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All About Tuna: Life and Festivity in General Santos City!

February 18th, 2021 | Share via:

More than being the hometown of the worldwide famous boxing personality Manny Pacquiao, General Santos City (famously referred to as GenSan) is the commercial and entertainment center of the SOCCSKSARGEN region. It has all the amenities for its locals as an urban center. Looking deeper from its fame, GenSan is also a perfect home given the rich tradition and ideal living experience the place offers.

Celebrating GenSan’s Vibrant Culture

The city of General Santos continues to preserve its traditions to keep the culture alive. Dubbed as the “Tuna Capital of the Philippines”, one of the famous tourist-attracting events in the place is the annual week-long Tuna Festival held every September.

The Tuna Festival is the biggest fiesta in GenSan since 1988. This festival celebrates the city’s main product: Tuna. GenSan is the largest producer of Sashimi-grade Tuna in the Philippines.

The beginning of the festival is marked by an extravagant “Tuna Float Parade”. The people enjoy and fall in love with the floats which commonly have an ocean and Tuna fish theme, showcasing the province’s bountiful catch.

Tuna Float Parade
Tuna Float Parade

Source: The Wandering Juan

Throughout the week-long celebration, culinary events are held every night. The Tuna Culinary Skills competition is one of the most awaited events in the festival and is worth attending. Along the night streets of GenSan, there are hundreds of kilos of Tuna lined up to be grilled, referred to as “Sugbahan sa Dalan”. This is a great opportunity, especially for tourists, to try some free and fresh Tuna dishes. Given the high number of fish in the streets, the seafood scent is rampant all over the place.

“Sugbahan sa Dalan”
“Sugbahan sa Dalan”

Source: LGU-Gensan Facebook Page

There is also the usual physically-demanding sports competition. These competitions during the Tuna Festival are all water-related. The different water sports held during the festival are the Dragon Boat Race or “Bancarera”, the Skim Boarding Competition, and the Jet Ski Challenge.

Dragon Boat Race
Dragon Boat Race

Source: minbull

Of course, festivals are incomplete without a vibrant street dancing competition. For “Parada sa Dagat, locals are dressed in colorful outfits. They captivate the audience with their bright smiles and expressive dances. Most of the locals and tourists enjoy this part of the festival.

Source: Constantine Agustin via Flickr

A beauty pageant is commonly held in Filipino festivals, and it is one of the highlights of the Tuna Festival. Mr. and Ms. Tourism of General Santos City are crowned at the end of the night. This pageant is also a way to promote the beautiful city of General Santos. 

During the week-long celebration of the Tuna Festival, tourists also enjoy doing side-trips, since there are several top attractions in the neighboring places of GenSan: Sultan Kudarat, Sarangani, and Davao.

Day-to-day Life in GenSan

After having a glimpse of the city’s tradition, GenSan also has a lot more to give to its people when it comes to opportunities and the quality of life.

One of the ideal ventures to consider in this place in South Cotabato is real estate. Real estate is not just a short-term investment plan. One of the top advantages investors enjoy is the continuous appreciation of their capital assets. This means that the property’s value will be worth more than when it was initially bought.

Choosing the right real estate property to invest in can be a challenge given the increasing number of real estate developers in the country. One of the rising top players that is worthwhile to consider is Lessandra, a homebuilder offering quality and affordable house and lot in the Philippines. Present all over the country, this home and community developer has extended its scope of offering affordable homes to  General Santos.

Located in Conel Road, Barangay San Isidro, Lessandra GenSan brings a quality life to its current and future homeowners. Lessandra’s affordable house and lots in General Santos City is just a few minutes away from establishments like schools, supermarkets, shopping malls, hospitals, airports, and other living necessities.

Living in General Santos City means living a promising life filled with convenience and vibrant culture. This opens a chance for a well-rounded life for the prospective homebuyers of Lessandra's affordable house and lot for sale in General Santos. Added with the perk of a nature-rich environment, a maaliwalas start is guaranteed inside the Lessandra homes in the community of Lessandra General Santos.