In this Pangasinan town, they wear what they eat

EDIBLE HEADGEAR April Obedoza wears an edible hat with her “pinakbet” gown. —RAY ZAMBRANO

VILLASIS, Pangasinan—This farming town known for its bountiful eggplant harvest has also caught up with the Miss Universe mania.

At the 11th Talong Festival here this week, women donned gowns and wore headdresses decorated with the town’s main farm produce. Called “pinakbet gowns,” the dresses were embellished with fresh vegetables like ampalaya (bitter gourd), tomatoes, okra, peppers, black and white beans, squash and string beans, typical ingredients of this dish seasoned with fermented fish paste (bagoong).

The attires showed that the woman here did not just eat their produce but wore them, too.

“[The gown] was heavy,” said Ermalyn Bajit, 28, who wore a dress made from fishnet and 3 kilos of vegetables. Aside from a headdress done with beans, squash flowers and ampalaya leaves, she also carried a delicate bouquet of yellow squash flowers.

April Obedoza, 15, wore a banig (handwoven mat) gown painted in gold and lashed with peppers, the same organic material on her headdress and neckpiece.

Highlight of the festival

“It was a challenge to attach fresh vegetables to the gowns. But we could not use dried vegetables as they look withered and would defeat our purpose of showcasing the town’s produce,” said Ferdinand Austria, the festival coordinator.

The highlight of the festival was cooking “pinakbet sa kawa,” with the local government providing each of the 21 competing villages with 30 kilos of eggplants, 10 kilos of ampalaya, 10 kilos of tomatoes,  4 kilos of okra, and 2 kilos of pepper.

After the contest, the dish was served to the residents and their guests.

Another feature of the festival was the yearly search for dishes that used eggplant as an ingredient, with traditional dishes given a twist, like  “bibingka talong,” “talong lasagna,” “leche eggplant,”  “ginataang talong” and “eggplant ice cream.”

Mayor Nonato Abrenica said the yearly festival was meant to show how eggplants and other vegetables are crucial to the the town’s economic life.

Roberto Padilla, who oversees the town’s high-value crops, said 400 hectares in Barangay Lipay, San Blas, Caramutan and Pias are devoted to eggplant farming, notably the long purple variety that can grow up to a foot long.

Eggplants here sell at P20 a kilo and can give a farmer a gross income of P600,000, Padilla said.