Asean spouses enjoy ‘hilot,’ balut, ‘sabong’

LOCAL CULTURE Some of the spouses of Asean defense ministers meeting at Clark Freeport visit Kapampangan Village at the City of San Fernando in Pampanga province.
—CONTRIBUTED PHOTO

CITY OF SAN FERNANDO — Spouses of defense chiefs in the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (Asean) got a taste of Kapampangan hospitality — from riding a horse-drawn cart to watching cockfighting and enjoying “hilot” (massage).

As defense officials tackled terrorism and violent extremism at Clark Freeport on Monday, their spouses explored one side of Pampanga culture that promoted cooperation and peace.

Joined by the wives of Cabinet secretaries, the Asean spouses went around Pampanga province for what organizer Poch Jorolan described as an “event to remember showcasing true Kapampangan warmth and hospitality.”

The tour ran from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. The spouses visited Clark Museum inside Clark, San Guillermo Church in Bacolor town, that was buried by Mt. Pinatubo’s volcanic debris, and Betis Crafts’ showroom and factory in Guagua town.

Kapampangan Village

To give their guests a taste of rural life, restaurateur Jorolan, theater director and artist Andy Alviz, entrepreneur Dalsa Hizon and Betis Crafts’ driving force Myrna Bituin created Kapampangan Village.

The village, formed at a private garden in the Betis district of Guagua, featured local delicacies balut (duck embryo), “taho” (soya), ice cream with “gabi” (taro), “ale ubi” (purple yam cake), “barquillos,” “patco,” “panara,” “suman pasku,” tamales and “turrones de casoy.”

Some of these treats were made by hand in front of the spouses, who also saw how fresh coconuts were chopped with precision and how 20 men carried a bamboo hut, emulating the traditional “bayanihan” (cooperation).

The spouses were also shown a carroza procession, “sabong” (cockfighting) and “bibigse pale” (chaffing grains). They rode a “kalesa” (horse-drawn cart) and enjoyed the hilot.

They sang and danced with the homegrown theater group ArtiSta. Rita.

“It was a true coming together of community,” Hizon said. The police secured the venue.

Kapampangan Village also set up booths to sell the Pidayit garments of Philip Torres, food products of Ellen’s Farmers and the Sweets and Delicacies Association of Pampanga, and Christmas lanterns of Estilo de Quiwa Enterprise.

Late lunch was at Claude Tayag’s Bale Dutung where flowers were set up by Jannette Garbes of The Flower Garden and music rendered by violinist Miles Serrano.

Gift bags

Their gift bags, made by Fernandina Waterlily Handicrafts Association, consisted of Cafe Lugud premium Arabica coffee beans, Harvest peanut butter that uses coco sugar, Saucesyal salad dressing by Therese Tayag-Laxamana, Probinsyano Spanish sardines, Atching Lilian Borromeo’s San Nicolas cookies and chopping boards made of acacia by Yandoc Woodcraft.

Jorolan, Alviz and Hizon previously organized a similar tour for the spouses of leaders who attended a session of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation Business Advisory Council.