Come visit my hometown and be our guest!

On 2 December 2006, Saturday, Sta. Rita, Pampanga shall hold its 5th Duman Festival. This year, the festival organizers have adopted the theme Duman: Bunga ning Masayang Sipagan (Duman: The Fruit of Joyful Industry). True to their origins, the activities for the festivities are simply what have been customary but on a larger scale. In the place of troubadours who sang to those who pounded and winnowed the unripe glutinous rice, a world-class production of Capampangan music and dance accompanies the rhythm of the pestles hitting the mortar. Where street food and other light refreshments were served those who toiled and watched, a full food fair at the festival grounds features traditional dishes for merienda and dinner.

We should have a full press release soon but in the meantime, below is the detailed schedule of activities.

1 Dec - 12:00 nn - Duman Exhibit (soft opening)
2 Dec - 8:00 am - Holy Mass (Parish Church)
9:30 am - Turung Design Contest (old convento)
6:00 pm - Awarding of the Contest
Food Fair
7:00 pm - Kapampangan Musicale by Arti Sta. Rita

For a background on duman, here’s the most comprehensive post in my archives. Don’t forget to watch the short video clip!

Ningnang mais (grilled maize/corn) confection

Looking at the picture, I can’t help but cringe. My only (flimsy) excuse is that I’m making this by myself for the first time. It does taste like how it should but aesthetically, I’m sure to get a failing mark if this were a graded exercise. Perhaps by the time I use up two dozen eggs, it will look better. But as always, I’m getting breathless and much ahead of the story.

When Purplegirl volunteered to host Lasang Pinoy 14 with the theme La Espanyola (spelling is deliberate, just to show how Filipinised it is), I was excited and thought it would then force me to sit down and write my thoughts on Spanish-influenced food.

I have read and heard it asserted that 80% of Filipino food is Spanish in origin. Instinctively, I question the basis of that assumption. How did they come up with that estimate? Has there been a systematic study that gave them such a result? Well, I may have to track that down sometime in the future but I believe it is worth noting that even in my province, which has been highly Hispanised, 80% would be too high an estimate. Even old rich families do not eat Spanish influenced food everyday.

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When talking to our town’s renowned cooks, I ask about how long they have been cooking and who taught them to perform magic in the kitchen. Some took cooking seriously very early, some as young adults but to a person, each one had kitchen duties as children. Everyone remembers receiving methodical instructions from their mothers, fathers, grandparents or relatives who were also accomplished cooks. It seems as if they spent years of apprenticeship in the informal setting of home kitchens.

Iska’s theme for Lasang Pinoy 8: Kusinang Bulilit, Lutong Paslit! has made me realise that I would love to explore the topic of informal apprenticeships in the future. For the meantime, I’ll have to remember how I started cooking as a child since the only juvenile I have around is a gigantic kitten who perches on the kitchen bench as soon as I start with prep work.

Pampanga has a long tradition of trade, arts and crafts long before the arrival of the Spaniards. Pre-colonial society had a system of apprenticeships where the youth got to learn their craft from the masters. To a certain extent, I still feel vestiges of this practice when I see and remember how children are sent off to “help out” relatives during fiestas and other special occasions. In many traditional families, it does not matter if one is poor or with a house attended by servants. Each child, whether male or female, is expected to help out with household chores.
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