page_title: Barbacoa
section_title: Etymology
hierarchical_section_title: Barbacoa / Etymology
caption_attribution_description: Español: Horno en el que se hace la barbacoa
context_page_description: Barbacoa is a form of cooking meat that originated in the Arawak-speaking Caribbean with the Taíno people, from which the term "barbecue" derives. In contemporary Mexico, it generally refers to meats or whole sheep or whole goats slow-cooked over an open fire or, more traditionally, in a hole dug in the ground covered with agave leaves, although the interpretation is loose, and in the present day may refer to meat steamed until tender. This meat is known for its high fat content and strong flavor, often accompanied with onions and cilantro.
context_section_description: The word barbacoa is believed to have come from the mainland Taino (eastern Dominican Republic), as in this source:
  Pero tomemos el vocablo barbacoa, cuyo origen arau[a]co (específicamente, taíno) es conocido gracias a las descripciones de Gonzalo Fernández de Oviedo en su Historia natural y general de las Indias, quien testimonia dos de sus acepciones.
  
  But when we take the term 'barbacoa', which originates from Arawak (specifically, the Taíno language), it is known thanks to the writings of Gonzalo Fernández de Oviedo in his Natural and General History of the Indians, who described two of its meanings.
caption: Maguey leaves
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