Peru celebrates 2 decades of a fast-growing breed of guinea pigs eaten as a delicacy

LIMA, Peru (AP) — Peru on Thursday celebrated two decades since the creation of a genetically modified breed of guinea pig, a rodent whose meat has formed a part of the diet of people in the Andean nation for thousands of years.

The genetically modified breed of guinea pig — known as cuy locally — is called “Peru.” It was created in 2004 at the National Institute of Agrarian Innovation, Juan Solórzano, a research zootechnician, said in the middle of one of the institute’s farms where thousands of guinea pigs are raised for study.

What characterizes the “Peru” breed is that grows faster, reaching a weight of 1 kilogram in 56 days, rather than the 160 days that was needed before, Solórzano said.

“It is a precocious breed,” said Solórzano.

Guinea pigs are native to the Andes Mountains and are raised in Peru, Bolivia, Ecuador and Colombia, areas where the Inca Empire spread almost 500 years ago.

There are more than 25 million guinea pigs in Peru, according to official figures. The rodent is so popular in the South American country that authorities have decreed the second Friday of October as National Guinea Pig Day to encourage its consumption.

Internal migration from Peru’s Andes in the 20th century brought the custom of eating guinea pigs to the country's Pacific coast.

“It is eaten at sporting events or religious festivals. Guinea pig is a festive dish,” Solórzano said. It is also used in ritual healing practices by being rubbed over the body of a sick person.

Marina Isabel Briceño, an employee at an air conditioning supply company, said she has eaten guinea pigs since she was a child, calling them a delicacy served at “special events.”

Born in the Cajamarca region, Briceño said that at baptisms the parents often give the godfather and godmother a tray with more than a dozen guinea pigs that have been fried and are “crispy and ready to eat.”

“I know it is a rodent, a distant relative of rats, but those animals eat garbage, whereas guinea pigs eat something else, tender corn leaves which is why they are tasty,” she said.

Juan Carlos Solorzano holds a newborn Peru Guinea Pig at an agricultural research farm where breeding animals are raised for distribution to farms across the country, in Lima, Peru, Thursday, Oct. 3, 2024. Peruvian guinea pigs, locally known as 'cuy,' have been traditionally raised for meat consumption since pre-Inca times. (AP Photo/Guadalupe Pardo)

Butchers hold guinea pigs behind the glass of a refrigerator at a market in Lima, Peru, Thursday, Oct. 3, 2024. Guinea pigs, locally known as 'cuy,' have been traditionally raised for meat consumption since pre-Inca times. (AP Photo/Guadalupe Pardo)

Costumers eat guinea pig at a restaurant in Lima, Peru, Thursday, Oct. 3, 2024. Guinea pigs, locally known as 'cuy,' have been traditionally raised for meat consumption since pre-Inca times. (AP Photo/Guadalupe Pardo)

Peru Guinea Pigs are bred at an agricultural research farm to distribute to farms across the country, in Lima, Peru, Thursday, Oct. 3, 2024. Peruvian guinea pigs, locally known as 'cuy,' have been traditionally raised for meat consumption since pre-Inca times. (AP Photo/Guadalupe Pardo)

A cook fries guinea pigs at a restaurant in Lima, Peru, Thursday, Oct. 3, 2024. Guinea pigs, locally known as 'cuy,' have been traditionally raised for meat consumption since pre-Inca times. (AP Photo/Guadalupe Pardo)

Peru Guinea Pigs are bred at an agricultural research farm for distribution to farms across the country, in Lima, Peru, Thursday, Oct. 3, 2024. Peruvian guinea pigs, locally known as 'cuy,' have been traditionally raised for meat consumption since pre-Inca times. (AP Photo/Guadalupe Pardo)

A guinea pig dish is ready to be served to a customer at a restaurant in Lima, Peru, Thursday, Oct. 3, 2024. Guinea pigs, locally known as 'cuy,' have been traditionally raised for meat consumption since pre-Inca times. (AP Photo/Guadalupe Pardo)

A Peru Guinea Pig stands at an agricultural research farm where breeding animals are raised for distribution to farms across the country, in Lima, Peru, Thursday, Oct. 3, 2024. Peruvian guinea pigs, locally known as 'cuy,' have been traditionally raised for meat consumption since pre-Inca times. (AP Photo/Guadalupe Pardo)

WASHINGTON (AP) — If President Donald Trump is coming to the game, bet on the visiting team.

You'll usually be in the money — at least if recent history holds.

The New York Knicks, after two straight wins in the finals against the San Antonio Spurs, lost at home 115-111 on Monday night with Trump, a longtime fan of the Big Apple's NBA team, in a luxury suite at Madison Square Garden.

He similarly may have had a jinxing role for MLB's Washington Nationals during his first term, when the home team lost Game 5 of the World Series to the Houston Astros 7-1.

In November, the president was on hand when the NFL's Washington Commanders hosted the Detroit Lions, and the visitors romped 44-22. And he was front and center at Bethpage Black when Europe topped the U.S. golf team in last fall's Ryder Cup.

It’s a glaring irony for a president fanatical about sports but also especially obsessed with winning.

Trump frequently mentions his own election victories, even boasting of a 2020 win over Joe Biden that never happened, and touts his record of endorsing winning Republican primary candidates. His love of sports also sometimes leads him into hostile territory, including heavily Democratic Manhattan, where his very presence led to sustained booing before Game 3's tipoff.

The White House called the suggestion that Trump's attendance might not bode well for home teams “foolish” and called him “the people's president.”

“President Trump is the greatest champion for sports of any president in American history, and he loves them," spokesperson Olivia Wales said in a statement.

To be fair, Trump's attendance doesn't guarantee the home team will lose.

Last September, the New York Yankees beat the visiting Detroit Tigers 9-3 as the president marked the 24th anniversary of the 9/11 attacks. Trump was also there when Navy beat Army 17-16 in Baltimore last fall, when the Midshipmen were technically the home team — though Navy wasn't playing in its home stadium in Annapolis, Maryland.

He's also been to plenty of sporting events where home field advantage isn't a factor.

That was true for his attending the U.S. Open in September and the 2025 Super Bowl in New Orleans, where the Philadelphia Eagles beat the Kansas City Chiefs, as well as that year's Daytona 500. Ditto for 2025s NCAA wrestling championships in Philadelphia and the FIFA Club World Cup final in East Rutherford, New Jersey.

It also won't be an issue Sunday, when the White House's South Lawn will host a UFC show to mark Trump's 80th birthday.

If the trend holds, however, it may not be great news for the U.S. national team in the World Cup, which opens Thursday.

The Americans have never made it past the semifinal stage in the tournament's modern history anyway — and they'll have to contend this time with Trump playing an outsize role in organizing the event. He has pledged to attend the final and award the trophy to the winning team.

Some Knicks fans have faulted the president for the Game 3 defeat, even though their team still leads the series. Game 4 will also be played in New York on Wednesday, though this time Trump isn't expected to attend.

California Gov. Gavin Newsom, a likely 2028 Democratic presidential candidate and frequent foil for the president, playfully picked up on the theme of Trump as a jinx, reposting a past White House post on X declaring “Call it the Trump effect” alongside discussion about the Knicks' loss.

ESPN analyst Stephen A. Smith — himself mentioned as a possible future presidential hopeful — suggested before Game 3 that it'd be Trump's fault if the Knicks didn't win. Afterward, he said, “What I feared would happen ended up happening.”

“The president disrupted our mojo,” said Smith, a longtime Knicks fan, before adding, “The man messed things up.”

Asked after the game about Smith potentially blaming him for a Knicks loss, Trump dismissed the commentator's political aspirations and questioned his intelligence.

“I think he’s a nice guy. But you need a certain aptitude to run for president,” Trump told reporters before boarding Air Force One for his flight back to Washington early Tuesday

“You need a high IQ. I’m not sure that Stephen has that,” he said. “I don’t think he does, actually.”

Before he was a politician, Trump, a native of the New York City borough of Queens, frequently attended Knicks games, sometimes sitting courtside. His return to the Garden nonetheless drew long and loud boos when his face was shown on the jumbotron during the national anthem.

In fact, he's been roundly booed repeatedly, though it has more to do with his politics than any role he might have in jinxing the home team. Trump drew boos at the Nationals' World Series game and during the Commanders game and the U.S. Open. At some events he's cheered and the crowd reaction can also be mixed — though Trump just as likely to simply claim a more friendly reception than he actually gets.

After the Knicks game, the president tried to suggest that the boos were “I think, mostly cheers.” The White House similarly attempted to spin the incident into a political show of strength, posting a photo of Trump at the game with the caption “King of New York.”

Offering a different assessment was New York's Daily News tabloid. It featured a cartoon of an exaggeratedly rotund Trump wearing a No. 38 Knicks jersey — with a bubble emerging from his mouth saying “approval rating.”

President Donald Trump attends an NBA Finals playoff basketball game between the New York Knicks and the San Antonio Spurs at Madison Square Garden in New York, Monday, June 8, 2026, with Kai Trump. (AP Photo/Mark Schiefelbein)

A New York Knicks fan cheers at a watch party during Game 3 of the NBA Finals basketball series between the Knicks and the San Antonio Spurs, Monday, June 8, 2026, in New York. (AP Photo/Ryan Murphy)