THE year 2019 celebrates the Year of the Earth Pig. Feng Shui experts say that pork delicacies bring good luck. Lechon, or roasted whole pork, is one delicacy prepared in almost all special occasions in the country.
Traditionally, a whole pig is skewered with a fresh bamboo rod and roasted until the skin becomes red and crunchy. Today, it is roasted using a metal pipe since it could be recycled and designed to resist heat on a commercial scale.
History has it that the original roasted whole pig, which was eventually called lechon, was first introduced into the Philippines by the Spanish colonizers. Since then, it has been a part of Filipino culture and tradition. It became a symbol of prosperity among Filipinos that special gatherings like birthdays, baptisms, weddings, anniversaries, Christmas and New Year celebrations would not be complete without the crunchy lechon.
In Santiago City, the lechon enterprise started in the year 1977, when Roger Paraiso Confieso, now 79, supplied live hogs to Mang Tomas Lechon in La Loma, Quezon City.
Confieso saw the potential of putting up his own lechon business. In 1961, even before he migrated to Santiago City with his family, he was already roasting pigs in Tondo, Manila, where he also served as a barrio captain for 12 years.
Initially in Santiago City, he shared his knowledge in the lechon business to three people from Barangays Victory Norte and Rosario who eventually put up their own lechon business.
“The knowledge I shared with you can never be stolen,” Confieso told them in Filipino.
But as the original roast master of Santiago City, Mang Roger remains the favorite as the majority of the people still order lechon from his barn in Barangay Patul.
When asked what makes his lechon popular and the most sought-after, he claims that he maintains the classic taste and quality of his lechon products by using only native hogs. His barn also offers chopped lechon by the kilo as preferred by costumers depending on what part they select. This retail method of selling gives those who cannot afford nor consume a whole lechon the chance to taste his product.
During the holidays like Christmas and New Year, the number of heads for roasting range from 30 to 40 hogs a day.
He started the only lechon barn in Patul Village. Today, his children have also put up their own lechon barns.
Confieso claims that what he started as a solo experimental lechon enterprise grew today and turned his village into a commercial center. He now proudly works hand in hand with his children and grandchildren who put up a place for all occasions dubbed as the Venue that also serves as a catering hub to clients.
As a roast master, Mang Roger has become a lechon icon in Santiago City.