San Rafael Fiesta

We went to my in-law's house today to attend their fiesta. A fiesta is a festival often in celebration of a saint's day. To thank the patron saints for the blessings, the church assigns a feast day for each of them. Today is the Town Fiesta of San Rafael. San Rafael or St. Raphael is one of seven Archangels. He is also the patron of the blind, of happy meetings, of nurses, of physicians and of travelers.

My mother-in-law prepared a nice feast in honor of San Rafael. They invited our family to share the feast. There were lots of Filipino delicacies. It's a pity I wasn't able to take pictures of the delicious food. I simply love my mother-in-laws' special dinuguan. It is a popular Filipino dish also known as pork blood stew or "chocolate pudding". It is a savory stew of blood sausage and simmered in a rich, spicy gravy of pig blood, garlic, chili and vinegar. It's an acquired taste so it's understandable for other cultures to find this dish unusual.

Yohan enjoyed playing with his grandma's fountain. I asked him not to play with it but his grandma said that it was alright as long as he was enjoying himself. Yohan always gets what he wants whenever we visit my in-laws. They spoil him in a way but I guess all grandparents are like that. :D