GenSan News Online Mag

A carpenter rushing work on the coco lumber flooring of the tents to be used for the

flea market section of the main christmas festival area of the oval plaza.

Couples from the mountain village of San Jose stand in attention at their civil wedding rites being administered by GenSan City Mayor Pedro Acharon at the Aspang Elementary School, overlooking Sarangani Bay.

Imelda Grass or more popularly known as Imelda Flower could be seen sprouting all around Gensan. Legend says that it was former First Lady Imelda Marcos who introduced it here in the 70s upon noticing that the area was one hot, arid desert. This thorny grass which is also known as Imelda creeper thrives well in sandy areas and needs minimal water.

These photos were taken at the oval plaza one afternoon with the tents being readied for “Pasko Sa Gensan 2007″ at the background.

Coconut Shell Charcoal or “ULING” from
sArAnGaNi island
unloaded at the old pier at the Lion’s Beach or what is now Queen Tuna Park.
The trip from the island to GenSan normally takes 5-6 hours.
90% of the needs of the islanders there and nearby Balut Island are sourced from the
Tuna Capital
and most of their agricultural produce are also being sold here.

A ROLLING store selling hotcakes with sugar and condensed milk filling priced at P5 each at the Novitiate Compound during a Diocesan GKK Assembly last Sunday. The shakes come in a variety of flavors – mango, avocado and coconut. That’s my niece Paula at the rightmost portion of the picture waiting for her hotcakes.

Folk dancers from a local high school in GenSan smile for my camera in this shot taken after their performance during a competition at the Oval Plaza stage. Despite the searing heat, their troupe managed to perform beautifully to take home the Grand Prize.

This orange and green food cart from Gensan Mayor Acharon is one of the many found in the street corners of the city selling anything from siopao and ice-cold drinks (pictured here) to hotcakes, native delicacies like suman (rice cakes), puto, fresh fruits like green mango, junk food and candies. This is his gift to the city’s mini-Entrepreneurs.

The “generals” came out in full force for the latest road game of the PBA at the Lagao Gym between Barangay Ginebra and Sta. Lucia last Saturday.

Although the game was lopsided in favor of crowd favorite Ginebra, the realtors had their moments with the exploits of Joseph Yeo who scored 24 points.

Photo shows 2nd highest pointer Mark Macapagal of Barangay Ginebra in action.
FINAL SCORE WAS 103-90.

A colorful display of local snack food or “chichiria” are stringed together like christmas lanterns inside one makeshift stall at the Queen Tuna Park. They mainly serve as “pulutan” or “pica-pica” to go with the variety of liquor being peddled there which includes Tanduay Rhum, Generoso Brandy, Matador Brandy, Emperador Brandy, London Gin, Tanduay White and Jamaica Lime Juice.

A pair of LoVeBiRds resting under the shade provided by a dinosaur at GenSan’s Queen Tuna Park (formerly known as Lion’s Beach). Being a weekday afternoon, the beach was deserted except for this couple and a group of park cleaners nearby. The mood turns festive however when throngs of people converge here during weekends.
It’s the only remaining “FREE” Beach in the city.

With cHRistMas just around the corner, ambulant vendors selling star lanterns have started hanging their colorful wares along the shaded sidewalks of Gensan, as shown in this photo taken at one such display at Santiago Boulevard. The smaller ones at the lower portion of the photo are made up of waterproof shiny plastic material and cost from P25 (small) to P65 (large). The ones on top are made up of foil and are priced higher at P45 (small), P85 (medium), P250 (large) and P450 (extra large).

Chanced upon former World Featherweight Champ

rOlaNdO nAvAreTTe at the City Hall

while waiting for his flight ticket to Manila where he was invited to attend the

45th World Boxing Council Convention. He will be presented together with other former and current world boxing champions during the Opening Ceremony on Monday, November 12, 2007.

A regular visitor there where he once punched an employee for picking on him, the

“Bad Boy of Dadiangas” was a picture of patience and sobriety while seated at the reception area, immediately agreeing to this shot and obliging to my request to do the

“boxer’s stance”.

This boy must have been sooo tired helping out his family prepare
flower arrangements for their clients on hAlloWeeN or Kalag-kalag.
Their flower stall at the Gen. Paulino Santos Park in front of the
Our Lady of Peace and Good Voyage Parish Church is one of the many who made a killing with their overpriced MuMs, rOsEs, oRcHiDs, and dAiSiEs
harvested from the plantations at the balmy hills of
Tupi, South Cotabato.

Youngsters choosing from a variety of fried banana, a local snack fare which includes “mArUyA”, “TuRoN”, and “pAypAy” from one of the stalls behind the bleachers of the oval plaza covered court.

Recently transferred there from their old site fronting the MSU Highschool Campus, these
banana-que vendors are again enjoying brisk business from clients at the surrounding offices and schools.