Queseo Festival Held in Appreciation of Cheese From Carabao’s Milk

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QUESEO FESTIVAL

Photo from: https://twitter.com/cebugovph/status/758216985435975680

The queseo is a cheese delicacy made from carabao’s milk. The traditional method of making the delicacy is meticulous, but the final product is distinctively creamy. It is best paired with crackers, biscuits, or piping-hot pandesal. The queseo is the product highlighted by the Municipality of Compostela in their annual festival, the Queseo Festival.

The queseo is a livelihood product of many residents of the mountain barangays of the town. The festival was created to facilitate the promotion of the product. It was necessary to develop a dance routine mimicking the tedious process of making the queseo. After careful analysis of the movements in the process along with a little imagination, seven main dance steps were created for the festival.

The seven main dance steps showing the process of making the queseo are as follows:

Limpyo – showing the act of cleaning the breast part of the carabao
Puga sa Gatas – demonstrating the milking of the carabalo
Sa-an – showing the act of screening the milk with a mesh
Init kaldero – representing the heating of the cauldron with burned wood
Huwad suka – showing the act of pouring vinegar to heated milk and stirring
Hulma – demonstrating the molding of the cheese)
Putos – representing the wrapping of the cheese with banana leaf strips

Photo from: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YsrkkmX4DOs

Another festival for Compostela that highlighted one of the local products — the Kiseyo Festival. The festivity is about the much sought-after dairy product in Compostela which is the kiseyo or white cheese.

The festival is an addition to Compostela’s pride and cultural legacy, one that brings to mind the beautiful values and products and promotes tourism as well.

The Church festivities also serve as connection for Compostela-born people who are now living in other countries. Annual town fiestas celebrated by the church are so ingrained in the consciousness of Filipinos like Compostelanons, so it is no surprise for people living or working far away to make the effort of going home to Compostela every July of each year. Read More: http://www.compostelacebu.com/?pageid=1&newsid=4&category=tourism&wfunc=viewarticle&rightpanel=yes&titlecap=Queseo%20Festival

Photo from: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0xxkHEwkNCM