Residents, visitors join in Fil-Am’s annual celebration
Religious, cooking traditions mark Filipino holiday
Reyna Elena Nicole Concepcion of Charles City walks with her escort, Ethan Geerts of Floyd, and their family and friends under the flowered arch at the end of Saturday’s processional. Press photos by Mariah McKenzie
Three girls each representing a virtue of the Virgin Mary stand in line at the Senior Center, waiting to be introduced to the crowd.
Reyna Emperatriz Jean Grace Gifford leads the processional from Immaculate Conception Church to the Charles City Senior Center.
Angels holding 'Hail Mary' letters parade in front of the Reyna Elena.
Chicken Adobo, a Filipino dish served on Saturday.
By Mariah McKenzie
Press correspondent
Saturday, May 28, people from the area came to celebrate Flores de Mayo. Flores De Mayo stands for Flowers of May and is a festival celebrated because of the Blessed Virgin Mary. People came from many counties in Iowa including: Lousa, Muscatine, Cerro Gordo, Wapello, Black Hawk, Mitchell, Howard, and Chickasaw. Included in the cars of spectators there also was a few from Minnesota.
After a mass at the Immaculate Church the gatherers walked as a parade down Clark Street. In the front of the parade were little girls dressed in white to represent angels. Each girl had a letter, together the letters spelled out “Hail Mary.” After the angels came by, next were personifications of other characters associated to the Virgin Mary. The last character was Reyna Elena as portrayed by Nicole Concepcion.
“She’s a really good role model,” said Concepcion.
Reyna Elena represents Saint Helena herself. After Reyna Elena passes by spectators follow behind.
The parade ended at the Charles City Senior Center building where Filipino food was served and the people portraying characters were introduced.
“We do this to remind us of a little bit of our culture,” Arcon Concepcion, the president of the Filipino-American Association of Charles City, said.
One of the most significant foods was Chicken Adobo which is the Philippines national dish. According to Concepcion, the secret to chicken adobo is the basil leaves. A sweeter dish called Buko Pandan was also served. Buko Pandan is a creamy cold soup in which a fragrant grass flavors the cream. In the soup was gelatin noodles and green grapes, the infused cream gives the soup a green color. The flavor is similar to pistachio pudding.
This Flores De Mayo celebration was the eighth one to be held in Charles City. Around a hundred people came out to celebrate.
Chicken Adobo
Ingredients:
2 lb. Chicken, chunked
½ cup vinegar
¼ cup soy sauce
1 medium onion, chopped coarsely
3 cloves garlic, chopped
1 tsp. Ginger root, chopped
2 bay leaves
1 tsp. Whole pepper kernel
2 jalapenos, sliced
Salt to taste
Directions: Mix all the ingredients in a pot, except for the jalapenos. Place the pot over the stovetop on medium heat until the mixture boils. Add jalapenos, then adjust taste with salt. Let the sauce reduce to the desired level or until pork is fully cooked.
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