Cultural Book - Philippines

Signifigance Sugarcane

Signifigance Sugarcane of in the Philippines

Written & Illustrated by: Casie Bear

Signifigance Sugarcane

Signifigance Sugarcane of in the Philippines

Table of Contents Table of Contents

Give Me Some Sugar Give Me Some Sugar

Bacolod, Philippines: A city located in the northwest coast of Negros Islands is responsible for most of the nation’s sugar production, dubbed the sugar capital of the Philippines because of how much sugarcane is grown and exported out of Bacolod.

One of the top export crops to come out of the nation alongside coconuts and mangoes. Because of how important sugarcane and the sugar industry were to the people of this area, when it was threatened it brought a whole area into a state of turmoil alongside another tragic accident to follow shortly after. Most people don’t think hard on exports or the state of crops growing in their home country. However, the slightest bit of change, such as a bad harvest, that can take away a leading export can impact a country for better or for worse.

This book aims to display the influence one crop has on a nation, the strength and perseverance of the Filipino people during times of low morale and hopelessness, and a look at the culture of Bacolod that was created and circles around how important sugarcane was to its people. Serving as an education of culture while displaying it in a way for travelers to come to Bacolod as tourists to find out more for themselves.

So much can happen to a country with a seemingly minor change, that a large group of people can be brought into a state of hopelessness. With nowhere to go but up, the Filipino people will eventually bring themselves back up. Sugarcane lead into traditions that have stood strong for decades.

MassKara MassKara

MassKara derives from ‘mass’ meaning crowd and ‘kara’ meaning face, playing on the word ‘maskara’ meaning mask in Tagalog. MassKara is a festival held in Bacolod every October, in which people don brightly colored and elaborate smiling masks and costumes to bring joy to the area and celebrate the resilience of the Filipino people during a time of crisis.

In 1974, the Laurel-Langley Pact wasn’t renewed by the U.S. government which assured an annual sugar export quota for the Philippines with producers compensated immensely. By expiry, the U.S. sugar imports went from 1.2 million tons per year to 330,000 tons a year later. .1 European countries started producing sugar from sugar beets soon after and caused the global price of sugar to lessen. Alongside this, the chief of the National Sugar Trading Corporation, Roberto Benedicto, hoarded sugar until it was essentially worthless because he believed sugar would rise to a dollar a pound. This put the Negros region into a horrible famine. With the famine going on and the tragic MV Don Juan ferry accident, killing everyone including important people from Bacolod, morale was at its lowest.

Example of a MassKara festival mask.

Locals began creating these colorful masks to help bring in commerce, and it became a hit with tourists visiting the area, leading to the festival’s creation. To lift the spirits of the loca who were still hurting from everything going on, MassKara turned into an event of joy and celebration. The well-known smiling masks becoming a symbol of perseverance, that through all the pain the Filipino people will survive through the toughest of conditions. Now it is a celebration filled with dancing, loud and exciting music such as Latin beats and Philippine Jazz, elaborate smiling masks, competitions, beauty pageants, garden shows, and much more. 2 For over thirty years now, MassKara has brought in people from all over to participate in the festival and to soak in the joyous occasion.

https://www.esquiremag.ph/ long-reads/features/negros-famine-of-the-1980s-a0028920210415-lfrm2.

2. Legarde, Lysias. “Masskara Festival: The Ultimate Guide.” HICAPS Mktg. Corp. HICAPS Mktg. Corp., September 12, 2022. https://hicaps.com.ph/masskara-festival/.

3. Santos, Matikas. “Unmasking the Masskara: The Hidden Origin of Bacolod City’s Festival.” Interaksyon. Philistar, July 9, 2018. https://interaksyon.philstar.com/breaking-news/2018/07/09/130223/unmasking-the-hidden-origin-of-bacolod-citys-masskara-festival/.

“We were not thinking of having a festival. We thought of the maskara as an income-generating product... We had one year of celebrating that maskara celebration in the street. For only one time. And then the second time it was already the government that organized the celebrations.” 3

1. Caña, Paul John. “Sugar Wars: Looking Back at the Negros Famine of the 1980s.” Esquiremag.ph. Esquire Philippines, January 1, 1970.

Rodney Martinez, member of the Arts Association of Bacolod-Negros (AABN)

Example of a MassKara festival mask.

Always Smiling Always Smiling

Rodney Martinez , one of the founding members of the Arts Association of Bacolod-Negros (AABN) set up workshops around Bacolod for locals to learn how to make decorative masks out of coconut husks and paper mâché to help generate some form of commerce during the crisis.

While some masks were sold, most sellers did not get enough money from them.1 The AABN decided to conceptualize a festival instead to help interest more tourists to come and buy masks. It slowly turned from native Filipino designs into drawing inspiration from similar events such as Carnival of Venice.

There isn’t much of a historical context behind MassKara. It focused more on how the people of the area managed to pull through a difficult situation, The smiling masks were a declaration of the people of Bacolod City that they will pull through and survive the challenges and tragedies that they are facing. 2

While before the masks had more native designs incorporated into it, they evolved into very elaborate and brightly colored masks with their famous smile. People elevating their masks with hundreds of colorful feathers, thousands of beads coating the surface of the mask, and costumes created solely to accentuate the mask.

Because of these masks and the whole MassKara celebration, Bacolod had been dubbed ‘The City of Smiles’. A mask from this area is one of the most popular souvenirs for tourists and has become one of the sole symbols of the Negros region.

It represents the willpower of the Negros people to keep on smiling and moving forward even in the face of utter misery, the mask covering any other worries and the festival whisking participants into continuous excitement and joy to keep them moving.

1. Legarde, Lysias. “Masskara Festival: The Ultimate Guide.” HICAPS Mktg. Corp. HICAPS Mktg. Corp., September 12, 2022. https://hicaps.com.ph/ masskara-festival/.

2. Muzones, Gem. “Masskara Festival in Bacolod: Everything You Need to Know.” Guide to the Philippines, September 19, 2020. https://guidetothephilippines.ph/articles/history-culture/masskara-festival-bacolod-guide.

Napoleones

A famous pasalubong (souvenir or gift) from Bacolod is Napoleones, a confectionary item befitting of a city called “the sugar capital of the Philippines”. It is an immensely popular confectionary, hundreds of dozens-baked Napoleones made every day at various locations not only in the Negros area but all around the Philippines.

Taking inspiration from the French pastry Mille-Feuille: Napoleones consists of layers upon layers of thin puff pastry, a semi-sweet custard filling, and topped with a sugary icing that hardened white. Most of the time it is served cold, however it can be served still warm from the oven.

Ingredients

Pastry

• 3 sheets store-bought puff pastry

Matamis Matamis

Custard

• 4 large egg yolks

• 1 1/3 cups milk

• 1/3 cup cream

• 1/2 cup sugar, divided

• 3 1/2 tbsp cornstarch

• 30 g butter, room temperature

• 2 tsp vanilla extract

Glaze

• 2 cups icing sugar

• 3 tbsp fresh milk

Directions

1. Prepare your puff pastry sheets. Stack each sheet on top of each other so that you have a three-layer pastry.

2. Cut the pastry into 9 equal parts by slicing it into three sections horizontally and vertically. Set this aside then place it in the refrigerator to chill.

3. Prepare your custard. In a pot pour milk, cream and 1/4 cup sugar then bring to a slow boil once it starts boiling reduce heat to low.

4. In a separate bowl sift together 1/4 cup sugar and cornstarch.

5. Add egg yolks to the sugar and cornstarch mixture and whisk to combine. Add 1 cup from the warm milk slowly into the mix while continuously whisking.

6. Add this mixture to the remaining warm milk in the pot and heat gently on low heat. Constantly whisk until custard thickens this will take around 4-5 minutes.

7. Turn off heat then add the butter and vanilla, continue whisking until well incorporated.

8. Transfer everything into a bowl then cover with cling warp then let it cool.

9. Bake the pastry. Remove the puff pastry from the fridge, place it in a baking pan then bake in a 180˚C preheated oven for 45 minutes or until golden brown. Remove from oven then set it aside and let it cool down.

10. Prepare your glazing, in a bowl add the powdered sugar, gradually add milk a tablespoon at a time while continuously mixing. Continue mixing until you achieve a silky and thick consistency. Set aside.

11. When your pastry is cool enough to handle, cut each pasty in the middle using a bread knife. Spread a good amount of custard on top then close the puff pastry. Drizzle sugar glazing on top then set aside. Do it with the rest of the puff pastry. Serve.

Raymund. “Napoleones.” Ang Sarap. Ang Sarap, September 24, 2021. https://www.angsarap.net/2021/09/24/napoleones/.

Signifigance of Sugarcane in the Philippines

Penguin Random House

IBSN: 978-8-45-643478-5

Author: Casie Bear

Graphic Design: Casie Bear

Editorial Design: Casie Bear

Fonts:

Ganache — Laura Worthington

CC Sign Language — John

Roshell & Richard Starkings

Interstate — Tobias Frere-Jones

Colophon Colophon

9“ × 9“

Penguin Random House © 2023

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise, without the prior written permission from the authors and the publisher.

Signifigance Sugarcane

Signifigance Sugarcane

of in the Philippines

Most people don’t think about their country’s exporting crops or if there’s a shift with what items are coming out of that country, since it normally doesn’t affect much. However, it takes one seemingly minor change to how a country is making their money and it can lead into major change for better or for the worse. In the Philippines, sugarcane is one of the top exports. When that was taken away, it lead into a moment of turmoil and misery. But what came through was Filipino perserverence and created culture still celebrated today.

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