The 2nd Puto Festival held May 5, as expected, was a crowd drawer was well attended, said Mayor Roy Macanlalay, achieving their goal of boosting the town’s most popular product, considered as their “white gold”.

The mayor said puto-making is a century-old industry here and the festival was intended to help puto-makers expand their local and international markets.

Domingo Decena, 70, of Barangay Dinalaoan, said while business has been brisk over the past years, the festival is a very welcome boost.

Decena, whose mom was the original puto maker in their barangay, said being taught the trade is his greatest inheritance.

Decena’s family participated in the Puto Decoration competition and their entry, a giant peacock design using colorful puto, was among the crowd’s favorites.

Decena supplies puto to popular restaurants in Metro Manila and operate a 24-hour stall in Calasiao.

He admitted that Calasiao’s puto-makers have not had any success in penetrating the international market but their products are already brought to other countries as pasalubong by balikbayans.

Domingo said today’s generation of puto-makers are grateful to Mayor Macanlalay under whose administration started the Puto Festival five years ago.

The mayor noted that the Calasiao puto has already gained popularity nationwide approximating that of the Dagupan or Bonuan bangus and pointed to vendors in Manila who peddle their puto as Calasiao puto if it is not.

But those who have tried it and are familiar with Calasiao puto know the difference,” Macanlalay said.

But like other by-products of rice, the P50 price of Calasiao puto per kilo has since risen to P60 as of presstime. Prior to the rice crisis, the tasty puto could be had for P40 per kilo.

Among the activities held during the festival, which coincided with the town’s annual fiesta, were ‘101 Ways of Serving Puto’, ‘Best Artistic Booth’, ‘Street Dancing’, ‘Fastest Puto Eater’, ‘Best Puto Decoration’.#

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