We could describe chipa guazu as an oven-baked corn cake or pie. Its recipe and preparation method are very similar to Paraguayan sopa paraguaya – although it uses fresh blended corn instead of corn flour – as it also includes fresh cheese or Paraguayan cheese. In its simplest version, it also contains eggs, fine salt, and milk. As a dish descending from the legacy of Jesuits and Guaraníes in the region, it is also very popular in the northeast of Argentina (Formosa, Chaco, Misiones, Corrientes, and Entre Ríos) and in some areas of southern Brazil.
Until here, everything seemed to be going relatively smoothly until a Buenos Aires television show – aired by TV Pública – called “Cocineros Argentinos” (Argentine Cooks), featured chef Juan Ferrara presenting a dish “of his creation” called “choclotorta”.
The issue is that this “innovative” dish contained the same ingredients – with some minor variations – and the same method of preparation as the beloved and traditional chipa guazu. Upon realizing what had happened during this Argentine TV transmission, thousands of Paraguayan citizens took to social media to express their anger, displeasure, and frustration. Hundreds of jokes, memes, and humorous posts flooded the internet with complaints regarding this provocation. The chef and other hosts on the program emphasized the originality of the creation without mentioning its roots in Guaraní culture.
The backlash was so significant that, on the other side of the border, the chef involved felt compelled to clarify via his Facebook account: “Due to many comments about the preparation I did yesterday, I clarify the following: 1) I have deep respect for Paraguay and all its gastronomy. I have made chipa guazu many times and have acknowledged the origin of the recipe. I take responsibility for making a recipe and giving it another name. To everyone who felt offended, I apologize. I accept all criticism, always with respect for others. Big hugs”.
The anger was also fueled by other accusations of plagiarism, as just a few weeks earlier, the same program had featured a cassava empanada that was very similar to the well-known pastel mandi’o. Even the former Paraguayan soccer star José Luis Félix Chilavert expressed his opinion on Twitter: “Paraguayan food is very rich and purely Paraguayan history, no one can steal it. They can copy, but it’s not the same; ours is number 1”.
Chipa guazu — written as chipa guasu in Guaraní — is the legacy of the exchange of customs and traditions that occurred between the Guaraní indigenous people and Jesuit missionaries sent to evangelize the local population. Its name comes from two words in Guaraní — the official language of Paraguay along with Spanish — meaning “large corn cake”. “Chipa” refers to a set of foods — cakes, pasties, or cookies — prepared with corn flour or cassava starch, and “guazu” means big.
