Wicked baby pigs get Christmas pardon from Florida mayor in a Cuban twist on White House turkey tradition
MIAMI — As the stars of Friday’s show in downtown Miami, baby pigs Glinda and Elphaba will never have to worry about gracing the dinner table at a Cuban American family’s home on Christmas Eve.Public pardons for the two piglets were granted by the mayor of Miami-Dade County, Daniella Levine Cava, in a seven-year South Florida riff on the White House tradition of pardoning two turkeys at Thanksgiving.The 4-month-old pigs, named after the good and wicked witches in the musical “ Wicked,” will live out their expected 12 to 15 years at an animal sanctuary south of Miami.Glinda and Elphaba didn’t seem too interested in the ceremony or the crowd surrounding their makeshift pen outside the Latin Cafe 2000, the restaurant that created and sponsors the event.
The tan-and-black pair, about the size of pudgy beagles, hogged down apple and orange slices when offered.Otherwise, they seemed determined to find some way to nibble on the plastic grass lining their enclosure.If not for the pardons, they could have joined the thousands of their kind that will be barbecued whole on Tuesday in underground pits, on spits or in special metal boxes by families in Cuba, South Florida and elsewhere.
They will become the “lechon asado” served during Nochebuena dinners.“The holidays are definitely the favorite part of the year for me and for so many.It’s a time of gratitude.
A time when we reunite with our families and our loved ones.And of course, good food, right? So important — but not a very good time to be a pig in Miami,” Levine Cava joked as she presented the proclamation giving Glinda and Elphaba permanent amnesty from barbecues.Eric Castellanos, the Latin Cafe 2000’s owner, said the event started out as a joke among staff after seeing a news story about the presidential Thanksgiving pardon, “because we really don’t eat turkey here in Miami.
We eat pork.”“So we looked at each other and said, ‘Hey, someone should do this,’” Castellanos said....