The ASEAN Studies Program of the Faculty of Management and Development Studies, UP Open University (UPOU), conducted another one of its lecture series, this time on Food as Culture or "Ang Pagkain Bilang Larangan ng Kultura" on 12 August 2016 at the UPOU Audiovisual Room in Los Baños, Laguna.Dr. Primo G. Garcia, Dean of FMDS, delivered the welcome remarks relating that mundane things like food were seldom topics of academic discussions, but these things are what shape the society. "Food is something that binds the community." He wished everyone a sumptuous discussion. Dr. Jean Saludadez, Program Chair of ASEAN Studies and the UPOU Vice-Chancellor for Finance and Administration, acted as the moderator and introduced the resource speaker.
Assoc. Prof. Joycie D. Alegre is the resource speaker for this lecture. She is a faculty member of the UP Visayas – Tacloban College, Division of Humanities and Physical Education. She is also the current Director of the UP Leyte-Samar Heritage Center. Her lecture started on how food is tied up with the arts, culture and traditions of the Filipinos where some are still rampantly practiced. According to Assoc. Prof. Alegre, "Studying food in not just for nourishment and sustenance. It reflects our cultural sensibility."
She discussed food as a cultural artifact, food as a phenomifact, food as a particular mix, and the theory of indigenization of Philippine Food. She presented several samples of food known to the Filipinos, mentioned the background behind them, and showed different versions of how some specific kinds of recipes has transformed based on the local's taste preferences. She especially shared her experiences in the Waray cuisine where mild tasting recipes are preferred, and introduced some ingredients most popular among Warays. She had the participants salivating after all the food she mentioned, and had them taste Tacloban's famous moron and binagul.
The lecture ended with a giving of certificate to Assoc. Prof. Alegre as a token of appreciation given by Dr. Saludadez and Dean Garcia. (Anna Cañas-Llamas)
