Beer-bellied pig

I have also this week discovered the Spanish for ‘beer belly’. I use the term ‘discovered’ in all senses of the word. My waistband, my wallet and my mental dictionary have all felt the strain of this new discovery. ‘Panza de Caguama’ equates your stomach to a giant bottle of beer, roughly 1litre, which the Mexican men have a firm fondness for. Mexicans refer to these as if they have deadly powers, as if the beer contained within its imposing glass will knock you down with a force almighty...to be honest, it’s just a slightly bigger bottle of beer, so you drink fewer bottles and you end up drinking warmer beer. But when I look down at my own personal fleshy ‘Caguama’ I consider it with the same fear and none of the fondness. The establishments in which I have been exposed to caguamas have their own special atmosphere: generally devoid of women, frills, and with a soupçon of the lewd. Enrique, the 2 Juans and Betho have guided us to the best ones in the area, one just down the road where we went this week. When I say I want to see as much of Mexico as I can, this is one such aspect of the country and culture that I relish – more raw, completely real, and it doesn’t feature in the guidebook.