From San Miguel, pastillas-making spread to other Philippine provinces such as Cagayan and Masbate.

[1] Initially, pastillas de leche were primarily home-made by carabao-rearing farmers.

A small-scale industry on the food product soon grew, with the pastillas made from either carabao or cow milk or both.

The pabalat tradition is also included in the festival, which involves the display of elaborate paper-cut designs using the pastillas' wrapper material.

Unlike pastillas, however, it is a liquid, and isn't eaten as a candy, but rather as a spread for bread or crackers.