GenSan celebrates its cultures
General Santos City is synonymous to the world’s besttasting tuna caught off its waters. But beyond being the country’s Tuna Capital, GenSan is a city of divergent cultures, being a frontier land in Mindanao once upon a time.
This kaleidoscope of cultures was brought to the fore as GenSan recently marked its 78th Foundation Day as a town with the multi-awarded Kalilangan Festival.
Derived from the Maguindanaon word “Kalilang” which means celebration, the festival is a social gathering marked by the exchange of amenities among ethnic leaders, elders and townsfolk.
With the theme “Celebrating Cultures, Bridging Borders,” the Festival celebrated the convergence of the lowland Christian population, the Muslim tribes and the indigenous peoples who have made GenSan their home for generations.
GenSan City mayor Ronnel Rivera said the festivity is a tribute to its founding pioneers and early inhabitants, emphasizing their shared histories, cultural heritage, tapestry of traditions and harmonious co-existence.
The event, now on its 28th edition, emphasized the integration of the membernations of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), whose 50th anniversary is being hosted by the Philippines this year.
Kalilangan’s major events included the Asyan Pavilion Cultural Village at the City Oval which showcased the rich heritage of the indigenous Blaan and Tboli tribes and the Moro communities.
Highlighting the festival was the Parada ng Lahi: Kadena de Amor, a multi-sectoral parade and wreath-laying ceremony which reenacted the arrival of Gen. Paulino Santos on Feb. 27, 1939 to start a new settlement in southern Mindanao.
The march from the city plaza demonstrated the unity of GenSan’s tri-people.
Santos, administrator of the National Land Settlement Administration of the Commonwealth government under president Manuel Quezon, led the relocation of 62 Christian settlers from Luzon composed mostly of agricultural and trade graduates to cultivate the area.
Rivera said the festival chronicles the growth of the settlement into Dadiangas town and later a city named after the general. Over the years, GenSan has grown into a first-class city and a major urban center in southern Mindanao, the hub of business and tourism gateway of Soccsksargen or Region 12.
Capping the festivity was the Kadsagayan street dance showdown which displayed the cultural dances of the city’s tri-people – the migrant Christian lowlanders, the Moro communities and the indigenous peoples.
Kalilangan has been elevated to the Hall of Fame of the Association of Tourism Officers in the Philippines (ATOP), having won top honors from 2011 to 2013 in the Best Tourism Event (Culture and Arts Category, City Level).