Pangasinan town serves 32.8K pieces of native rice cakes

KANEN FESTIVAL 2024. Senator Imee Marcos (center), with Mayor Modesto Operania (left, front row), slices a native rice cake during the second Kanen Festival in Urbiztondo town, Pangasinan on Sunday (April 28,2024). The festival, which is part of the town’s annual founding anniversary celebration, aims to celebrate the bounty of agricultural products and to promote them. (Photo by Hilda Austria)

URBIZTONDO, Pangasinan – Residents and visitors’ festive spirit won over the scorching 47 degrees heat in this town during a boodle fight that featured 32,860 slices of native rice cakes for the second Kanen Festival on Sunday.

Trays of rice cakes such as latik, bibingka, pininat, biko, turonket, unda-unday, suman, sapin-sapin, and palitaw were placed on a 185-meter stretch of tables placed along the main thoroughfare.

“The delicacies’ ingredients were all from Urbiztondo.

Our glutinous rice, which is the main ingredient, is of good quality,” Mayor Modesto Operania said in an interview.

In his speech during the program, Operania said the launching of the Kanen Festival last year as part of the town’s annual founding anniversary celebration paved the way for the local government unit to promote their native rice cake products.

“Muli, nais namin matikman ninyo ang aming pinagmamalaking kakanen. Sa puntong ito, nais kong bigyang-pugay ang ating mga magsasaka at lahat ng mga nakilahok sa pagluto at paghanda ng mga kakanen. Kayo po ang may pinaka malaking kontribusyon sa ating okasyon ngayong hapon (Once again, we want our visitors to taste our native rice cakes, which are our pride. At this point, I wanted to honor the farmers and all who cooked and prepared the native rice cakes. You all have the biggest contribution in our celebration this afternoon),” he said.

The town has a total 8,180 hectares of land, with more than half of it dedicated to farming.

Vice Mayor Volter Balolong said native rice cake is synonymous to Urbiztondo.

“In 1852, we are already known for our glutinous rice. As part of every celebration, we prepare kakanen and it became our culture and tradition, which symbolizes joy and unity,” he said in Filipino.

Senator Imee Marcos, who was the guest of honor and speaker during the festival, commended the dedication and skills of the native rice cake makers as well as the spirit of unity among the town people.

“Walang katapusan ang inyong mga kakanen. Ito ay nagpapakita ng inyong galing at husay sa pagluluto. Sigurado ako na magtutuloy tuloy ito, ang nagi-isang boodle na matamis sa buong mundo (Your delicacies are never ending. It shows your skills and ability in cooking (native rice cakes). I am sure this will continue, the only sweet boodle in the whole world),” she said.

With the success of the festival, local authorities are contemplating of joining the Guinness Book of World Records in the future.