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A giant quesillo wil be made in La Paz Centro

Cinthia Membreño | Feb 17, 2012

An image of the quesillo that was made in 2006. Photo courtesy of the municipal government of La Paz Centro. | Photographer:

A cultural and gastronomical fair, in addition to a free tasting of this Nicaraguan dish, will be part of the event.

It will measure 200 meters long, it will be made by more than 120 cooks and enjoyed by 15 thousand visitors. This is what the municipal government of La Paz Centro (León) promises for attendees on Sunday, February 19, which is when the world's largest "quesillo" is expected to be made. The Central Park Edgard Arbizú, located in the city that bears the same name of the municipality, will host the event starting at 7:30 am.

In order to celebrate the preparation of this traditional Nicaraguan dish - consisting of a tortilla, a kind of melted cheese, boiled onions and sour cream - the inhabitants of La Paz Centro will held a series of cultural performances today, February 17, for those who want to visit the city in advance.

According to Marvin Izaguirre, member of the cultural department of La Paz Centro's city hall, the celebrations will continue on February 18, starting at 8:00 am. On this day, everyone is invited to go to the central park of the city and help cutting the 1,600 pounds of boiled onions. In addition, there will also be a handicrafts fair where inhabitants of the area will sell their products made of clay, as well as jewelry and traditional food.

On February 19, the second edition of this interesting event, which was held for the first time six years ago in this same municipality, will start at 7:30 am with an official act. "The first quesillo we made was 100 meters long and was enjoyed by over 7 thousand people," assured Izaguirre. He also stated that organizers expect more than 10 thousand people this year.

Tomás Silva, member of the press office of this municipal government, explained that the budget that was given for this activity was C$585000. This amount was invested in buying 2,500 pounds of cheese, 600 pounds of sour cream, 1,600 pounds of onions and the dough necessary to make the tortilla.

According to Silva, organizers expect that the giant quesillo takes between three and four hours. Once this process is done, they will surpass the record they established in 2006, when the city made a 100 meter long quesillo. They will also break the record established by the neighboring municipality of Nagarote, which made a 2 thousand pound quesi