• "Puerto Rico arte e identidad / Puerto Rico Art & Identity"; by Hermandad de Artistas Gráficos de Puerto Rico; page 355
• "America's Colony: The Political and Cultural Conflict between the United States and Puerto Rico (Critical America)"; by Pedro Malavet; page 108
• "Adventure Guide to Puerto Rico", Fourth Edition by Kurt Pitzer and Tara Stevens; page 10
• "A Cruising Guide to Puerto Rico: Including the Spanish Virgin Islands" by Stephen J. Pavlidis; page 64
• "Abc De Puerto Rico/abc Of Puerto Rico"; by Paola Nogueras; page 28
• "Los Santos de Puerto Rico. Estudio de la Imaginería Popular"; by Doreen Colón; page 125
• "When I Was Puerto Rican"; by Esmeralda Santiago; page 38
• "The Near Northwest Side Story: Migration, Displacement, and Puerto Rican Families"; by Gina Pérez; page 131
• "Rafi and Rosi (I Can Read Book 3)"; by Lulu Delacre

Further reading

• "The Columbia History of Latinos in the United States Since 1960"; By David Gregory Gutiérrez; Published 2004 by Columbia University Press; ISBN 0231118082
• "Holding Aloft the Banner of Ethiopia"; By Winston James; Published 1998 by Verso; ISBN 1859841406
• "Luisito and the Piragua", ERIC #: ED209026, Author: Toro, Leonor, Publisher: New Haven Migratory Children's Program, Hamden-New Haven Cooperative Education Center

See also

• Grattachecca - Italian shaved ice with fruit syrup.
• Halo halo - Filipino shaved ice
• Italian ice
• Kakigori - Japanese shaved ice
• Patbingsu - Korean shaved ice
• Raspado - (Mexico).mexican shaved ice drink
• Slurpee, Slush puppie - shaved ice drinks
• Shave ice - Hawaii shaved ice dessert
• Snow cone - American shaved ice drink
• Ais kacang - Southeast Asia shaved ice dessert