I'm always fascinated with markets, local or "wet" market in the poblacion. When I was a little child I always see to it that my mother or my father will have me tagging along when they go to the market every Sunday or on market days like Wednesdays and Thursdays and Friday, to buy basic stuff and food, usually with some meat, fish or other something pricey and "special" for the day's lunch. It would be a reward for say, having pulled out a considerable number of "white" hair, having gathered enough firewood, having watered down the
masetas, having gathered weed for the carabao, and other farm and house and livelihood chores a boy can do to please his parents, he-heh! I would be rewarded, among others, with my favorite
sorbetes ("dirty ice cream), some rice cakes like
"tinudok" or
"baduya" with lots of sweetened mongo as
palaman. Mind you, there were no Jollibees or McDos yet in those olden times, there are no cheap China-imported apples even (apples are only available at Christmas-time, imported from the U.S. and it was quite a rarity in the barrios).
And yes, with those merchandise, farm produce by small-time vendors, a little harvest freshly picked form their vegetable patches or green and shoots and fruits and shells and fish gathered or caught in the wild... I'm always awed at those industrious vendors who earn some centavos and pesos, and at the way my wise mother make "tawar" to buy things with her tight budget, so typically Ilokano, thrifty and frugal but not a tightwad.
Until now that I'm old and having a family of my own, I'm still a "market boy" as I do the "marketing" and still immensely enjoy going to the "palengke" or "tiendaan" to personally pick goodies for my next
dinengdeng or
pinakbet. And here are some photos to document my market forays:
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Various veggies, Don Domingo Public Market, Tuguegarao City.
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Kalkalunay, Don Domingo Public Market, Tuguegarao City.
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Mais, along the highway, Larion,Tuguegarao City.
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Uong, along National Highway, Gattaran, Cagayan. [click photo for a larger view]
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Papait and paria a balang, along National Highway, Gattaran, Cagayan.
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Tukmem and narnar, Don Domingo Public Market, Tuguegarao City.
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Tarong, Don Domingo Public Market, Tuguegarao City.
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Pokpoklo and gamet, Don Domingo Public Market, Tuguegarao City.
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Ipon and taburkit, Dugo Public Market, Camalaniugan, Cagayan.
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Bilis vendor, National Highway in Santa Ana, Cagayan.
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Kabibi and tukmem, Allacapan Public Market, Allacapan, Cagayan.
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Taburkit, bulong-unas, Allacapan Public Market, Allacapan, Cagayan.
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More market stories:
OMG!!All these things remind me of my childhood in San Nicolas,Villasis,Pangasinan.Nostalgia sets in...maka pailiw.
ReplyDeletethese food remind me too when I was still in our village in Dolores, abra.maka-pailiw nga kanen dagitoy.I really miss it.
ReplyDeleteNice article! It advocates the essence of local markets in the Philippines. By recognizing the local markets, many Filipino locals can benefit. Actually there is a new Weekend market Manila where you can buy affordable and fresh goods.
ReplyDelete