Ilocos Sur' Streetdancing Competition

One of the highlights of 2017 Kannawidan Festival of Ilocos Sur is the streetdancing competition and showdown.

More than 20 contingents from munipalities and cities participated in this year's event.

The streetdancing started in front of provincial capitol and dance down to Tamag where the fiesta events are being held.

The dances, graces  and smiles made the event just amazing.

Bonsai Exhibit In Kannawidan Festival

Yearly the Ilocos Sur Bonsai Club held bonsai exhibit in Ilocos Sur's Kannawidan Festival.

2017 is no exception.

So when you visit the exhibit, you will see lots of bonsai in different styles, sizes, age, varieties,  forms.

It's amazing to see the small and enchanting plants standing tall in unique pots.

Here are some photos.

The Wine With Touch of History

Don't ever take away basi or sugarcane fermented wine to Ilocanos... it will be a war. Such was happened in September 16 1807 when thecolonizing Spaniards tried to monopolize the basi.

The Ilocanos reacted and the war was born.

Now that story is embedded in this basi wine being produced and product of San Ildefonso, Ilocos Sur.

The Famous Calamay Of Candon

Candon City is famous of two products: the tobacco farm plantations being the number one producer of quality Virginia tobacco leaves; and, the sweet rice delicacy known as kalamay or sweet rice cake.

The story of calamay came back during the world war 2 when this rice cake helped the families of that time to cope up the hard times because of war. There was no food at that time because of the devastation of farm products like rice, corn and rootcrops. The only thing standing tall are the coconuts and it riping fruits.  A group of ladies tried to make product from this coconut through coconut milk and the maskovado... and so there was calamay.

Today, the calamay became the OTOP or One Town One Product of the city. There is calamay stand built at the heart of the place just beside plaza and intended for calamay vendors.

The original calamay was contained in the hard shell of coconut and wrapped with banana husk. Today it has gone through the famous flat type wrapped with cellophane and newspaper to a chunky and more presentable packaging. Thanks to the effort of city government and Department of Trade and Industry it leveled up.

Three classes of calamay includes the following:

1.Brown

This is the most famous variants of calamay. The color and the sweetness even reach international market through trade fairs. The color derived from its ingredients brown sugar or mascovado.

2. White

The white variants is due to the brown sugar used to sweetened the calamay. Though not so popular with the brown class but its gaining attention of its color.

3. The Original

This is the original form and kind of calamay before those class wrapped in celophane. The original wrap of calamay is made from the coconut shell and then wrap with the husk of dried banana. When you want to gift calamay to someone especial, choose this.

Nabanglo A Pagsapulan ti Sampagita

           ‘Tay nabanglo a sampagita itan, saanen a ‘tay naingel a tao, ti kangrunaan a pagbibiagan ti kaaduanna nga agindeg iti Brgy. Cabugao, iti ili ti Suyo, Ilocos Sur. Pagsayaatanna pay ti sampagita, pagap-apitanda iti uray ania a paset ti tawen..

            Amang pay a nalaglag-an ti panagmula ti sampagita ngem iti tabako. Nasayaat pay a panguartaan. Ket arigna paglinglingayan laeng dagiti dadduma daytoy a panggedan a kaduanna a pangalaanda iti kuarta a balonen iti eskuela annak wenno paggatang iti bagas.

Ken, wen, pabangluenna pay ti paraangan nangruna no nagukraden ti mabigbigbig a nailian a sabong ti Filipinas. Anian a makaay-ayo ti ayamuonna.

            Sangapulo ket lima amin ti plantasion ti sampagita iti Brgy. Cabugao. Kaaduanna kadagitoy ti masarakan iti Sitio Dalisis a nangrugian met laeng ti daytoy nga industria. Dagiti awan mulana, isuda dagiti gagangay a matangdanan nga agpuros ken agtudok.

            Uray ni Barangay Kapitan Carlos Pagtiilan, Jr. ti Cabugao, adda bukodna a plantasion a masarakan iti likudan iti balayda. Uray ni Grace Gresola a maysa a tanod, adda met plantasionna.

            Kinuna ni Barangay Chairman Carlos a daytoy a mula ti nangsolbar iti problema ti kinakurang ti trabaho iti barangayda.

            Nagsayaat ketdin a makita ti barangay nga awan ti agtotong-it ken agtsitsismis wenno agkikinnuto ta makumikomda iti sampagita. Bigbigat pay laeng, adun ti makita nga agpurpuros iti di pay nagukrad a puraw a sabong.

Sakbay pay a naan-anay a nakangato ti init, adun ti nakapunno kadagiti tabo nga intugotda.

Dagiti napuros a sabong ti maubon tapno maaramid a kuentas a maisab-it kadagiti rebulto, maaramid a lei a pangsabet kadagiti bisita, wenno mailako iti paradaan dagiti lugan.

Maubon dagiti sabong babaen ti panait nga abaka. Dagiti naubon a sabong, maikabil iti styrofoam wenno freezer, sa iti kabigatanna ti panakailakoda.

            Gapu ta inaldaw nga agsabong ti sampagita, inaldaw met ngarud nga adda ganansia. Iti tiempo a natingra ti init, wenno napudpudot ti panawen, ad-adu ti maapit a sabong. Iti kalamiisna, basbassit ti mapurosda—ngem latta latta panguartaanda.

            Kasano a nasumok dagiti taga-Brgy. Cabugao ti panagmula ti sampagita?

            Kuna ni Brgy. Kapitan Pagtiilan a pagyamananda daytoy ken ni Jun Trinidad, naikamang iti nasao a lugar. Taga-San Quintin, Pangasinan ni Jun ket idiay lugarda, adda dagiti agmulmula iti sampagita. Ket inyam-ammo ni Jun daytoy nga industria iti Brgy. Cabugao.

Panagmula iti Sampagita

            Kas kuna dagiti nakapadasen, saan a narigat ti agmula ken agpaadu ti sampagita. Nalaka a dumakkel dagiti naputed a sanga no naparamuten. Nupay nasayaat met a maimula iti medio nalinong, nasaysayaat latta nga iti kainitan ti pakaimulaanna ta ad-adu ti maisabongna.

            Iti Brgy. Cabugao, gagangay a nasurok maysa a metro ti baet dagiti mula. Masansan a paltonganda tapno saan a tumayag unay ken saan nga agkikinnalatkat. Iti kasta, adda pagnaan dagiti agpurong ti sabongda.

            Pagsayaatanna ti sampagita, maminsan laeng nga imulam. Apaman  a makadakkel ken mangrugin ti panagsabongna, inaldawka metten nga agganansia. Saan a kas kadagiti dadduma a mula iti talon a maminsan laeng a pagapitan.

            Kas koma kenni Grace, nga idi nagparamut ken nakapagmula idi 2001, kalpasan ti sumagmamano a bulan, nagsabong dagiti mulana. Manipud met idi agingga ita, inaldawen ti panagapitna iti sabong ti sampagita iti plantasionna.

            Iti kalgaw, mamindua iti uneg ti makabulan a palayasan ni Grace dagiti mulana a sampagita. Ken iti uneg iti makatawen, maminsan wenno mamindua met a ganagananna dagiti mulana.

            Lima gasut a kapuon ti mula ni Grace a sampagita. Sangatabo ket guddua ti kabassitan a maapitna iti inaldaw. Iti maysa a tabo, makaubonda iti limagasut a kuentas a sampagita. Ngarud, makaubonda iti sumurok-kumurang a 750 a kuentas iti maminsan a panagpurosna. No mailako ni Grace daytoy iti 2 a pisos ti tunggal ubon, nalawag ngarud a makalako iti P1,500 iti inaldaw. Ala kas pangarigan, ikkatenna aminen a tangdan, plete ken dadduma pay a gastos, uray lima gasut laeng ti mabati, napintasen a ganansia iti inaldaw.

            Ket daytoy ti kabassitan a maapitna. No katingra ti init, umabot iti walo a tabo ti maapitna.

            Ngem siempre, masapul laeng met a nagagetka nga aglako.

            Ilaklako da Grace dagiti naubon a sampagitada iti Ilocos Sur, San Fernando, La Union, ken uray pay iti Pangasinan. Kaaduan kadagiti sukida dagiti para pasahero a lugan ken dagiti  establisimento ti negosio.

            Adda met dagiti agangkat nga um-umay mismo iti lugarda. Pisos ti paggatangda iti sangaubon a sampagita. Dagiti met di naubon, no kaadu ti apit, P42.50 ti sangatabo; no kanginana, P100.

            Iti biang dagiti trabahador, P10 ti tangdan iti tunggal baso a mapurosda; P25 met iti tunggal sangagasut nga ubon ti tangdan ti agtudok. Kas pangarigan koma makapuros ti maysa a bumarangay iti tallo a baso a sabsabong, addan tangdanna a P30, sa makaubonto iti 600 a kuentas, wenno P150 ti tangdanna dita, nalawag ngarud nga addan maibolsana a P180.

            Ala, nasayaat met daytan, a!

            Malaksid iti sampagita, agmulmula met dagiti taga-Cabugao iti pagay, mais nateng, uray pay tabako ken dadduma pay a mabalinda a panguartaan.—O 

String Bean Pickles (Sitaw)

Easiest way to enjoy dish of string beans (sitaw) is to pickled this vegetable. Not so hard to make, just with vinegar, onions and pepper, the half-cooked string will become one's favorite. Seasons for string beans comes in the month of September, October and November. And best way to cook this, aside from dinengdeng, ginisa, or ginataan, is to pickled it. When in abundance, the price is so high that you can think just to buy meat, but when its season comes, you will think of different ways of cooking sitaw.

Utong is for Ilocanoes, sitaw for Tagalogs, string beans is favorite for every Filipino

How Longanisa Festival is Celebrated?

The month of January is where Vigan City celebrating their Longanisa Festival. Longasina of Vigan is famous because of its distinctive taste and aroma. The garlic not only suppresses the high fats of this food but also giving the amore of the tongue to taste it. Some pictures below demonstrate how this Vigan's favorite is made... and still being craze for every breakfast.

If you have this for breakfast, of course with tapa and kamatis, who would care for  other  delicacy

After mixing all the ingredients (ground pork meat, pork fat, salt, garlic, pepper and vinegar)-- put them in wax paper or pig's intestines to make/form as sausages.