Community Corner

Mayor Pardons Pig In New South Florida Christmas Tradition

Chans, rescued from a slaughterhouse, was pardoned outside the Brickell Latin Café Monday. Now, he'll call Aguacate Sanctuary of Love home.

Tiffany Razzano's profile picture
Tiffany Razzano, Patch StaffVerified Patch Staff Badge
|
Chans the pig was pardoned by Miami-Dade County Mayor Daniella Levine Cava Monday.
Chans the pig was pardoned by Miami-Dade County Mayor Daniella Levine Cava Monday. (Miami-Dade County)

MIAMI, FL — Chans the pig has been saved from the butcher block. This young pig, rescued from a Homestead slaughterhouse, was pardoned by Miami-Dade County Mayor Daniella Levine Cava Monday outside Latin Café’s Brickell location.

He’ll live the rest of his days at Aguacate Sanctuary of Love, a vegan eatery, wellness center and animal sanctuary at 12100 SW 43rd Street in Miami. The sanctuary was founded by Daney Cabrera, a real estate agent who became a vegan and animal activist.

According to Aguacate’s website, she’s taken in numerous animals – including last year’s pardoned piggies. She feels it’s her calling to educate the Hispanic community about animal cruelty.

Find out what's happening in Miamifor free with the latest updates from Patch.

Chans the pig celebrates his newfound freedom by eating some fruit. (Miami-Dade County)

Latin Café, which serves meat-heavy, Cuban-inspired dishes, started the pig pardoning tradition three years ago when it first opened its Brickell restaurant.

“Usually, people do a turkey pardoning, but since we’re a Latin community and we usually eat pork, we do a pig pardoning,” said Alex Martin, restaurant manager.

Find out what's happening in Miamifor free with the latest updates from Patch.

Many Hispanic cultures, including Cubans, celebrate Noechebuena on Christmas Eve. A staple of this holiday meal is lechón asado or roast pork.

But this year, Chans won’t have to worry about that as he adjusts to his new life at Aguacate.

Here are some additional Christmas 2020 stories:

    Get more local news delivered straight to your inbox. Sign up for free Patch newsletters and alerts.

    More from Miami