San Pancho - Mango tropical fruit
By Elvia & Geno Lamphiear
Hola! We ran this short article last year and would love to share it again with you now.
The mango season is coming and with it also comes the unmistakable smell of this delicious fruit. I enjoy looking at the mango blossoms as they add so much to the scenery. Soon there will be all kinds of manguitos hanging everywhere. Mango is one of my all-time favorite trees and fruit. It is believed that the mango was recently brought from the Veracruz area in the Gulf Of Mexico. Even though is a tropical fruit, the elders of San Pancho only recall banana and palm tree plantations in years bygone.
MANGO - MANGO - MANGOS.
The mango has played an interesting role in the San Pancho way of life. Twenty-five years ago the people were encouraged to plant mango everywhere. The CONASUPO (the factory at the entrance of San Pancho) was originally built to process products to be distributed all over México in stores with the brand name "Conasupo".
 This was a government program to sell to Méxican families at a very reasonable price. We have one Conasupo store still in San Pancho, right next to the park. Fernando now runs it. With the Conasupo factory, people had a place right in town to sell their mango harvest. But things changed - and six years later there went the mango dreams of many people with the closing of the factory due to lack of interest from the new administration. When the factory was open mango jellies were made and also canned mango. One of the best tasting milks were distributed by the factory along with jalapenos, wooden boxes and more. Sad but true, the mango grower is not well paid in Mexico and we have so much left unsold that in season a lot of it simply rots away. The mango season lasts for approximately 3 months and during that time we breathe and eat mango all day long. The mango is well known for its properties as a laxative, but mango enzymes are good for stomach ulcers as well. The future of many mango orchards seem to be in doubt as a lot of them are being cut down for new housing or replaced for new products that have a better reward in the market.
MANGO TYPES
Is common to see different types of mango. I know five kinds of the round ones Heidi, Tomy, Ken, Sensacion and Pear. Another two that are long and skinny are the Manila and Ataulfo (which is a Manila hybrid). I also know Mango Creole (or ordinary mango) which is one of the favorite. I seem to remember two more that are not as well known, but I cannot remember their names (old age I guess). But if you can imagine that just in San Pancho alone we have ten different types, it makes one wonder how many more types of mango are out there. Round or skinny, ordinary or not, the mango is simply delicious. It is common to see at almost every house a mango tree. They give great shade and at the park we have some gigantic manila mango trees that are about 20 meters high. If you are searching for the mango shade, be careful during the mango season as you could be the victim of a mango falling on your head. Some of them weight about a kilo apiece. Never give up an opportunity to try a "new-to-you" type of mango - you just might like it!
Until next time!
Elvia & Geno Lamphier -
genolamphiear@hotmail.com
* This information is provided by María Elvia Garcia Palomera & Geno Lamphier, owners of Calandria Realty in San Francisco (San Pancho), Nayarit, Mexico
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