Bukajin

The Palapa Familiar La Puente is a little restaurant just across the Quintín Arauz bridge in the middle of the Centla wetlands. That's the bridge for which the little eatery is named. Visitors to the little riverside haunt will almost certainly arrive here by crossing the bridge. Bukajin is the package tour and meal that includes far more than most guests expect. 

What awaits is a gastronomic and cultural experience to connect you with the palate and the ancestral identity of Tabasco. Guests are greeted at the restaurant, but this can certainly be continued with a regional drink and an introduction to the local history that prepares you for the classic dishes to follow.

The heart of everything is the muste sauce used to complement the fresh water bass loin. It's a fantastic traditional dish and one that combines ancestral culinary technique with flavors you will only get in the Centla.

Guided by local cooks, participants will learn about the significance of the sauce, made with regional ingredients and more on the overall cultural context. Visitor can also grill and prepare their own dish from ingredients made available onsite, and experience the cooking of a fish this good. While the food is slowly cooking, groups can set out on the pochimóviles, the sort of tuk-tuk taxis to explore the town and the riverside. (The whole town is on the side of the Usumacinta River.)

The tour passes the old town church and local Yokot'an history and culture is relayed through stories as well as discussion about the Yokot'an language still widely used in the community. This is prior to a return to the restaurant where the fully cooked fish can be enjoyed with handmade tortillas, artesanal coffee, and coconut water. Dinner highlights local food and represents an encounter with the culture, memory, and food customs of the entire region. Souvenir photographs can also capture your visit to the community and celebrate the gastronomic and linguistic richness of the indigenous peoples of Tabasco.

The bridge to Quintín Arauz is not quite an hour driving south from Frontera. From Jonuta, the trip is roughly 90 minutes, and most visitors will travel from one town or the other. The Centla wetlands in between are fantastic in every direction. And the little Puente Palapa Familiar is practically the first stop after turning south from the bridge. 

Contact:

Restaurante Palapa Familiar “El Puente” / Alcibíades de la Cruz 
Calle Porfirio Díaz s/n
Tel: +52 913 107 728
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