Valentine's Day 2014: Latino Foods, Gifts, and Ideas for a Special Celebration
Valentine's Day has a few different names in the Spanish language. Some call it El Día de San Valentin, others call it El Día de los Enamorados, while different romantics refer to it as El Dia del Amor y la Amistad. However you choose to say it, Valentine's Day is a day for Latinos to share their passion. The lovers' holiday is only two days away, and if you still don't know how to spice up the holiday, take some inspiration from the Latino world. The culture's history, food and the right gift can make the 14th your most memorable Día de San Valentin yet.
Valentine's Day in Latino Countries
Plenty of Spanish-speaking countries around the world will celebrate on the 14th.
Spain's restaurants tend to be booked on this day. In Argentina and Chile, gift-giving is a big part of El Día de Los Enamorados. Peruvian celebrators will out native orchids on Friday. In Mexico, Día de San Valentin is celebrated with lots of flowers, friendship and red. Meanwhike, Guatemalans celebrate El Día del Cariño with thoughtful gifts for friends and lovers. In El Salvador and the Dominican Republic, Valentine's Day fun comes in a game called Angelito or Amigo Secreto. Children write someone's name on a piece of paper and give their angelito a special treat.
Meanwhile, Brazil, Bolivia, Columbia and parts of Spain celebrate love-themed holidays on different dates throughout the year.
Latino Valentine's Day Recipes
Latinos all over the world are celebrating, so why not incorporate some tasty foods from the Latino kitchen into your holiday?
If you like creativity with your meal, try adding a romantic twist to a classic. By using a heart-shaped cookie cutter, you can impress your valentine with Heart-Shaped Tortilla Chips. Top it off with salsa, guacamole, cheese, and any other fixings you can imagine for a flavorful night.
For dinner, take a page out of the book of Aarón Sánchez, a Mexican-American chef. His Tamarind-tomatillo lamb shanks combine lamb, tomatillos, avocado, tortillas, cilantro and more for a spicy Valentine's dinner. Get the recipe here.
Although you'll almost be stuffed to the brim with romance and food after these meals, you can't forget dessert because nothing makes El Día de San Valentin sweeter than sweets.
What could be sexier than warm, drizzled chocolate? Warm, drizzled chocolate on a churro, of course. Frying up some churros is doable, but you can always cheat and buy them. Next, sprinkle cinnamon and sugar on the churros. Finally, add warm chocolate sauce made of cocoa powder and chocolate, or cheat by microwaving some chocolate chips, to complete your sweetie's sweet treat. Make the dessert from scratch with Puerto Rican chef Carmen Conzalez's recipe here.
At the end of your meal, unwind with Corazón, the romantic cocktail whose name translates to "heart" in English. Simply toss 1.5 oz of Rhum Orange Liqeur, 2/3 oz. of fresh lime juice, 1/2 oz. of maple syrup and 1/2 oz. of fresh raspberry into a shaker. Shake for 20 seconds, and then strain the drink into a martini glass filled with crushed ice. Garnish the drink with a raspberry, and your night just got a little bit more fun.
Passionate Gifts for Him
The perfect Valentine's Day ends with the perfect gift, and if you're trying to have a passionate Día de Los Enamorados, you can't finish the night without it. It's harder to pick Valentine's Day gifts for men they tend not to be as wooed by flowers and chocolate. What goes around comes around, so if you want to finish your special day with a bang, you have to bring something to the table too. Here are some last minute Valentine's Day gifts for him, so you can get to opening your own gift.
Beer and nuts
Men are known for straying from the mushiness that often comes with romance, so why not give your beau something more on the manly side? Beer and nuts go together like love and hearts, plus they're affordable, accessible, and if you do it right, classy.
A bold, flavorful craft beer will show your valentine that you care about taste in more ways than one. Head to a beer distributor and pick up a pack of craft beer from a local brewery, which makes drinking a hometown affair. You can also try other craft beer producers that men love like Dogfish Head, Harpoon Brewery, Lagunitas Brewing Company and Sierra Nevada Brewing Company.
Don't forget the nuts, beer's salty best friend. The nut industry is a lot fancier than you might imagine and often comes packaged in very presentable containers. Spending a couple of extra dollars at the grocery store can get you a pretty package of nuts. You also get bonus points if you know your man's favorite kind of are. Check out Marshall's department store, which usually stocks rare, fancy, assorted nuts.
Book
A book is another way to show your man love without getting too emotional on him. This gift is especially good if you haven't been dating too long. Plus, practical gifts are always a winner because they come in handy no matter the future of your relationship.
Snooping around your enamorado's bedroom or talking to his friends can give you a good idea of what kind of literature he likes. If that doesn't help, trying looking into his favorite television shows or movies, of which many are based off of books. If he's a Game of Thrones fan, try George R.R. Martin's A Song of Fire and Ice series. The Walking Dead fans will enjoy The Walking Dead comic books. Fight Club movie lovers can analyze the original novel by Chuck Palahniuk, or other books by the same author.
Framed Picture
It's been said time and time again: a picture is worth a thousand words. A framed picture might seem like a cliché gift, but it doesn't have to be.
Try to think of a way to encapsulate a favorite memory between the two of you. Maybe it's a picture from when you guys went salsa dancing, a picture of your favorite team, whose stadium you love visiting, or maybe it's a photo of the sunrise, which you lovers have watched together. Perhaps you want to travel to Barcelona together one day. Frame a picture of the city to remind your partner of your relationship's future. If all else fails, a sexy picture of you serves plenty of purposes, the most important of which is keeping your caliente self on your man's mind.
A Unique Date
It might be hard to find an intimate place to get dinner or a movie this Friday. Try to jazz up your date a different way.
Instead of getting dressed up to eat, why not pick up his favorite sandwich from his go-to deli or favorite burrito from his Mexican take-out place. A carefully selected Groupon is a gift to look forward to and can help you schedule creative, adventurous dates for the future. If you're feeling very daring, head to a tattoo parlor. Nothing will make this Valentine's Day more passionatel and unforgettable than a tattoo that will never go away. If you and your novio aren't the ink type, try a new piercing. The rush, pain and excitement will give you both something to talk about for ages.