KABKABAN FESTIVAL: Culinary-themed show wows Carcar

Dancers of the Galacio Babao National High School in Valladolid, Carcar City are a crowd favorite. (CDN PHOTO/NESTLE SEMILLA)

A woman stirred a cauldron as she proudly declared that all residents of Carcar City are good cooks.

She listed ingredients of the menudo or meat stew she was making as performers went on stage with large models of meat, carrots and bell peppers.

The crowd applauded and laughed at the the display of Carcar’s culinary heritage.

The Can-asujan National High School shows a glimpse of Spanish-era Carcar. (CDN PHOTO/CHRISTIAN MANINGO)

The presentation of the Galacio Babao Memorial National High School of Valladolid was a hit among 10 contingents participating in the 13th Kabkaban Festival in Carcar City last Sunday.

Women wore yellow gowns with aprons while the men danced in white and orange barongs. Several wore toques or a chef’s tall hat.

The Kabkaban Festival does not just honor St. Catherine of Alexandria, the town’s patroness, but presents glimpses of culture of different periods of the town’s history.

The Tuyom National High School students wore dramatic red and yellow costumes to reflect the era of trade with the Chinese where fish and vegetables were sold to merchanges in the “Sialo” or river where the early Carcaranons lived.

The Perrelos National High School reflected the transformation when livelihood of residents went from fishing to breeding livestock.

The Tuyom National High School depicted scenes of trading between locals and Chinese merchants. (CDN PHOTO/CHRISTIAN MANINGO)

Carcar City Mayor Nicepuro Apura, who said the city’s P5 million fiesta budget was well spent, commended the presentations.

He said no competition was held this year because the city didn’t want participating schools to borrow money just to win a contest.

Each participating school received a a P120,000 subsidy from the local government.

The other schools that participated were Can-asujan National High School, Roberto E. Sato National High School, Carcar Central National High School, Maximino Noel National High School, the Ocaña National High School and Liburon National High School.