Eat, ____, Love Pampanga

The province of Pampanga is embarking on an ambitious yet timely tourism and branding campaign which is anchored on the Pampanga Megalopolis plan that highlights the strengths and opportunities that the different towns and cities have to offer, coinciding with the national government’s thrust to invest in infrastructure development in this part of the country.

It may sound like it comes from a Hollywood film, and the eponymous book by Elizabeth Gilbert inspired by her personal soul and self rediscovery, but this new tag line that is being proposed, and soon espoused by the freshly convened Pampanga Tourism Council for this purpose, challenges us to rediscover our own province and its vast wealth of natural and cultural wonders. At the same time, the tag line seeks to assert what is common to all Kapampangan towns, our culinary prowess, heritage, and l egacy.

Here’s my personal take on what we can do aside from eat and love Pampanga.

Eat, Craft, Love Pampanga. Our province never runs out of artists and artisans, so whether it’s about joining an impromptu pottery session in Santo Tomas, making your own lantern in San Fernando, or observing how pinukpuk is being made in Apalit. Other towns with highly significant cultural industries are Guagua for its furniture and wood crafts and Macabebe for its ecclesiastical crafts, to name a few.

Eat, Conquer, Love Pampanga. There’s so much to conquer in Pampanga, whether it’s scaling the heights of the majestic Mount Arayat, braving the exacting Porac to Pinatubo route, or overcoming one’s fear of trying out seemingly unpalatable exotic dishes.

Eat, Share, Love Pampanga. ‘Voluntourism’anyone? Not that we would like to appeal to the world’s emotions but volunteerism and travel has gained quite a following among tourists globally. There are opportunities to help in Pampanga, as long as these are properly coordinated and closely monitored so as not to tread thin lines or hurt sensibilities and sensitivities.

Eat, Cherish, Love Pampanga. Care to walk down the proverbial memory lane? Heritage is ubiquitous in Pampanga, whether it’s about our built heritage or traditions. Each town and city has its own inventory that is yet to be exhausted by cultural mapping that we should never run out of the so-called back stories.

Eat, Shop, Love Pampanga. Not only because we have the country’s longest mall, or the world’s largest solar panel installation on a mall, or the most number of SM malls in one city, or because we have duty free shops that offer really good buys, art works, export quality home decorations and furniture, are reasonably priced too. We are a treasure trove of great finds, whether it is Marina Arcade, Capalangan, Comercio Centrale, or any good old public market.

I do hope that the province will seriously consider crowdsourcing especially from the creative Millennials who would easily come up with exciting twists if engaged in such a campaign.

In the meantime, let’s wait and see, what’s not to eat and love in Pampanga?