‘Kinilaw’ steals spotlight at food festival in Madrid

SPAIN – The Philippines’ very own raw dish in vinegar captivated food lovers and the world’s top chefs who participated in Spain’s important international gastronomy summit, Madrid Fusion.

It is a culinary milestone for the Philippines as this is the first time the country has been invited to showcase Filipino cuisine in an event considered as world’s most important chef’s congress, and a dream come true for superstar Filipino chefs Margarita “Gaita” Fores and Myrna Segismundo to put the country in the world’s culinary map.

Fores and Segismundo’s demonstration on how to prepare kinilaw received enthusiastic reception and praises from the public at the Palacio de Congresos Municipal in Madrid where the event was held.

Fores presented Negrense seabass kinilaw while Segismundo showed how to prepare Batangueño seafood kinilaw. They also prepared grilled pork and fish kinilaw called ‘sinuglaw’ and introduced some of the ingredients that can only be found in the Philippines such as tabon-tabon fruit, calamansi, and salt with coconut called ‘duldul’.

 

 

“Very innovative, I like it a lot. It has a mixture of new flavors, lot of spices, very spicy. It’s new for me,” Amanda Iglesias, a chef at Madrid five-star Hotel Orfila, said in Spanish after tasting kinilaw.

“I never knew that you could create this kind of acidity with this fruit that you have, so it’s amazing to me on how can you avoid to use lime or lemon and use this kind of fruit vinegar,” said Texas-based chef Juan Gomez.

Why kinilaw?

“When the Madrid Fusion people came to Manila, of course we were entertaining them and during the MOA signing, which was happening in Restaurant 9501, we had lechon, adobo, all other things, but it was particularly the kinilaw that caught their attention,” said Segismundo.

She stressed that kinilaw is a Filipino dish that doesn’t have any Spanish, Chinese, or foreign influence on it.

“Kinilaw is pure 100 percent Filipino (pero) international ang appeal,” she said.

Aside from kinilaw, attendees flocked to the Philippine booth strategically located at the venue entrance to have a try of Filipino delicacies such as pili and cashew nuts, chicharon, dried mangoes, and cocktails.

The Philippine delegation, headed by Department of Tourism director for Europe Verna Buensuceso with Agriculture undersecretary Berna Romulo-Puyat, introduced five different Filipino flavors—maalat (salty) matamis (sweet), mapait (bitter), maasim (sour), and malinamnam (tasty).

Taking Madrid Fusion to Manila

Philippine cuisine will be further introduced to the world in the upcoming Madrid Fusion Manila, which will be held on April 24-26 at MOA SMX Convention Center in Pasay.

The country has been chosen to host the event to rekindle cultural and gastronomic ties with Spain, which has strong influence on many Filipino dishes.

“They realized also that for European chefs, for Western chefs, their inspiration now comes from Asia, and our cuisine is so rich, the ingredients are unique,” added Fores.

Eight Spanish Michelin-starred chefs and top Asian chefs will travel to the Philippines to demonstrate and discuss with top Filipino chefs latest techniques and innovations that are transforming the global culinary scene.

“It will be a fusion of chefs of all over the world but also with the Philippines, and I’m looking forward [to it]. I’ve never been to the Philippines. I really want to go for many many years,” said chef Elena Arzak of three-starred Michelin and three-starred Repsol restaurant Arzak in an exclusive interview with ABS-CBN.

Fores could not contain her excitement and believes that this will further boost Philippine tourism.

“To come to the Philippines and discover all these new things. I think that they’re really looking at not only our food but at our beaches, our hospitality,” Forés said.

“Alam nyo mga kapamilya, bihirang mangyari ito sa atin sa Pilipinas, sa kasaysayan ng ating kulinarya, ika nga,” said Segismundo. Daniel Infante Tuaño, ABS-CBNnews.com

Watch the related TV report aired on The World Tonight, ABS-CBN:

Spain-based Pinay shares her fight vs breast cancer

By Daniel Infante Tuaño

BARCELONA – Marieclaire De Sagun Rivera, also known as Claire, had been actively involved in business and Filipino community activities in Barcelona. Until one day, she felt a painful lump in her left breast.

“At first naramdaman ko tumigas ang left breast ko. Agad naman pumunta ako ng doktor pero it was a misdiagnosis. I asked for another opinion. Nag-ask ako agad ng mammogram sa kanila. So from then, I was diagnosed with HER2-positive breast cancer stage 2.”

The cancer was aggressive that they had to immediately remove her left breast.

She also had to undergo chemotherapy and radiation treatment for a year.

“Noong malaman ko na may breast cancer ako, unang-una kong tinawag yung nasa itaas. Sinabi ko kay Lord, Ikaw na bahala sa akin. Isang malaking factor na nagpalakas ng loob ko, mayroon akong support group, isang pastoral group, they pray for me. Strong faith sa Diyos ang pinakalamalaking bagay.”

Claire, now a cancer survivor, also sourced her strength from her loving husband, family and friends. She continues to receive antibodies treatment and is grateful that cancer treatment in Spain has not incurred her any cost.

Support groups like Oncolliga, a Catalonia-based foundation, also provides psycho-social help to cancer patients and their families.

Breast cancer is the most common cancer among women in developing and wealthy countries alike, according to Asociación Española Contra El Cancer. One in eight women will develop breast cancer in their lifetime.

“Nowadays, we don’t know the main cause of cancer. We know that there are several causes, like contamination, virus, etc. It’s a multi-factorial event,” said Dr. Jesus Soberino, medical oncologist at Hospital Vall d’Hebron in Barcelona.

“A painless cyst in the breast is the most common symptom,” Dr. Soberino added.

“The best way to know if we have a breast cancer, first, is self-examination. Even more for women from 50 years old, that’s the age where the risk is increased. Apart from this, a very good screening program based on mammogram is also very effective. It is the most effective way to detect cancer in earlier stage where we can achieve more effective treatment and where we can cure the patient.”

Aside from early diagnosis, balanced diet, healthy lifestyle and regular exercise are also recommended in cancer prevention.

Claire, a nurse herself, believes in the old adage that ‘an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure’, and has a piece of advice to all hardworking Filipinas.

“Siyempre ang main priority natin dito is magtrabaho pero dapat kailangan meron tayong time for ourselves, na kahit nagta-trabaho tayo meron tayong time para alagaan ang sarili natin. Yung medical necessity naman ay libre sa España, so we can have mammogram or physical check-ups sa mga doctors natin, at least makita kaagad kung anong kind of disease na meron tayo.” ABS-CBNnews.com 

Watch this related TV report in Filipino language aired on Balitang Europe, The Filipino Channel, ABS-CBN:

Four Filipino values kept alive by Pinoys in Spain

Giving importance to education and the Filipino language, Respect for elders, Gender equality, Bayanihan or mutual help

By Daniel Infante Tuaño

SPAIN – Wherever Filipinos go or wherever they settle to start a new life, they take Filipino values with them and even pass them on to the next generations. 

Like three Filipinas–Rebecca, Jennifer and Krystel–who shared their life experience in a workshop entitled “Migration and Gender in the Philippine community,” organized by Casa Asia in Barcelona.

Krystel, Rebecca and Jennifer

Casa Asia, an institution which promotes understanding of the Asia-Pacific in Spain, organized a workshop where Spanish and migrant women could understand more the gender dimension of Filipino migration based on the stories of three Filipinas who represent the three generations of a Filipino family.

The workshop turned out to be a tearjerker as the women became emotional when they started to look back what the whole clan had to go through to seek a better future in Barcelona.

But despite all the sacrifices and the pain of recounting the family’s struggles, the three women highlighted Filipino values which had been passed on to the three generations, namely giving importance to education and respecting elders.

Supporting the education of a family member is one of the primary reasons why Filipinos seek greener pastures abroad, according to Professor Maria Jesus Izquierdo, one of the workshop’s resource speakers who also made a research on Filipino migration entitled “Servidoras sin Fronteras. Migración Filipina Femenina y Redes de Cuidados.”

Jennifer Masilang, one of the three Filipina speakers, said that she makes sure that her children value education and learn Tagalog by speaking the language at home.

She has also frequently taken her children to the Philippines to make them more aware of the difficult situation in the country and appreciate more of what they have.

Jennifer’s mother and the family’s matriarch, Rebecca Masilang, who has been living in Barcelona for more than 25 years and was among the first Filipinos who came to the Catalan capital, placed importance on parents’ fundamental role in inculcating values to their children born abroad.

“Yang pag-opo, pagmamano, hindi dapat natin alisin sa kanila. Kaya sa ating matatanda, sa ating mga nauna dito, sa ating mga magulang, nasa atin talaga ang paghubog sa mga kabataang Pilipino. Respeto sa matatanda, respeto kahit sa mga hindi natin kalahi, wag natin gayahin dito ang kultura nila ang matatanda bina-balewala, sa atin mentras tumatanda, lalong pinapahalagahan,” Rebecca.

Her granddaughter, Krystel Cayari, who grew up both in the Philippines and Spain and works as a nurse in Barcelona, has shown respect and expressed profound concern for her elderly patients.

“Yung values na itinuro sa akin ng mga lola ko, ng mga parents ko, na-apply ko siya sa trabaho ko as a nurse. Minsan may mga pasyente ako kailangan lang nila ng respeto, ng konting pagsasalita, konting kausap at kung minsan yung hindi nabibigay ng family nila dahil nagtatrabaho,” Krystel said.

Casa Asia Workshop

Admiration for Filipinas

The three women also showed that Filipinas, though they can be emotional sometimes, are strong, brave, intelligent and play an important role in family and nation-building.

Izquierdo expressed her admiration of Philippine society in terms of gender equality, which she experienced first-hand while doing the research in the country.

Jennifer said that Filipinas don’t want just to be left at home. What they want is to work, earn and also contribute to the family.

And like most Filipinas in Barcelona, the three generations of women Rebecca, Jennifer and Krystel have been also active in the Filipino community, especially in one of the Filipino Catholic Church choirs.

Such activities of the Catholic Church were also part of Izquierdo’s study. In fact, another UAB professor and resource speaker Enrico Mora emphasized the important contribution of the Filipino Catholic Church in organizing the Filipino community in Barcelona.

Mora further recognized the existence of mutual help in the community, which Filipinos would rather call “bayanihan.”

Originally published on ABS-CBNnews.com

 

Muere una joven filipina atropellada por un coche que se fugó

Último deseo de Angelica: Dárselo todo a mi hijo

Traducido por Ma-Anne Valmeo

La joven filipina de 17 años que a principios de este mes murió atropellada  por un conductor que se dio a la fuga, deseaba que su familia se gastara lo menos posible en su funeral y prefería dejar el dinero a su hijo de 1 año de edad.

La víctima Angelica Manongsong Dalisay, en una conversación durante un funeral la semana anterior al trágico accidente comentó a su madre Siony, que prefería la cremación ya que seria menos costosa para su familia.

El accidente tuvo lugar el 2 de Mayo alrededor de las 22 horas cuándo Dalisay cruzaba un paso de peatones, con su hijo y su novio, en la Avenida Joan Carles I del municipio de Gavà.

“Creen que el conductor no la vio debido a la velocidad al que iba y a que se encontraba hablando por el móvil. En esos momentos, Dalisay tenía a su hijo en un cochecito, que apartó, y fue atropellada en su lugar, dándose un golpe en la cabeza con la acera. Según los testigos el vehículo paró y a continuación se dio a la fuga momentos después de ver el estado en el que se encontraba la joven,” relata su tío Sonny Manongsong Abe.

Paso de peatones en el que fue atropellada Angelica. elbruguers.cat

Asimismo, Abe comentó a ABS-CBNnews.com que llevaron de inmediato a Dalisay al Hospital de Bellvitge pero que el médico enseguida dijo que la paciente estaba gravamente herida y la enfermera, que atendió a Abe dijo que Dalisay no tenía ninguna oportunidad de sobrevivir.

La Generalitat de Catalunya ha expresado su apoyo a la familia y la policía local está llevando a cabo una investigación para saber la identidad del conductor basándose en las grabaciones de la área y el rastro de evidencias que dejó el vehículo.

Jordi Puig, Consúl honorario de Filipinas y Macrina Alcedo, líder de la Federación de Lideres Filipinos de Barcelona (KALIPI) se acercaron al Tanatorio de la Gran Via L’Hospitalet, dónde se celebró el servicio funerario para expresar sus condolencias a la familia.

“Cualquier acción que se tenga que hacer, nosotros estaremos a su lado. Si necesitan nuestra ayuda, solo tienen que acudir a nosotros. La comunidad Filipina es fuerte. Somos una comunidad muy unida. Lucharemos para conseguir justicia para ella,” comenta Alcedo.

La familia de Dalisay continúa clamando justicia.

“La persona que lo hizo, ya no me devolverá a mi sobrina pero al menos que reciba el castigo que se merece. Lo que hizo fue inhumano. Si no se hubiese dado a la fuga, puede que mi sobrina hubiera tenido alguna esperanza de sobrevivir.”

 Abe desea que se haga justicia independientemente de la nacionalidad de Dalisay.

“Aunque no seamos de aquí, aunque seamos extranjeros, espero que se haga justicia.”

Artículo original publicado en inglés en ABS-CBNnews.com y en myspanishchronicle.wordpress.com