Each new year, I await with eagerness the coming out of the Bangko Sentral calendar which is released in three forms:  wall calendar, desk calendar and daily planner. In the past years, the Bangko Sentral, thru a series of calendars, has showcased its art treasures featuring paintings of Filipino artists, pre-hispanic gold collections, artifacts, and antique woodcrafts. The Bangko Sentral has its reserve assets, not only in terms of gold and currency, but also in art.

Leafing through these calendars is like going through our heritage and history and also through the artistry of Filipino masters and craftsmen. Through these calendars, the Bangko Sentral has shared with the public its art collections which are rarely displayed in the meantime that a museum is being set up. I have shared these calendars with friends and several of them have preserved them saying they consider them collectible items as well.

Last year, instead of depicting some more of its art items, the Bangko Sentral featured in its 2021 calendar the lighthouses scattered over the Philippine archipelago. It is still a tribute to the versatile workmanship of the Filipinos who labored to put up these towering landmarks. Said calendar was complete with anthologies accompanied by superb photography. The lighthouses have weathered through time and still remain as tourist attractions. More significantly, they are all still functional as navigational beacons for mariners and fishermen.

For 2022, the BangkoSentral is guiding us through another tour, this time through the culinary specialties of the various regions. Its calendar is aptly titled Panlasa: Flavor of the Regions. Many would be familiar with the dishes featured therein but the presentations would still be very enjoyable and interesting. Some of the dishes are given their etymological origins while several others are endemic to certain regions because of the ingredients sourced from these areas. The evolution of the dishes, their popularity and our love for them manifest our distinct tastes and character as Filipinos. Below are some sample dishes.

Lechon is said to have come from the Spanish word lechona which means “suckling pig”. A popular variant is the Cebu lechon, with the mouth-watering taste of its garlic and onion blend. From the Cordillera, etag is a term used for meat preserved in a traditional way. It is often served as an offering in festivities and is used to flavor pinikpikan and other traditional delicacies. From the Ilocos region, bagnet comes from the Ilocano word bagnetin which means “to preserve the pork”. This cooking method dates back to the old days before the Spaniards set foot in the Philippines.

From the Caraca region, buntaa is an elaborate and creative way of serving crabs. Buntaa obtained the name from the word binuntaan which means “to pull out”. Its preparation entails extracting crab meat mixed with crab fat (aligue) and stuffing them in the crab shells which are then boiled in coconut milk. From Western Visayas, a more recent vintage is the “KBL” or kadyos, baboy, langka (pigeon pea, pork and jackfruit). This delicious pork stew has the sour, tart taste of batwan, the citrusy aroma of lemongrass, and the purple hue of kadyos. From the Bicol region, there is the pinangat, a leaf-wrapped roll of pork and shrimps cooked in coconut cream. From the Tagalog region, silog is the popular breakfast fare of sinangag and itlog, spawning variations such as tapsilog and tocilog.

Thank you BangkoSentral for this welcome gift for 2022!

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The above comments are the personal views of the writer. His email address is [email protected]