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In a simple yet meaningful program, General Santos City Mayor Jun Acharon unveiled to the employees of the City Hall during their flag-raising ceremony just recently, the official icon/logo of the new city brand, “Magandang GenSan“.

THE OFFICIAL MAGANDANG GENSAN LOGO AND ICON

BACKGROUND OF THE MAGANDANG GENSAN LOGO/ICON

The phrase “Magandang GenSan” first came out of the lips of the mayor sometime in the later part of 2005 when he started using it as a pleasantry and salutation in his speeches, printed messages and public appearances.

In February 2006, during his State of the City Address, the phrase was substantiated when he pronounced that, “Magandang GenSan” is not only a greeting, it is a conviction… it is not only words, it is a statement of hope… it is not only a mission, it is a reflection of character.  In short, “Magandang GenSan” is a shortened paraphrase of the city’s vision.”

Now, almost three years to that day, Magandang GenSan has become a standard greeting among the “generals”, whether in telephone pleasantries, large gatherings, conventions and the like.  During the 2nd Mindanao Bloggers Summit hosted by the city, I also introduced that phrase to the more than a hundred participants and have urged GenSan-based bloggers to continually using it.

Finally, this year, the good mayor of GenSan has chosen to give the phrase a visual and tangible dimension, aimed at intensifying the awareness of such initiative, which in turn encourages stronger participation of the “generals” in selling their city to the world.

RATIONALE OF THE MAGANDANG GENSAN LOGO/ICON

Branding is essential in advertising.  Significant to it is a visual component that carries the character and image of the product being sold or advertised.  The graphical rendition of Magandang GenSan – as the shortened phrase of the city’s vision – is a visual reflection of the city’s image and character: vibrant, resilient, progressive, global.  This project is therefore designed to bring to the fore these characteristics depicted through a powerful graphical design or icon.  This icon will be the carrier of that brand.

Bt the end goal of packaging the city does not end in the icon alone.  Total packaging of that brand cascades into different programs and projects which must substantiate what the icon depicts.  Tourism development programs being formulated gear towards that end.  This project is an icing on the cake, so to speak.

THE “MAGANDANG GENSAN ICON/LOGO” DESIGN

The visual rendering of Magandang GenSan icon/logo in its simplicity, conveys:

COURAGE AND RESILIENCE: The military color is suggestive of a “General” lending itself as a color of strength and resilience which the city and every General, imbues.

HARMONY IN DIVERSITY: The multicolor wave patterns of the Magandang GenSan Logo/icon represent the diversity of cultures in harmonious fusion, portraying a gracious community connected in its history and heritage.

WEALTH OF WATERS: The fusion of patterns is an abstraction of the waves, depicting a city by the bay brimming with wealth of waters.

GLOBAL READINESS: The modernist and minimalist graphics portray an uncluttered direction of governance that paves a clear and welcoming way for investments, ready for the world.

The MAGANDANG GENSAN icon is a stamp of excellence, a mark of distinction.

After  launching this campaign within the local government and all its departments who will adopt the icon in all their letterheads, print and broadcast materials, plus some other promotional schemes, in a few weeks, there will be a print and media broadcast campaign to launch it to the city’s different communities.

I am very positive that with all the mechanics of implementation in place, in just a couple of months, the whole country and the whole world who has grown accustomed to such iconic catchphrases as “Amazing Thailand“, “Malaysia, Truly Asia“, “Incredible India“, among others will be pleasantly surprised that a glorious city by the bay, in an island in the Pacific has her very own “Magandang GenSan”.

SOURCE:  City Economic Management & Cooperative Development Office

Okey guys.  Let us try to make this short and sweet.

Finally, after last night’s intense debate and discussion among the judges of Bariles Republic’s David Pomeranz Concert in GenSan Blog Contest, including moi, SOCCSARGEN’s #1 blog is now ready to release the winning blogs from out of the 16 entries.

Due to their exceptionally written posts, the 5 best blogs whose authors will each receive NOT ONLY ONE (as originally announced) but TWO VIP TICKETS to David Pomeranz Concert in GenSan on February 14, 2009 plus ONE GIFT CERTIFICATE each worth  P1,000 from Grab A Crab Restaurant are:  (Click on their links to read their posts.)

A Southern Shutter

KnowRead/KnoWrite

Anything Goes

Rammyboi: Otaku’s Notes

Rosilie: My Blog

Congratulations to blog authors Tanchi, Gilbert, Sheng, Rammyboi and Rosilie for coming up with such delightfully conceptualized and artistically well-done posts which tug at your heartstrings (well, at least for the judges).  :)

As for the other 11 blog entries which we feel were also nicely-written posts, but did not make it, do not despair.

Bariles Republic is very proud to announce that because of their efforts, these blog authors will each receive 2 General Admission tickets to the David Pomeranz in GenSan Concert!!!!  There is one for you and one for your loved one!

Take a bow, Ariel, Richard, Jes, Jinky, Lainy, Tammyrose, Vilma, Natemarx, Atikon, Dave, and Xiao.

The awarding of your prizes for the David Pomeranz in GenSan Concert will be on Tuesday, 3pm at the 2nd floor of Coffee Club 101.

Please be there!

By the way, make sure you have subscribed to Bariles Republic or else your prizes will be forfeited.

The Bariles Republic’s David Pomeranz Concert in GenSan Blog Contest is sponsored by Grab A Club Restaurant, Coffee Club 101, Dreamwork Ventures and High Frequency Productions.  Tickets to the February 14, 2009 Concert at Gen. Santos City Gym are still available.  Please call (083) 303-0060, 0919-8912259 or 0917-3639191.

Bariles has a question to all you lovebirds out there.

Have you decided where you want to dine on Valentine’s Day before you proceed to the General Santos Gym in Lagao for the David Pomeranz Concert?

If you have not, and is still in a quandary on where to go, then do not fret.  Starting today, Bariles Republic will be running a series of posts or articles on the various Valentine Offerings that will be available for everyone from GenSan’s various dining establishments.

And for our initial salvo, let me present to you Marasa Grill’s “My Pinoy Valentine”.

Marasa Grill, located at Kadulasan Street is coming up with a Filipino Buffet Dinner at only P250.   “Marasa” means “tasty” or “delicious”in the Waray dialect and you guess it right, the owner, Kring Macion is a Waray who happens to be the president of the General Santos City Tourism Association.

GenSan Map showing Marasa Grill along Crisologo de Juan or Kadulasan Street

Marasa Grill which used to be purely a homey turo-turo style eatery catering mostly to the lunch crowd has now evolved into a two-storey affair, with a balcony and airconditioned multi-purpose function room to boot.  

I liked going there from time to time if I want to escape from the dull, over-commercialized menu of the fastfoods at the malls.  At Marasa’s, not only will you be greeted by the warm welcoming smiles of Kring but will be surprised that your other friends and their officemates are also taking their lunch there in what is an open-type multi-level eating area which was Kring’s family’s old frontyard.

The menu is composed mostly of old Pinoy reliables, cooked in Kring’s no-nonsense style.  Sometimes, Kring surprises her guests with her leche flan or sweet mini-cakes making the eating experience more pleasurable than ever.    

And now, for February 14, Kring’s Marasa Grill is offering a purely Filipino buffet at only P250 per head.  And as for entertainment, a rondalla will be on hand to serenade the diners.

And hey, P10 will be donated to the Rotary Club of Greater GenSan‘s feeding program for every customer that night, making Marasa Grill’s “My Pinoy Valentine” a dinner for a good cause.

For inquiries about Marasa Grill’s “My Pinoy Valentine”, please call (083) 552-4628 or 304-5785.

If you have time to spare on February 6 to 13, why not drop by the 2nd level of KCC Mall of GenSan and enjoy the WALAI – an exhibit on the vernacular architecture of Southern Mindanao.  

Walai is a Maranaw term for “home” and the exhibit contains images of vernacular houses of the Southern Philippines presented in architectural drawings and photographs.  According to its proponents, the United Architects of the Philippines – Socsksargen and Cagayan de Oro Chapters, the exhibit pays tribute to the ingenuity of the indigenous peoples of Southern Philippines in they way they design and build their abodes that harmonize with their natural environment and and respond to their actual needs and lifestyles.

According to Architect Michael Ang, the  exhibit  was culled from the NCCA-UAP Cagayan de Oro and Socsksargen Chapters joint project- Walai Pangampong – a documentation project on the vernacular structures in Southern Philippines which covers 18 settlements all over the Island of Mindanao and part of Sulu. The project was able to capture into pictures and sketches many outstanding characteristics of vernacular architecture of Southern Philippines and these images are being presented to the public thru this exhibit. The exhibit presents the images of the vernacular architecture based on their ecosystem setting or general location, namely the upland dwellers, lowland dwellers, and the coastal dwellers.

WALAI was adapted as part of  “PA(ng)LABAS” -a  flagship project of the Committee of Architecture and Allied Arts of the National Commission for Culture and the Arts intended for the Philippine International Arts Exhibit Celebration. “PA(ng)LABAS” is  a multi disciplinary fusion of moving image(palabas) and the exteriority of architecture. Adhering to this theme, the Walai exhibit will also feature an authentic and live building ritual and dance presentation by the T’boli Tribe of South Cotabato and is further complemented by an exhibit of different indigenous building materials used in Southern Philippines.

Through this exhibit, the “generals” will be able to have a glimpse of the aesthetic and functional characteristics of vernacular architecture of Southern Philippines in its rawest and honest form. The simplicity of materials employed with simplicity of methods of construction adapted in these vernacular structures resulted to a distinct architectural form with clear primary masses and spaces that reflects the family and social structure and mores of the indigenous peoples of Southern Philippines.

Whew!  

To visually comprehend all these, make it a date with your loved ones and visit KCC Mall from February 6 and 13 where a pre-Valentine cultural feast await you.  

WALAI – an exhibit on Southern Mindanao’s vernacular architecture is brought to us by UAP Socsksargen and Cagayan de Oro Chapters and the NCCA.  It runs from February  6-13 at the 2nd level of KCC Mall of GenSan.