My mother-in-law’s pig in the backyard is getting nervous. Really nervous. No, it doesn’t have a name. I just call it ”the pig”. My wife Melinda feeds him all the time, and our little two year old niece Amiel likes to go in the back to visit him. And I know the pig is caged in a concrete bunker. If the pig is not locked up, the pig WILL be stolen. That’s how it is here. Fiesta time is fast approaching, and the pig‘s sole purpose is to be the main meal for the Fiesta. Everyone has been anticipating the Annual San Miguel Jordan Guimaras Fiesta like I waited for Christmas as a young kid, counting off the days one by one, so anxious, it just couldn’t come quickly enough. That’s the way it is at Fiesta time. It is the BIG social event of the year!
Family, friends, strangers will be stopping by; carnival rides and food vendors at the Crossing (San Miguel’s main drag), disco music blasting until 3 or 4 in the morning. Guys peeing in the public streets (well, that’s any day here in Guimaras.) Fireworks mixed in with random gunfire (that’s any day here, too.) It’s Fiesta time!
The kids are out for school the two days of the celebration (this Sept. 28th and 29th); no snow days here for the kids. Our local priest has been shooting off fireworks the past week before the 5 am mass to get ready for the festivities (and my wife says to wake people up to go to early mass. I sleep in. )
Cousin Chris from Guimaras, and his brother-in-law from Bacolod, are going to be here to prepare and cook the pig. Sainted Patient Wife Melinda says the pig will not be roasted this year, but will be cooked; the head will be roasted, though. Hey, it’s my wife’s gig, if they want to cook and not roast the pig, that’s her option (but I do love that roasted pig.) I wisely always defer to the asawa (well, most of the time.)
Spent a bunch of pesos at Iloilo City SM City Supermarket and the cart was loaded down with goodies for the Fiesta. Bought some cases of San Miguel in San Miguel here in Guimaras at Cousin Emma’s Jade Market, have to keep the family drinkers and relatives happy; Emma’s place is near “The Compound”, our humble dwelling with thirteen current occupants, but as you know here in the Philippines that occupancy rate can rise faster than flooding streets in Iloilo City during a low pressure visit. Don’t want to haul all those cases of bottled beer on the pontoon boat from Iloilo especially if the waters are rough that day. And Emma says that at 360 pesos a case we’re getting it cheaper before the price goes up during the Feista.
Well, have to start cleaning myself up for the big festivities. Have to shave for the big day, and pour buckets of cold water over my head for my shower in the CR (after I check for spiders and lizards) and even put on a clean t-shirt. Yeah, I know, I’m going all out for the big event. But it’s Fiesta Time (plus the wife is making me!) You married guys know what I’m talking about.
About David DeWall
Very amusing piece of writing. I sure hope you enjoy the festivities. I have to say that a roasted pig must be the most delicious eating there is.
Hi..that is a nice looking pig, but! It not very big so if you have a lot of family come to big fun time,I think the pig go fast.lol..maybe ur wife should have raised 2 pigs…..But then maybe every body eat lite and drink heavy..just kidding…sure it will be a fun nice time for all.
Hi David,
I’ve seen those compounds for the pigs – always thought it was to keep the pig away from the people; now you tell me it is to keep the people from stealing the pig. Learn something new every day! Loved the article.
Hi Dave, much like a turkey around thanksgiving back in the US
Hi Tommy. Exactly! Excellent comparison. As you know, if you are going to have a celebration in the Philippines you just have to have that pig as the featured dish. And what’s Thanksgiving back in the States without a turkey. Thanks for the comment!
Not so fast “Joe”….I hear Mr. Piggy has filed for a “Stay of Execution” and Kermit the frog is presenting it on behalf of Miss Piggy to the Govenor.
…fiesta sounds like fun !
Hi Dave, Save me a piece of the lechon! Did you save the head of the pig for the paksiw dish? Enjoy your humorous writing style. Would you mind telling me (perhaps you could write a short blog on the subject) on why you call your wife, Melinda, Sainted Patient Wife. Thank me now, I am giving you an idea or subject matter for your next blog. As a blogger myself, sometimes I am running dry on ideas to write. Cheers and have a Good Day!. Your TOKAYO! ( same first name).
Hi Dave sounds like good fun as a vegan jew i will give the the pig a miss but i could help to do some serious damage to the case of san mig
Hi Brian, Sadly for Mr. Piggy, our Guimaras governor turned down Miss Piggy’s request for a stay of execution. Our poor little two year old niece that loved that pig still goes out back to his cage to visit, but no more Mr. Piggy.
On a completely unrelated note, it looks like your Bonehead author has mispelled fiesta in the title of my article. I have a touch of
dyslexia and can proofread over and over and still miss something.
Liked your comment, Brian!
Hi David (love that name!) That is an excellent idea for a future blog, why I call my better half Sainted Patient Wife. My friends back in the States already know the answer to that, but it is a great idea I will have to use, thanks. Yes, sometimes it is difficult to think of something new to write, but if I’m in a dry spell, it doesn’t take long for something to happen here that gives me that next blog topic.
Oh,yes, the head was saved for the paksiw dish! Thanks for your comments (checked out your blogs and found them extremely interesting with some great info on the Philippines.)
Frank,to tell you the truth, I had some great difficulty in eating some of that pig since that was the first time I heard an animal slaughtered as it was killed right behind our house;the sounds it made as it was getting ready to become our meal really bothered me. I almost became a vegan at that moment.
But we sure could have used your help on the San Miguels, I still can’t believe we had three bottles left over!
Thanks for the comment.
do u help with the cleaning and cooking of the pig ..we have 3 pigs at our place and they are getting big .we had a 200 kilo pig at our daughters birthday party and it was good they cooked it ..I like roasted pig myself ..the father-in-law got the head to take home …and we drank tanduay ..everyone had a good time Phil n Jess
Hi Phil and Jess. No, when it comes to cleaning and cooking of the pig, I’ll admit I’m a big chicken. Left that to Cousin Chris and his brother-in-law. Man, 200 kilo pig is a big pig! Your father-in-law got the head, huh? That seems to be a pretty popular part of the pig.
Well, it does sound like you had a good time. Thanks for the comments and thanks for reading.
Dave, you say the head of the pig was roasted, but never mentioned how the rest of the pig was cooked. I can’t imagine how else a whole pig could be cooked for a fiesta other than roasted. The last time I tasted a freshly roasted pig was a couple of weeks ago in Hawaii when my wife and I, on our way to a Greek festival, stumbled into a community of Tongans roasting a pig under a huge tree near the beach across the way from the Ala Moana Center. I couldn’t resist partaking some of the lechon, and offered to pay for a plate but they wouldn’t accept the money, but instead invited us to eat with them. My wife and I ended up sitting with the Tongans under this huge tree enjoying one of the most memorable meals I’ve had in a long time. Oh, we never got to go to the Greek festival. LOL
Hi John and Dave – Check this article which I recently posted on my Mindanao Magazine. During these hard times, making lechon out of the head only of the pig is getting more and more popular.
Hahaha, Bob, that’s the first time in my whole life (I’m Fil-Am) I’ve seen a lechon with only the head being roasted. I’ll go back to read your article, but what do they do with the rest of the pig other than the obvious during these “trying times?”
Hi John – Ha ha… I am not entirely sure what they do with the rest! I suppose just cook it in the usual ways. Back during Easter of this year, we were invited by an Italian Priest who is a friend to his place for Easter lunch, and he roasted a pig head too! It was quite good.
Hi John, Sorry, Cousin Chris prepared the rest of the pig with this menu, and this is straight from his handwriting,and I believe pork is involved in each dish:
Menudo —a pork dish with garlic, onion, potatoes, chorizo bilbao sausage, tomato sauce, peppers, broth—I’ve had this before, pretty good
Afritada — another pork dish
Pork rib stick
Hamunada –a pork adobo dish, a classic Filipino dish, love adobo, great with chicken, too
Shop suey– that‘s the way Chris spells it and says it, so that‘s the way it is
Tayuba (or liempo)—pork belly
Dinuguan –pork blood stew
Potsero—another pork stew cooked with bananas
Sounds like you had quite a feast in Hawaii. I thought it was strange, too, that Cousin Chris only roasted the head, and I’m going to check out Mindanao Bob’s article concerning it. Thanks for the comment.
Thanks, Bob. That was a great photo of that roasted pig’s head! I gave John a menu from our cook, Cousin Chris. It seemed strange to me to only roast the pig’s head, but I’m only a newbie here. Thanks for the comment.
This just shows how very little I know about the many ways you can cook a pig for a fiesta, and to learn it from American expats is quite humbling to me, considering that I was born in the Philippines. LOL Thanks for the enlightenment though, Dave and Bob.
No problem, John. I’m the one that was enlightened. When Cousin Chris handed that menu to me, I was amazed at the different dishes he was using that pig in. And they tasted pretty good, too.
I’m always searching for new articles in the net about this topic. Thankz!
Hi Ribaccilit, thanks for checking out the article.
Hi Jody! Yes,the Fiesta was quite an enjoyable experience, and the (poor) pig tasted pretty good. Thanks for reading the article, and thanks for the comment.
You know,Dan,as pigs go, it was a pretty nice looking pig. Well, my mother-in-law, the Giant Lizard Killer, used to have six pigs in the back here at “The Compound” before I arrived; believe it or not, even with a bunch of relatives that came over, we still had some pig left over. And as far as heavy drinkers go, I can’t believe we had three San Miguels left over, also! I’m surprised!
Thanks for reading and thanks for the comment.
Hi John, thanks for the comment. Well,my Sainted Patient Wife tells me that yes, it is to keep people from stealing the pig, but I do see your point. Greetings to you in Austria and thanks for reading.