13 April 2008 20 views 8 Comments

I got a new header!

This time, it contains images from my own set of photos which i shot even before I ventured into blogging about Gen. Santos City, my birthplace and hometown.

Prominently placed next to my blog name by web artist Dennis Paul Custorio (who designed it) is a photograph of the statue of General Paulino Santos himself, founder of this city to whom it was named.

Next to it is the entrance arch to the Queen Tuna Park, actually the old Lion’s Beach bearing a new name. This beach landmark is meant to herald the city’s reputation as the TUNA CAPITAL of the Philippines, being host to most of the Philippines’ tuna canneries & processors. (TUNA is locally known as BARILES, in Tagalog, hence this blog title.)

The beach itself used to be the docking and unloading area for the hundreds of fishing boats in the 80s, speaking of which are featured in a picture below the arch, a picture I shot at the Fishport Complex, where all these fishing boats now do their trade.

Next we find two young men in their yellow Maguindanaoan attire while in action during the Kulintangan Competition at last year’s Kalilangan Festival (in February). It was good that Dennis included this picture because it showcases one of my city’s famous festivals, the others being the Tuna Festival (in September) and Pasko Sa Gensan (in December). A good number of my blog posts have featured numerous events from these festivals.

Then, to complete the header is a close-up shot of fresh-looking BIG-EYE TUNA SASHIMI, big-eye being the most expensive and tastiest tuna variety of all, complete with green wasabi on the foreground. Yummy-looking right? Just writing about it now makes me want to go rush to Pacific Seas Seafood Market and buy myself a frozen pack for supper.

By the way, those small hill-like formations above the head of the statue of Gen. Santos are from a photograph of a set of brass kulintangs used on the same competition I mentioned earlier.

Again, thanks to Dennis Paul who has been kind enough to patiently redesign the whole thing after a problem with the first header. Now, I really have to take him on a good all-expense paid stay at a nice Davao Hotel very, very soon.