The criollo pavilion is a traditional dish of Venezuelan gastronomy, in addition to being considered the “national dish of Venezuela.” It is called this way because of its resemblance to a pavilion or flag, since it combines different colors. The traditional Creole pavilion is composed of cooked white rice, shredded beef, black beans and slices of fried ripe plantain.56
The history of the pavilion dates back to the imperial era, probably from the 18th century, and according to what is said, it is basically a gathering of “leftovers” from previous meals made by the slaves of the haciendas: thus the meat, rice and black beans generally They dated back a day or two, with the banana slices being the only thing that was prepared at the time.
There is also another hypothesis that this dish is typical or representative of the central west of the country because it is very common to see it on the menus in most gastronomic establishments. And it is in that region where these ingredients can be obtained most easily, because there the Llanos, the Caribbean Sea, the Andes mountain range, Lake Maracaibo, the Coastal Mountains and the climates most conducive to the agriculture of the entire nation.
It is often referred to that the dish represents the three great Venezuelan cultures: Spanish (white rice), indigenous (shredded meat) and African (caraotas).83 However, this statement is merely poetic. It is very likely that this dish is from El Tocuyo from the 17th century, due to the similar recipes that are closely associated with the ingredients used in the pavilion.