'Fiesta con Gusto': Manila prepares for Italian street food festival in Tondo
Manila Mayor Honey Lacuna-Pangan and Italian Ambassador Marco Clemente met on Thursday, Nov. 16, to discuss the Italian street food festival that will be held in Tondo, Manila on Nov. 18.

The mayor and the ambassador held a press conference at Manila City Hall for the upcoming street food festival as a part of Italy's initiatives dubbed as “Fiesta con Gusto”.
It is a worldwide yearly activity that will be part of a grander celebration of the “Week of the Italian Cuisine in the World” supported by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation.
The initiative aims to promote Italian cuisine and to help the underprivileged youth of Tondo, who are suffering from hunger.
The ambassador also wants to empower children in the country and ensure that they will not suffer from malnutrition.
"The Italian Street Food Festival not only promotes Italian cuisine, but it is also a platform to empower Filipino youths and their families and help them alleviate hunger," Clemente said.
"We aim to be a channel that gives hope to the Filipino children to strive more in life, and a part of that is ensuring that they do not have a hungry stomach," he added.
The ambassador said that they are expecting around 500 kids along with their families that will experience the festival.
During the press conference, the mayor emphasized the importance of the festival for the kids of Tondo.
"If there is one place to hold a festival for our palates, it should be where people have hearty appetites — a place where love for food is not only for nourishing one's stomach but likewise as nourishment in building and nurturing connections to family and friends," she said.
Lacuna-Pangan added that the event is also a productive relationship between Italy and the Philippines, especially the City of Manila.
"[It] is the core of the Italian Street Food Festival, its ultimate desire is to pave the way to a more fruitful and productive diplomatic relationship not only with the Philippines but with our city in particular," the mayor said.
Tess Carmelo of the Canosian Tondo Foundation also delivered a short message emphasizing that the street food festival is more than about foods; it is also about family and friendships.
"It's not just the food. More than that, what we have accomplished is the family relationship. Not just a simple friendly ties or relationship, economic or everything, but the kind of bonding we have established over the years," she said.