EVERY time the province of Negros Occidental is mentioned, one essential product comes to mind: sugar. With almost half of the country’s sugar production coming from this place, there is a reason for the cliché about Negros Occidental being a “sweet province.”
Its sweetness comes from the sugar granules. It’s not sweet if we get diabetes. According to the World Health Organization, the number of people with diabetes has risen from 108 million in 1980 to 422 million in 2014.
So it’s nothing to brag about. The number of people with diabetes has risen from 108 million in 1980 to 422 million in 2014. So don’t expect tourists to flock to Negros if they run the risks of getting the disease.
I have yet to meet a guy who welcomes a major cause of blindness, kidney failure, heart attacks, stroke and lower limb amputation.
Negros has expanded its tourism come-on beyond sugar. Governor Eugenio José Lacson welcomes culinary adventures during the ongoing 19th Provincial Tourism Week celebration.
“After many years, Negrenses have already developed the same kind of tastes,” he said, adding “it is a challenge to Negrenses to also innovate in the way we prepare our food because we cannot expect visitors to keep coming back here with the same kind of food.”
“When we talk about the famous Negrense hospitality, what first comes to mind are the gracious people and our cuisine,” he said.
Meaning sweet people. Malambing. It comes naturally especially from our Negrense lasses.
Governor Lacson took pride that more than just sugar, Negros Occidental is known for its cuisine grilled food (inasal, pork, soups), buttered, steamed, grilled, stewed, fried, or even kinilaw (ceviche). And yes, sugar for its delicacies—(pastries and desserts).
Lacson said a lot of visitors coming from different parts of the country and the world would always mention about the food of Negros. My balikbayan brother and his family want to visit Bacolod for the grilled food: inasal, seafood. He’ll be surprised there’s more than inasal.
Lacson stressed that food is an experience. Take it from the Metro-Manila-based national coordinators of the Prayer and Life Workshops.
The governor emphasized the preservation of the heritage and heirloom of recipes.
“I am very confident that Negrenses will always come up with different cuisine,” he said, adding that “our food tourism will continually gain momentum and will put Negros Occidental in the map of the best global food destinations.” Amen.
The food parade has become an annual activity during the tourism week celebration mainly aimed at showcasing some of the best delicacies and cuisine of the 32 cities and municipalities in the province.