The Mindanao Week

TM AstigFest in Gen San and Globe Rock X-pressions in Iligan.

To be very honest, my Gen San experience was waaay much better than Iligan. The Tuna Fest is much grander than Iligan's Fiesta in honor of St. Michael the Archangel (the famous angel you see in a gin bottle, trampling a demon on his feet).

Ok, quick facts. Gen. Santos City is in South Cotabato in Southern Mindanao while Iligan is in Lanao del Norte in the Northwestern part of Mindanao (It's very near my lola's hometown of Kolambugan famously bombed by the MILF after the MOA-AD peace settlement failed due to the Manila-centric/imperialist attitude of many Filipino politicians). (Meanwhile,) Gen San is known for its Tuna industry which supplies the Philippines, and the world, with tuna locally called "bariles." Iligan on the other hand is known for the number of waterfalls that are present in the city most famous of which is the Maria Cristina, which I didn't even bothered going to because I had no time. It's 30 mins. away from the city. The really sad thing about doing events all around the country is being in places of beauty and interest and not having time to visit them because you maximize your time preparing for the event before execution and then leave earliest after. Sight-seeing, if you really want to, should be squeezed in between activities. Like going to the plaza on your way to a meeting.

Anyway, what else did I like about the Gen San trip:

1. The overall TM brand experience was very strong. From the recorida, to the merch, to the spiels, you will only see/hear one phrase: Astig tayo dito! The brand's tagline. The host shouts "TM!" and the people respond by shouting "astig tayo dito!" And that's truly asteeeg my friends. Plus, everything was red from the tents, to the perimeter walls to the hosts' shirt. Red is the TM color and everyone, after going to the event, would have known it after. TM = red + astig tayo dito. Solid brand experience.

2. Everything was much nicer. Gen San has a big airport connected to the city by a big road that gives you a kick-ass view of the bay and the surrounding mountains. The city has better roads, more upscale establishments, and newer and nicer hotels.

3. The Tuna Fest was really grander with huge floats, longer parades, more engaged brands (I saw a Smart parade right after our recorida van which almost got us into a fight, and then on the road we came across a Sun Cell recorida), more people everywhere, more etc. Our concert alone was attended by 12,164 people.

4. Food. Gen San had more food, good food. We ate in a roadside grill with lotsa lotsa sea stuff getting grilled (duh) in front. Funny, remarkably pinoy experience: inside the restaurant named "Bar Ko ("my bar" but put together spells "barko," which means "ship" in allusion to the ships used in fishing tuna, i think)" were two posters displayed: one where the DTI (Dept. of Trade and Industry) gives praise to the establishment for joining a food exhibit and another one where the DTI and the local government gives warning to the establishment of getting closed for having no permit to operate. Funny ha... ;p

But Iligan was surprising.

From CDO, the road to Iligan was long and winding but very scenic. The view of the still and clear waters of Iligan Bay was calming (reminded me of Lamon bay in Atimonan, Quezon province). I was also surprised by the big industries in Iligan. Given its (in my perspective) small population, it had big factories of cement, liquors and others. I also know, although I didn't see, that Maria Cristina hosts either a geothermal or a hydro powerplant.

Also surprising were the Iliganons themselves. First off, they're a happy bunch. Blame the fiesta, but you see people smiling everywhere. In the concert, I remember the crowd booing a game contestant after asking the crowd to keep quiet. But after her performance and after her cheering of "Viva San Miguel!" the crowd responded by shouting "Viva!" too. Goosebumps. Second, maybe because of Urbandub, I saw a more affluent bunch of kids attending this concert versus that in Gen San (maybe because it's Parokya ni Edgar). And the young girls, given that the city is almost always under threat of terrorist violence due to Islamist-secessionist activities in the nearby towns, were unafraid to show their skin. Waw. That's what you call fighting attitude.

(Reflection on Muslim separatist movement in the other blog, soon.)

Mindanao. You are a continent in your own. I hope to continue doing various events in your cities of wildly varying cultures united by the single attitude of strength in adversity. Viva!