Wau-Wau's

November 1st and 2nd are two days feriada in Ayacucho. That means no work or school for the most part. The days off are in observance of All Saint's Day Dia de los Santos and the Day of the Dead Dia de Los Muertos. Ever since Friday the market has been teaming, and I mean teaming with Ayacuchanos trying to buy up all of the Wau-Wau's in the city. As fast as the really cool Quechua women could crank them out and cart them over to the market, SWOOSH!! they were sold. Some were bought to consume by families here, as is tradition in Ayacucho, but a lot of the little Wau-Wau's quickly transformed into encomiendas as the Wau-Wau requests from Ayacuchanoes who have migrated to cities like Lima poured in. Family members scrambled to buy boxes and just the right amount of the Wau-Wau's to be sealed up, marked with a number and put on a bus (much like the one I rode to get here) to Lima where the family members would claim them, and little piece of their heritage. I went with Rosa to send 2 boxes to Lima. One to Katherine her friend and another to be split between her two brothers Julio and Leo. Wau-Wau is the Quechua word for "baby." To me it is pronounced exactly like the sound a crying baby makes. Normally the market is full of a variety of breads from Pan Frances (french bread) to the usual chapla, but this week it has been wau-wau's.

The wau-wau's are shaped like little babies. I am not sure if you can see it in the picture or not. It is a doughy and dense bread that is a slightly sweet. Like the innerds of a cinnamon roll without the cinnamon or sugar. They are baked and the eyes are raisins, and the mouth is usually a peanut. The tops are sprinkled with, well sprinkles and sesame seed. The wau-wau's can be large so they strategically place bamboo sticks inside for support. When they are fresh they are really good, but if you keep them covered up they will stay yummy for 8 days or so. In fact I am eating some right now as I write! They can be sort of addicting. They are sold year round here in Ayacucho, but Nov 1st and 2nd they are in high demand.