Mangaldan’s Pindang Festival launched in SM Rosales
ROSALES—Aiming to get a wider exposure for its first Pindang Festival, the town of Mangaldan launched the celebration of its century-old carabeef industry at the SM City Rosales here last February 23.
Mayor Bernardo Abalos, who as a councilor in 2001 conceptualized the Pindang Festival to give the town a distinct trademark, thanked SM Rosales for giving them the chance to use the mall as a venue for the launch.
“Mangaldan’pindang has been much- talked about and much-sought after across the globe almost 100 years already,” said Abalos adding that it is high time that their One-Town-One Product of thinly sliced carabeef strips be showcased.
The highlights of the launch included a contest on the longest pindang, pindang making rodeo, and pindang cooking contest.
The festival is one of the features of the town fiesta on March 1 to 10.
Councilor Ritchie Abalos, chairman of Pindang Festival 2013, said the event is intended to honor the town’s meat vendors and those involved in pindang making as well as the late mayor Herminio Romero who gave the nod for the festival launch before his death last December.
Catherine Garcia, assistant mall manager of SM City Rosales, said the festival is considered another milestone for Pangasinan.
“It is our privilege to be a part of this event as SM City Rosales, like all other SM Malls, takes its role in promoting and enriching its community,” Garcia said.
PINDANG MAKERS
Meanwhile, Richard Barrozo, whose family-owned Cela’s Food Products is the first to produce pindang here in a factory about 50 years ago, said there are 68 meat stalls selling pindang in the market who are part of their association, plus more than a hundred others who sell other kinds of meat.
Barrozo, the president of meat vendors association, said Cela’s Food Products alone produces 500 to 1,000 kilos a day of pindang.
“Our pindang product has no preservatives but only salt and pepper and that is what makes our produce stands out from the rest,” he said, noting that Cela’s pindang factory is classified as Class AA (double A) by the Department of Trade and Industry.
Mangaldan has its own abattoir where the vendors and pindang producers source their meat.–Eva Visperas
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