Barbecue,A Haitian Tradition

With spring sort of being here and Summer just right around the corner I have been thinking of Barbecue time. I came up on this very Intersting fact...
The word barbecue comes from the Spanish translation of the native Haitian word barbacoa. It seems that the Spaniards, who arrived just a few years after Columbus landed in North America in 1492, found the Haitian natives roasting animal meat over a raised metal framework. A fire was built underneath, and the flames and smoke would rise and envelop the animal meat, giving it flavor.

Oddly enough, the same framework was used for sleeping because it was a means of protection against animals that might attack in the middle of the night.

The Haitian natives called this device a barbacoa. In typical fashion, the word was corrupted into barbecue, the name by which it is still used today.

We can not wait until Nerlande and Yonelson are home so we can have family Barbecues with them.