Congress has cut federal funding for public media — a $3.4 million loss for LAist. We count on readers like you to protect our nonprofit newsroom. Become a monthly member and sustain local journalism.
4 piglets won't end up as lechon thanks to Miami's annual holiday pig pardoning
Listen
• 2:35
AUDIE CORNISH, HOST:
Every community has its holiday traditions - some old, some new. NPR's Greg Allen reports on a relatively new tradition in Miami - the pardoning of pigs.
(SOUNDBITE OF SONG, "BLANCA NAVIDAD")
ALEJANDRO FERNANDEZ, AMERICA FERNANDEZ, CAMILA FERNANDEZ AND VALENTINA FERNANDEZ: (Singing in Spanish) Blanca Navidad.
Support for LAist comes from
GREG ALLEN, BYLINE: With its strong Latin American influences, Miami has its own take on American culture and traditions.
ERIC CASTELLANOS: My wife and I were watching the TV, and I saw the Thanksgiving pardoning - the presidential turkey pardoning.
ALLEN: Eric Castellanos runs Latin Cafe 2000, a local restaurant chain. He's the one who decided Miami needed to put its own spin on the annual pardon, substituting a pig for the turkey.
CASTELLANOS: The normal Hispanic doesn't really eat much turkey throughout the holidays. That - our big thing is pig, is lechon. So instead of having turkey for Christmas, and for even Thanksgiving, normally what you see in the middle of the table is lechon.
(SOUNDBITE OF PIGLETS SQUEALING)
ALLEN: This year, four piglets were selected for pardons, all of them babies of previously pardoned pigs - a nice alliteration that could also be a good band name.
ASUKA MASHAV: Their father was almost killed by coyotes. He has no tail now. Yeah.
Support for LAist comes from
YARIV MASHAV: He lost the tail, but I think the coyote lost the fight.
A MASHAV: (Laughter).
ALLEN: Asuka Mashav and her husband, Yariv, are raising three of the four pigs being pardoned. Miami-Dade County's mayor, Daniella Levine Cava, doesn't actually have pardoning authority, but she does like pigs.
(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED RECORDING)
DANIELLA LEVINE CAVA: All right. May I hold one?
Y MASHAV: You got it? They might try to jump. Yeah.
LEVINE CAVA: I have never held a pig this tiny.
Support for LAist comes from
ALLEN: This is just the fourth year of Miami's annual holiday pig pardoning. But for the mayor, it's a nice break from budgets, meetings and local political squabbles. Restaurant staff handed around spinach croquettes and small cups of Cuban coffee. And then the mayor read the official pardon in English and Spanish.
(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED RECORDING)
LEVINE CAVA: So this may sound like bad news for pork lovers, but it's a great thing if you're a pig (laughter) since your Christmas-related activities in Miami-Dade County primarily include slowly rotating over an open fire.
ALLEN: Yariv and Asuka Mashav say the pardons are nice. But unlike a lot of pigs in Miami, theirs didn't really have reason to fear the Christmas season.
Y MASHAV: Well, we are Jewish, so...
A MASHAV: And I am, too.
(LAUGHTER)
Support for LAist comes from
A MASHAV: So this is, like, against...
Y MASHAV: It's not kosher. They're very safe in a Jewish house.
ALLEN: These four piglets won't end up as lechon. They just have to watch out for coyotes.
Greg Allen, NPR News, Miami.
(SOUNDBITE OF BEATLES SONG, "PIGGIES") Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.
As Editor-in-Chief of our newsroom, I’m extremely proud of the work our top-notch journalists are doing here at LAist. We’re doing more hard-hitting watchdog journalism than ever before — powerful reporting on the economy, elections, climate and the homelessness crisis that is making a difference in your lives. At the same time, it’s never been more difficult to maintain a paywall-free, independent news source that informs, inspires, and engages everyone.
Simply put, we cannot do this essential work without your help. Federal funding for public media has been clawed back by Congress and that means LAist has lost $3.4 million in federal funding over the next two years. So we’re asking for your help. LAist has been there for you and we’re asking you to be here for us.
We rely on donations from readers like you to stay independent, which keeps our nonprofit newsroom strong and accountable to you.
No matter where you stand on the political spectrum, press freedom is at the core of keeping our nation free and fair. And as the landscape of free press changes, LAist will remain a voice you know and trust, but the amount of reader support we receive will help determine how strong of a newsroom we are going forward to cover the important news from our community.
Please take action today to support your trusted source for local news with a donation that makes sense for your budget.
Thank you for your generous support and believing in independent news.
Chip in now to fund your local journalism
(
LAist
)
Trending on LAist
-
Isolated showers can still hit the L.A. area until Friday as remnants from the tropical storm move out. -
First aspiring spectators must register online, then later in 2026 there will be a series of drawings. -
It's thanks to Tropical Storm Mario, so also be ready for heat and humidity, and possibly thunder and lightning. -
![A Black woman sits at a dais with a flag in the background. A name placard in front of her reads: Dr. Va Lecia Adams Kell[um].](https://scpr.brightspotcdn.com/dims4/default/5425437/2147483647/strip/true/crop/6298x3897+0+0/resize/640x396!/quality/90/?url=http%3A%2F%2Fscpr-brightspot.s3.us-west-2.amazonaws.com%2F76%2F00%2Febed9a7a4fbd9e5ba12997e51d59%2Fgettyimages-1258669633.jpg)
L.A. County investigators have launched a probe into allegations about Va Lecia Adams Kellum and people she hired at the L.A. Homeless Services Authority. -
L.A. Mayor Karen Bass suspended a state law allowing duplexes, calling more housing unsafe. But in Altadena, L.A. County leaders say these projects could be key for rebuilding. -
This measure on the Nov. 4, 2025, California ballot is part of a larger battle for control of the U.S. House of Representatives next year.
![A Black woman sits at a dais with a flag in the background. A name placard in front of her reads: Dr. Va Lecia Adams Kell[um].](https://scpr.brightspotcdn.com/dims4/default/45c201e/2147483647/strip/true/crop/6298x3894+0+0/resize/786x486!/format/webp/quality/90/?url=http%3A%2F%2Fscpr-brightspot.s3.us-west-2.amazonaws.com%2F76%2F00%2Febed9a7a4fbd9e5ba12997e51d59%2Fgettyimages-1258669633.jpg)
Best of LAist