One of my favorite foods or delicacies I consider is 'Sisig'. The crunchiness, spice tingling taste and its sour based flavor made it a truly uniquely 'Filipino'. I even asked my one of my relatives to teach me how to cook 'Sisig' in her own version. Cooking the dish was a learning experience; the procedure needed a lot of effort and in order to perfect it, one must learn the secret of the 'know-how' of the dish.
I had cooked the dish twice or thrice since it needed a lot of effort, as I had said. Whenever there would be a sort of drinking sessions, 'Sisig' would definitely complete the gathering. During my college days, I was dubbed by one of the refectory servers as 'Mr.Sisig' for obvious reason. I always ordered or asked for the same dish every lunch time. I recalled searching for the origin of ‘Sisig’ for a day instead of researching for my thesis.
My girlfriend was from Pampanga and she knew about my 'obsession' with the dish. She surprised me as she asked me to accompany her at home and spend our short break with her family. Her mom cooked a special 'Kare-kare' (Philippine stew) also one of my favorite. I never appreciated peanut butter but, 'Kare-kare' was an exception. The dish was made from variety of vegetables, oxtail, tripe, beef and peanut sauce. Anyway I looked for 'Sisig' but to my surprise, it was not in the menu. It seemed that one of my girlfriend’s siblings noticed a sort of disappointment in my aura. I then observed my girlfriend and her parents whispered something and had grinned. I sensed they were up to something. The lunch continued then we rested for sometime.
My girlfriend then asked me to prepare because we would be going somewhere else and it would be a surprise. We went to SM (a famous local mall in the Philippines originally stands for 'Shoe Mart') and I observed a lot of locals gathering. As if I was hearing a count down or a loud music, all of a sudden the place was literally filled with 'Sisig'! it was the annual 'Sisig' Festival that we were going to attend to and my girlfriend gave me a sweet kiss on my cheek asked me to open my mouth then she gave me a spoonful of my favorite 'Sisig'! It was a lovely and memorable afternoon for me again with my beloved and her family. Her parents then asked me to celebrate Hearts' Day with them instead of being somewhere else with their daughter. I simply said a definite 'Yes!' to their request.
Months after the 'Sisig' Festival, my girlfriend reminded me of my commitment to her parents. I even gave her an assurance that it would be happening. As far as I could recall, we went back to Pampanga again before Valentine's Day. I was surprised that from Los Baños, Laguna, we had a non-stop travel going to Angeles City, Pampanga. We had not even had a chance to drop by at their home to leave some loads to make ourselves a bit comfortable. As we arrived at the venue, I saw a familiar sports utility vehicle and my girlfriend just opened the trunk and put all our things and headed towards the hot-air balloon field and this was actually the first (1st) time I saw such huge balloons with their pilots in them! Her dad told me that this festival had been celebrated for seven (7) or eight (8) years in Pampanga. I was really a crowd drawer. Since my girlfriend's dad was part of the organizing team, they planned to have it longer than the usual weekend affair. I was really happy that time. Spending Hearts' Day with your beloved and her loved ones as well made us even closer.
Angeles City has been transformed and has improved to a booming export processing area or zone in Pampanga. The two festivals are indeed tourist attraction and are definitely an income generating event for the benefit of the municipality. Since Angeles City has been strategically located to the busy lifestyle of Metro Manila, commerce and business would certainly flourish.
Colorful traditions are expressed in the grandest way during Laoag festivals and there is no better way to learn about them than to join or at least watch one. Laoag festivals are enchanting and the Ilocanos do such a good job of making sure that each year, their events are livelier and celebrated with a bigger bang.
Named after a legendary bird the Pamulinawen Festival is a religious Laoag festival to commemorate St. William, the province’s patron saint. The inhabitants of Laoag believe that St. William has spared Laoag from several natural disasters and helped make it the thriving city it is today. Celebrated for a whole week, the Pamulinawen Festival is something that the locals prepare for with plays, dances, parades and other merry making activities. There is even a food festival during the Pamulinawen Festival which draws people from all over the region to participate. All government and non-government organizations prepare for this Laoag festival and even corporations actively participate in it. Some believe that this Laoag festival because it’s celebrated in February is the Ilocano’s way of extending the merry making of the Christmas season. The history of the Pamulinawen Festival dates back to the times of the Spanish occupation of the country when the feast day of saints was celebrated marking the conversion of the Ilocanos to Christianity. The Pamulinawen Festival starts off with a military parade and among the highlights are the Ms. Laoag beauty pageant, floral parade and the magnificent fireworks show on the last day.
The Filipinos love to eat and having said that, the Ilocanos are no different and admittedly, they prepare delicious and unique dishes that more than just satisfy hunger. The Dulang Food Festival is a Laoag festival where one can taste test the local favorites of Ilocos and those who join this event come from all areas of the region. The dishes that one can taste during the Dulang Food Festival are prepared with one-of-a-kind utensils that one will not find in any store and they also have unique names. During the first few times that the Dulang Food Festival was celebrated, every single household in Laoag would prepare their favorite dish and invite guests over for merry making. Every household is jam packed with family members and friends who dine and reminisce together during this Laoag festival. Among the dishes prepared during the Dulang Food Festival are Dinuguan (pork stew cooked in its own blood), Dinakdakan (a delicacy the primary ingredient of which is pig’s brain) and Pinakbet (mixed vegetables stir fried in shrimp paste). The Dulang Food Festival promotes camaraderie among neighbors because anyone can drop by and eat as much as they want.