‘Chicharon’ feted in Bulacan town

DAYS before Valentine’s Day, Sta. Maria town in Bulacan province celebrated a festival dedicated to a snack that sometimes brings heartburn.

Makers of “chicharon” (pork rind crackling) in this first-class urban town were given their well-deserved recognition during the 9th Chicharon Festival held on Feb. 10.

Sta. Maria’s chicharon industry is composed of more than 20 chicharon makers, providing the town its unprecedented economic boom in years, said Fortune Lorenzo, municipal planning and development officer.

It has also made Sta. Maria a tourist attraction, drawing people who want a taste of the town’s most famous product, said Marina Concepcion, municipal tourism officer.

“We inherited this industry from our grandparents,” Concepcion said.

The Sta. Maria chicharon is billed as a Bulacan brand at par with the “sisig” of Pampanga, said Jimmy Corpuz, ex-officio chair of Bulacan Heritage Conservation Society.

STA. MARIA’S famous “chicharon” CONTRIBUTED PHOTO

Pacencia de la Torre-Tuazon started the local chicharon industry as a backyard trade to make use of leftover portions of a butchered hog in the early 1900s.

Some producers have their own “secret preparations” for making chicharon, but others have been importing pork skin from Spain, Australia, United States and Canada.

“The demand for chicharon is high and because Filipinos have consumed a lot of the snack, we now have a supply problem with pork skin,” said Reynaldo Buenviaje, 69, owner of “Daboy Chicharon.”

Buenviaje started his chicharon business in 2002, taking lessons from an aunt.

Jennifer Torres, producer of “Jenny’s Chicharon,” said she and her husband started the business in 1986 and had made a killing selling microwavable chicharon packs.

Last week’s festivities included a cooking festival for college students who showed new recipes that would make good use of chicharon. Students of St. Joseph’s College won first prize for their “chicharon steak.”