Celebrating 450 years of culture and cuisine
Culture and cuisine were brought to the fore when the municipality of Camalig, Albay recently marked the 450th anniversary of the arrival of Spanish explorers and missionaries under Captain Luis Enriquez de Guzman in 1569.
Based on historical records, the area began as a prosperous agricultural settlement near the foot of Mayon Volcano, commonly known as kinamalig, referring to the huts with grass roofs where villagers kept their farm implements and harvest.
The town, which was later placed under the patronate of St. John the Baptist by the Franciscan friars, was a thriving precolonial ancient civilization dating back to 200 BC evident in the archaeological finds unearthed in its caves. The relics are kept in a small museum within the St. John the Baptist parish church which was declared in 2017 by the National Museum as an Important Cultural Property.
As one of the first townships organized under the Spanish regime, Camalig is regarded as the heritage town of Albay because of its ancestral homes, old church and structures. The most notable among these is the Nuyda House of the late congressman Justino Nuyda, which serves as a living museum of 19th-century lifestyle.
The highlight of the celebration was the unveiling of the historical marker at the Municipal Hall led by Mayor Maria Ahrdail Baldo and vice mayor Carlos Irwin Baldo Jr.
The unveiling of the marker was timed with the municipal patronal feast and the weeklong 19th Pinangat Festival. The event was named after a signature Bicol delicacy made of shredded gabi leaves, red ginger, tiny shrimps, slice of salted fish or pork and crushed pepper, wrapped in leaves, tied in bundles and cooked in coconut milk.
The festival featured a street dance parade and competition portraying the pinangat’s harvest and cooking process, and a boodle fight where townsfolk shared the popular delicacy and distributed it to passing motorists.
Visitors also troop to Camalig for a bamboo raft cruise at Sumlang Lake with the picturesque Mayon Volcano in the background and the Quitinday Green Hills Formation Reserve which is similar to Bohol’s famed Chocolate Hills.