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Kakanin Squad: Artist reimagines our fave desserts as game characters
A graphic artist from Caloocan has reimagined our favorite kakanin as badass video game characters!
Last Sunday, Patrick Gañas uploaded five illustrations on social media, each depicting a classic Pinoy sticky rice delicacy: puto cheese, suman, bibingka, kutsinta and sapin-sapin.
A magna cum laude graduate from the University of the East–Caloocan, Gañas also uploaded a sixth special character to represent palay or unmilled rice—the precursor state of glutinous rice, the core ingredient of kakanin.
“I started with Lapong, the puto cheese fighter,” Gañas shared with GMA News Online.
He called the glutinous gang the “Kakanin Squad.”
“The whole series followed the idea of the cheese on top of the puto resembling a trojan helm crest, fit for a fighter class of the usual job system trope,” he said.
Gañas said the characters were completely illustrated digitally through Adobe Photoshop.
Asked which among the represented delicacies was his personal favorite, Gañas still deferred to the goodness of puto cheese.
“I like puto cheese most. It reminds me of my childhood; back in Blumentritt when I regularly visit my neighbor to grab some of the homemade freshly baked puto specially made by a late old lady who goes by ‘Lola Nene.’”
Here are the members of the Kakanin Squad in the words of Gañas:
Lapong, the Puto Cheese Fighter from Nene’s Puto Barracks
“A proud member of the purple cake unit, Lapong boasts a yellow hair crest, a mark of the blood champions from the dinuguan war. Raised by war survivors, he upholds the virtue of discipline and courage: traits that made him a good fighter.”
Buri, the Suman Magician from Dolor’s School of Suman
“Buri studied in a long-standing school of magicians that practice the art of Buri wrapping, body covering that allows the wearer to store and control budbud spells. Frail in nature, she turned to books and eventually put magic into practice.”
Tapay, the Bibingka Ranger from Ferino’s House of Bibingka
“He rose from a traditional family that popularizes clay pot training. Tapay, now a full-fledge ranger, has undergone a rite of passage where he took a rigorous test inside a hot palayok, adapting his marksmanship to changes in temperature.”
Kayo, Puto Kutsinta Rogue from Aida’s Kutsinta Monastery
“Raised differently from Lapong, Kayo was trained and shaped in a ramekin, making him suitable for espionage. As a rogue, he had to maximize tools at his disposal, such as the grated coconut meat cloak specially made to conceal weapons and use as throw diversion.”
Latag, Sapin-Sapin Cleric from Dulzeria’s Sapin-Sapin Church
“Latag, as a cleric of the layered trinity, now dons herself accordingly to the holy colors; purple, yellow, and white. Vested with the favors of the colors, she can freely channel the flavor blessings through her latik necklace and mace.”
Palay, Rice Sprite (NPC) from the Central Plains of Luzon
“Palay is a united farmers council representative overseeing the central plain of Luzon. His arms are the guild’s quest masters responsible for organizing missions such as low-rank pest hunts, large-scale crop guarding, and human-combat jobs: to name a few.” – RC, GMA News
