This was for an art class assignment during my last term of college in 1984. The teacher was Esme Thompson. I liked Esme. She was demanding and encouraging at the same time. The topic for the assignment was contrast.
In order to control the point of view, I cut a rectangle out of a piece of paper and suspended it in the air with string. This provided a window through which to frame the bananas.
I can’t think of bananas without thinking of Bananas Gorilla, one of our kids’ favorite characters, from Richard Scarry.
We’re a banana-loving family. It’s not surprising since Gayle comes from the original Banana Republic (Honduras), where bananas are the largest export.
There are lots of different types of banana in Honduras. These are plantains, or plátanos, which Gayle fries and serves with baleadas, which are like burritos.
Bananos, or guineos, are the sweet eating banana we gringos are most familiar with. You can also eat them green, where they are cut thin and fried at high heat and eaten with beans or cabbage. Green ones are also boiled in salt water, then cut or smooshed with a fork. Throw in cheese and butter.
Dátiles are pygmy bananas. Dátil also means “date” in Spanish (as in the fruit). No doubt they earned that nickname in Honduras due to their size, usually around three inches. Dátiles are sweet and creamy beyond words, a mouthful of heaven. On the way from San Pedro to Tegucigalpa you pass by folks selling them by the road. We always stop.
