I make arepas often, using Colombian harina de maíz precocida. I used Mexican masa flour in grandma's pancake recipe, and it came out looking and tasting like pancakes.
The Mexican flour is nixtamalized with lime and ground a lot finer. The Colombian arepa flour is parched before grinding instead of nixtamalization, and it's not as finely ground.
Grandma's pancakes:
1 cup flour (I used Mexican masa flour)
1/4 teaspoon baking powder (optional)
pinch of salt (optional)
1 egg
1 tablespoon of oil (I used a sunflower/olive blend)
1-1/4 cup of milk (add more as necessary to get the right consistency)