Pangasinan town brings corn back on streets

RESIDENTS grill some 10,000 corn cobs in Sto. Tomas town, Pangasinan province, on Monday to mark the town’s 106th year founding anniversary. The town set the Guinness World Record for the world’s longest barbecue in 2008. WILLIE LOMIBAO/CONTRIBUTOR

STO. TOMAS, Pangasinan—Residents of this agricultural town on Monday grilled thousands of corn cobs on a highway to mark its 106th founding anniversary.

Mayor Timoteo Villar III said the activity was also a celebration of the town’s achievement six years ago when it landed the Guinness World Record for putting up the world’s longest barbecue.

In February 2008, during its centennial, this town built a 3,803.96-meter-long barbecue to set a new world record, erasing the 1,290.4-meter record set in November 2006 by residents of Hermosillo, Mexico.

However, Sto. Tomas town held the record for only a year and nine months.

In November 2009, residents of Gaziantep in Turkey created a 6,166-meter-long barbecue.

Bayambang town will attempt to surpass Turkey’s record on April 5 during its 400th founding anniversary celebration.

“We are all here today to demonstrate our unity as residents of this town,” Villar said.

During the celebration, 106 grills, measuring 2.5 meters each, lined the road. At least 10,000 corn cobs were grilled in the activity, which lasted for an hour.

The grilled corn cobs were later distributed to spectators and visitors, many of them balikbayan, or Sto. Tomas natives now based abroad who went home to attend the town’s fiesta.

Municipal agriculturist Crisanto Balila said the corn variety used in the activity was the hybrid white glutinous corn, this town’s main product.

At least 600 hectares of this town’s total area of 1,572.42 ha are planted with corn. Gabriel Cardinoza, Inquirer Northern Luzon