BUGLASAN FESTIVAL 2026 - 2ND RUNNER-UP: BODBOD FESTIVAL SA TANJAY CITY!

The Bodbod Festival (or Bodbod sa Tanjay Festival) is the signature cultural, culinary, and street-dancing celebration of Tanjay City in Negros Oriental. Held annually in December as part of the city's Christmas festivities—and represented prominently each October during the provincial Buglasan Festival—it honors Tanjay's most famous product: Bodbod. What is Bodbod? Bodbod is a traditional Filipino rice cake (suman) made of glutinous rice (locally termed budburon in Tanjay), coconut milk, sugar, and a hint of salt. Wrapped in wilted banana leaves and steamed, Tanjay's version is uniquely famous for two key details: Always Sold in Pairs: Tanjay bodbod is traditionally tied together in twos. Bodbod tsokolate: A popular variant features a center strip of dark, rich tsokolate (native cacao tbla), giving it a chocolate core that pairs perfectly with a warm cup of hot cocoa (sikwate). Because Tanjay sits on fertile flatlands fed by the Tanjay River, the area produces coconut, sugarcane, and glutinous rice—the exact ingredients required for this iconic delicacy.