Fonda (Hispanic America)
In Latin America, fonda is a public establishment where drinks and food are served, of a popular nature, similar to a tavern. According to the Dictionary of the Spanish language, the term is used in Colombia, Bolivia, Chile, Cuba, Ecuador, Mexico, and the Dominican Republic. In Chile, fonda is also identified with "ramada", a temporary establishment. In El Salvador and Guatemala, a type of dining room is called a fonda. In the Río de la Plata it is a restaurant of the lowest category.[citation required]
Chile
In Chile, the fonda is built as a temporary place where food and drinks are sold, and danced during the National Holidays in September. It stands on a vacant lot with sticks, eucalyptus branches, and a reed roof. Its origin is in the first celebrations of independence. In the 19th century, they were popular entertainment venues. Due to high alcoholism, fights and the vices derived from gambling, its operation began to be regulated since 1823, and a license is required for its installation.
Among the famous Chilean inns are those that have claimed the right to be the "official inn" during the National Holidays, where the president of Chile in the company of the mayor of Santiago inaugurate the celebrations with a pie de cueca.
- The Yein Fonda: initiated by the national group Los Tres in 1998, the right to be the “official fund” was awarded.
- The Great Bertita: the right to be the “official fund” was awarded for years between 2000 and 2012.
- Iorana: the right to be the “official fund” was awarded for some years between 2009 and 2012.
Columbia
In Antioquia and the Colombian coffee region, a fonda is a stay where the muleteers (muleros) made their stations on their long trips with the mules or simply when traveling, these places served as a shelter and as a liquor store (aguardiente) to travelers and passers-by, the music "guasca" or "música de carrilera", popular music that told love stories or simply contained customary lyrics. Currently the inn exists, but with the development of transportation and telecommunications, in addition to the massive migration of peasants to the cities, they have been greatly reduced.
In cities like Medellín, they have tried to revive the concept of "fonda", but only as a replica and in an attempt to remember the tradition and typical customs, the fonda in Medellín, is a bar with a typical "paisa" in which music is heard, mostly "guasca", or popular, but with a mixture of modern rhythms, vallenatos from the Caribbean Coast, and Mexican rancheras, are in many cases, expensive places, and attend upper class people. The waiters wear typical costumes (hat, white pants, and the women, a wide skirt and white shirt).
Cuba
The concept of a traditional inn in Cuba is very similar to that of Spain and Mexico.[citation needed] It is a very modest place (sometimes even &# 34;a poor death") where typical meals of the region or country are served, at very reasonable prices and cooked like "at home" they are also known as "the palate".
Before Fidel Castro came to power, there were plenty of taverns on the island, especially in Havana, where there was one on almost every corner. Very few survive today, because the government closed all private businesses (big or small) in the country. The surviving inns are controlled by the State, and do not offer the traditional culinary variety and delicacy.[citation needed] Possibly the only famous inn that has survived from the era prior to the Cuban revolution is La Bodeguita del Medio.
Mexico
In Mexico, the fonda is a small cheap restaurant also known as economic kitchen, it differs from restaurants and cafeterias because in it the food is offered under the meal plan consisting of three dishes, called "times" inspired by three times of bullfighting (hence its name). The first course is a soupy starter ("watery" pasta soup, consommé (broth) generally chicken or beef), the second course is a dry dish (rice, some pasta such as spaghetti or a vegetable salad). and the third course is a main dish of which three or four options are offered. Although there is also dessert, it is not considered a time, since it is a courtesy on the house.
Fondas usually also sell food that is not on the "menu del dia", almost always regional fast food dishes (so-called antojitos). Despite the low price of a meal, the dishes offered are usually very elaborate and come from Mexican cuisine.
There is a notorious gender bias in the concept of fonda in Mexico, since these are mainly urban businesses headed by one or more women (frequently from the same family). Cheap food businesses run by men tend to be mostly street stalls or specialized only in certain types of food (e.g. taco shops). Because of this, fondas have the image of providing "homemade" (and cheap), since this type of food was traditionally made by women.
According to Clementina Díaz y de Ovando in her book Los cafés en México en el siglo XIX, any establishment that offered prepared food was called a fonda, regardless of its quality or cost, and it dates back to the mid-XIX century, with the French and English influence, the places with the greatest pretensions began to be called Bars, Cafes or Restaurants, leaving the title of inn to the cheapest.
The Santo Domingo inn is the oldest in the country in operation since 1860 One can also speak of Doña Florinda's fictional inn in El Chavo del 8, although its owner denies the fact that that it is an inn, stating that it is a restaurant.