Pilipino Party! Hurray for Lechon!

My Mom's godson's birthday was today. His name is Balong. Okay, it's not really, but that's his nickname. It's Ilocano (a Pilipino language that's spoken where my mom is from) for "child."

I parked the Green Dragon on a side road close to Balong's house. I call my car the Green Dragon, mostly because it's green and it growls when it goes up hills. My old car's name is Maxine. Anyway, just as I placed the Green Dragon in park, my mom turns to me.


Mom: Oh! Is Balong's party even today?

Laura: (with an incredulous look) Mom!

Mom: I don't see any cars parked by there. Maybe it's tomorrow.

Laura: (as she exits the Green Dragon) I don't believe you. (Mom laughs.)


As we walk closer to the house, there is a strange absence of cars. Yet, we can hear children screaming and laughing in the back yard. So we make our way around the house. There, we see the back porch decorated with colorful balloons that say "Happy 5th Birthday" and little children climbing all over the playset. Mom says, "Oh, I guess it's today."

As we open the screen door and walk into the kitchen/dining room, we see many Filipinos, including my Ninan and Ninong (Tagalog for Godmother and Godfather). To our right is a table all laid out with more food than anyone would ever need in a lifetime, and to our left is the lechon (le-chawn).

For Filipinos, lechon means there's a party. There could be lechon in a public bathroom, and within ten minutes there will be a line of Filipinos who could just smell it from outside. Noona and I both had lechon at our graduation parties. There is usually lechon at engagement parties, anniversaries, christenings, weddings, any reason to throw a party is a good enough reason for lechon. Lechon is a whole roast pig.

Of course lots of people, not just Filipinos, have whole pig roasts, but those roast pigs are not usually served whole on a platter, head, feet and tail intact. When we roasted one for my graduation party, a lot of my high school friends asked to see the pig. I said sure, and lead them to the backyard where it was roasting. Almost all who saw it said ewww. The ones who didn't say ewww were either impressed, or pretended like they see a roast pig every day.

Although I say any party is a good reason to have lechon, most Filipinos don't have lechon at every party. It's expensive and it's a hassle if you're cooking it yourself. It's not usually served at Thanksgiving or Christmas (my family usually has turkey and ham for those) but if you do have lechon at a party, it's usually a big deal. I was actually surprised Balong's mom and dad were having lechon for his fifth birthday, since Noona and I never had lechon for our birthdays, and they had lechon for Balong's little sister's christening last year. Lechon is a dish saved for big occasions, and one family, at the most, will serve it every three to ten years. We had lechon for my graduation party, then the next year we had lechon at Noona's, but those were the only two times my parents have served lechon in the whole entire time they've lived in the United States.

If you want Filipinos to come to a party, serve lechon. It'll get them every time. "Oh, you're having a party? I don't know if I can co...what? You're having lechon? I'll be there at three." You have to be there early, so you can eat again at seven.

Eating is a big part of the Filipino culture. If you're invited to a Filipino party, come hungry. As Stink Pants #5 will tell you, even if you're not hungry, they will make you eat. They will make you eat when you're skinny, because you need to gain weight, and they will make you eat when you're not so skinny, because you need to keep your strength up.

Anyway, we got to the party, and there were so many little children. There's a new crop of Filipinos in the Thumb. My generation has come and gone. I did see someone from old times, AN-H. She's the youngest in her family. Her older brother, AF-H, is a stinkbomb and decided to stay home instead of come to the party. I bet he didn't know there was lechon. Their mom, Tita D (tita means aunt), and Mom spoke a lot in a language I can sometimes understand, mostly because of the frequent English interspersed throughout.

Well, we ate, hung around, talked about old times, and ate some more. I didn't even get to talk to Balong that much, he was too busy playing with the new crop. As the party died down, the time came for people to take home food. I'm glad I started early. Mom asked me to make a plate for Dad, and as I was doing it, I noticed a rush of movement and activity behind me. Before I knew it, all the Filipinas were shouting and making plates to take home (They weren't really shouting. Filipinos have a tendency to talk loudly). Some ladies thought ahead enough to bring their own tupperware. That's usually not offensive. It's almost guaranteed that there will be food to take home, because usually there is so much to begin with. Most Filipinas want to be sure they have some food to take home though, so there was a mad rush in the dining room. It's almost like the Filipinas become pirates, and they loot and plunder the table. They don't leave everything in shambles though. A lot of them were nice enough to clean the dishes and table after they were done.

So that was the end of the party. Everyone went home happy with their stomachs (and tupperwares) full of food. I have to remember the next big lechon party in early July. It's not often that there are two lechon parties in one summer, and I'm not gonna miss out!