Maloma Zambales family Fiesta – Philippines

Some of the kids enjoyed karaoke singing along to their favorite Ilocano and Tagalog songs. Was fun to watch :)

Family Fiesta in Maloma Zambales Philippines

Typical rural house in Zambales, Philippines

Maloma, Zambales was the main destination of this trip and the family fiesta to get to meet family and friends and experience true Filipino hospitality and life in provincial Philippines. It was a magic day!

Maloma is a barangay (suburb) of the city San Felipe which is in the province (state) of Zambales on the island Luzon part of the Philippines.

Narrow bridge in the rural part of Zambales across the Maloma River between Laoag and Maloma in San Felipe.

San Felipe according to the 2010 Philippine census had a population of 22,020 with most being Ilocanos, descendants of Ilocos migrants (northern Luzon provinces). San Felipe’s population has been growing and has increased by 41% in the twenty years 1990 to 2010.

Maloma is about 6km north of the main township of San Felipe. It is the largest barangay based on population with it recording a population of 4,608 in the 2010 Philippine census.

Taken from the single lane bridge as it crosses the Maloma River between Laoag and Maloma in Zambales, Philippines

It started with waking up and having breakfast at the Victoria Cole Beach Resort in Laoag about a 6km away on the coast. Fernando from Van’s Unlimited took us for a leisurely drive allowing us to see the country side as we made our way to Maloma.

We did stop a few times to take some photos and walk around a little.

The area was impacted significantly with the 1991 eruption of Mount Pinatubo with the whole area being buried in about 1 meter of volcanic ash. It has recovered fairly well, but locals do tell me it’s not the same as it was.

The Fiesta

Maloma is where my beautiful Patty was born so it was very much a family affair. The rest of this page is photo’s of the fiesta with the people of Maloma.

Patty’s family in Maloma ready for the Fiesta

The pig has been spit roasting over coals since early morning and is ready to be carved

Carving the pig ready for the fiesta

There was no shortage of food this day. Everyone enjoyed and had a lot of fun with family and friends

Some of the kids enjoyed karaoke singing along to their favorite Ilocano and Tagalog songs. Was fun to watch 🙂

Fascinated with getting their picture taken, the kids enjoyed posing with their big smiles

Princess Iya (as I call her) is always smiling and singing.

Cousins in Zambales

Happy Filipino

Princess Iya riding her bike in Maloma. I’m sure she was happy to be there among her friends and family

One of the many rural houses where they raise livestock and grow their own vegetables

The Maloma River at the end of the street where we stayed for the Fiesta. It has apparently changed a lot since the eruption of Mt Pinatubo in June 1991 and the deforestation of the nearby mountains. While still beautiful to see, it’s probably not going to return to its original splendor.

Getting to Maloma

We got to Maloma using a van and driver service from Van’s Unlimited. It’s about 170km from Manila and takes about 4 hours to drive. The map below shows where it is on the main island.

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Trev