Pasabocas Bakery Keeps Colombian Buñuelo Tradition Alive in Las Vegas

Pasabocas Colombian Bakery in Las Vegas is highlighting buñuelo season, drawing attention to a traditional Colombian holiday food that connects immigrant heritage with the city's broader winter celebrations. Bakery owner Amanda Gacharna notes that Pasabocas is Las Vegas's only Colombian bakery and says its buñuelos are sold for one dollar, positioning them as the city's cheapest option while reinforcing accessibility during the holidays.

“We offer some of the most popular Colombian items that you'll see if you were to walk the streets in Colombia,” Gacharna said.

The bakery presents the production and sale of buñuelos as a seasonal focus, contributing to a festive community atmosphere. Buñuelo, a Colombian dessert, has made bakeries so popular at Christmas that they are very crowded. They are described as crispy and puffed-up inside. The bakery offers many types of buñuelos, with the most common ingredients being yuca (cassava) and natilla. 

Buñuelos are considered culturally meaningful because they are an essential part of the Novena de Aguinaldos, a nine-night celebration in December when families gather to worship, sing hymns, and enjoy meals. The phrase associated with the custom remains central to the bakery's message about preserving tradition.

“It's totally tradition, everybody, they said, there's a saying, ‘no puede faltar el buñuelo en la mesa',” Gacharna said, which translates to “you can't go on without a buñuelo on the table.”

Pasabocas frames its buñuelos as a bridge between immigrant culinary traditions and Las Vegas' wider recognition of cultural heritage during winter celebrations. Providing opportunities for people to experience Colombian holiday traditions is a huge draw to this location and has established this bakery as a cultural center for this area.

Maintaining these traditions requires the use of specific ingredients that may not be available at any local stores in Las Vegas. According to the bakery, maintaining authenticity involves importing key components.

“So we actually have to get those ingredients flown in because Vegas doesn't offer it. So we fly our ingredients in from New York or Miami,” she said.

While buñuelos are highlighted as a seasonal staple, the bakery plans to offer them year-round, expanding beyond late-December customs while continuing to preserve traditional Colombian flavors as part of Las Vegas' evolving cultural fabric.