La Pata Negra

Last year, I saw a Spanish film called Jamòn, jamòn- literally Ham. In any given city, one can walk into any given bar and be greeted with a large leg of ham (hoof and all) clamped into a steel vice to the bar. It is the national meat of Spain, if there is such a thing.

One afternoon, I walked into a bar to escape my American counterparts- to completely submerge myself in Spanish culture. There were two men seated at the bar, one of them with his son, and the waiter. Otherwise the room was empty. I ordered un café. They noticed my accent. "Are you British?" they asked me. "No, American." "Ahhh...la pata negra," they chimed. "The black paw?" I thought to myself. It didn't mean anything to me. I sat down to drink my coffee and the men watched me as if they were watching a TV show- pointing at the things they noticed, commenting on the side.

Later, I asked the director of my program what la pata negra meant. He explained that it was the most expensive and exquiste of all hams in Spain. It is the pig that grazes in fields that are covered with a certain bush which produces a certain berry- the sole food of the animal. The pigs diet causes its meat to be uncommonly sweet and tender. I was la pata negra, the specially fed pig, the jamòn, the meat.

-- AMY MENK