The assignment: Find out what a small town fiesta was really like

We may have only stayed overnight in Barangay San Agustin in Pampanga but boy did we take in the sights! Not only were we welcomed into every home we visited, and were served with their specialty dishes, we also watched a talent contest, a cockfight, and a parade.

My favorite moment: Hanging out with the matriarchs of the barangay as they sliced and diced kilo upon kilo of chicken and pork. It was mesmerizing to watch their hands go on auto-pilot as they chatted about this and that, all those years of kitchen secrets, folk tales, and wives wisdom between them.

Published in Yummy Magazine, May 2011

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