Although Mayans and Olmecs domesticated Corn, its cultivation and consumption spread throughout Central and South America. Tortillas of various sizes and thicknesses became the daily "bread" of the indigenous peoples of the continent. Some scholars say that the Timoto-Cuicas, inhabitants of the Venezuelan Andes before Columbus, prepared "tortillas" which they called "Arepas".
Others say that tribes from the Venezuelan Caribbean used the word "Erepa" to distinguish this maize preparation. The truth is that after colonization by the Spaniards, the Arepa spread throughout Venezuela, reaching Colombia and some Caribbean islands, where they are also highly valued.
Although the Andean arepa is thin and large, its size was adjusted in each region, so in northwestern Venezuela it is more "fat," while in the center it is small but thicker. Although always round, sizes and thicknesses have varied over time, and today each Venezuelan family has its own style of making and enjoying arepas.
However, making arepas was very labor-intensive, requiring the cleaning, milling, cooking, and kneading of the corn. This work, which was demanding, was gradually left behind by busy urban life from the 1950s. Women, known as "areperas," settled at various street corners or sold prepared dough or ready-to-cook arepas from home.
The rapid progress of civilization threatened to make the arepa disappear until Dr. Luis Alberto Caballero Mejías, a Venezuelan mechanical engineer, invented a process to prepare dehydrated corn flour, marketed under the brand "La Arepera." His patent was later bought by the company that produced the now-famous "Harina P.A.N." The precooked flour simplified the preparation of the corn dough, giving new life to the arepa.
A traditional way to enjoy arepas in the Venezuelan states of Trujillo and Mérida was to split them open and fill them, calling them "tostadas." In 1949, the Álvarez family from Trujillo opened Tostadas El Chance in Miranda Square in downtown Caracas. That was the place where the first tostada was sold in the city. In 1955, they opened Tostadas Hermanos Álvarez on La Gran Avenida, in the east of the capital.
The place became so popular that other vendors began opening new tostada shops all over Venezuela, calling them "Areperas." As Venezuelans emigrated, areperas opened in numerous cities around the world, and even a global Arepa Day has been established every September. Today, you can enjoy delicious and renowned Venezuelan stuffed arepas wherever you are in the world.
Most Popular Arepas in Venezuela and Their Fillings
- Arepas with Cheese: The most popular are those with yellow cheese, Guayana cheese, telita cheese, or grated white cheese, with or without butter.
- With Egg (A Caballo): An arepa topped with a fried egg.
- Catira: Chicken and yellow cheese.
- Dominó: Black beans and grated white cheese.
- Gringa: Similar to a traditional hamburger, but instead of bread, all the ingredients are inside an arepa.
- Llanera: Very thinly sliced beef, with tomato slices, avocado, and Guayana cheese.
- Pabellón: Shredded beef, black beans, and slices of fried ripe plantain, some add grated white cheese.
- Patapata: Grated cheese, black beans, and sliced avocado.
- Pellúa: Shredded beef with grated yellow cheese.
- Perico: Scrambled eggs with onion, tomato, sweet pepper, and salt.
- Pernil: Baked pork leg, served with tomato and mayonnaise.
- Reina Pepeada, Pepiada, or Pepiá: A mixture of shredded chicken or hen, with mayonnaise and avocado.
- Revolcón: Contains a mix of various seafood such as octopus, squid, conchs, oysters, and shrimp in vinaigrette.
- Rumbera: Baked pork leg with grated yellow cheese.
- Santa Bárbara: Contains a beefsteak, served with cheese and avocado.
- Sifrina: Similar to Reina Pepeada, but with added grated yellow cheese.
- Viuda: A plain arepa without filling.
