Posted by Webmaster on February 22, 2006

THE "Kalutan ed Dagupan" the main event of the Bangus Festival is still the Guinness World Record holder for longest barbecue, Mayor Benjamin S. Lim declared.

In a press conference held last February 8 at the City Mueum Lim said the latest update on the official website of the Guinness World Records contains the 2003 record of Dagupan City. He added that the city's record is the first to appear on the homepage of the website.

Dagupan posted its longest barbecue length of 1,007.56 meters in 2003 breaking the record of Peru, which had held the longest barbecue record since 1999 with a length of 613 meters.

Lim noted that the city's victory was short-lived. We learned that Turkey (which set a 1,600-meter length of longest barbecue) later broke our record. We were caught in-between twin options: recapture or crown or just sit on laurels and be satisfied for bagging the world record in 2003. Lim said that in the end, the city's will to persevere and to stay on top like that of a true boxing champ prevailed in the people's hearts "We have to win back our world championship crown," he stressed.

"Thus, the city staged a two-kilometer grill last year with over 24,000 bangus cooked simultaneously but the city has yet to receive any confirmation on the latest bid.
Since the latest website of the Guinness however flashes the record of Dagupan in 2003 we can still claim that we are the record holder," he explained.

According to Information Technology champion Gideon Ymasa of the City Mayor's Office the longest barbecue record of Turkey was the one posted on the Guinness Website from 2004-2005. However Ymasa said that the Guiness website has been revised late December of last year. Since then the website has been showing Dagupan's 2003 longest barbecue record.

This means that Turkey may have been stricken out from the record in favor of the victory of Dagupan City, City Information Office head Butch Velasco further explained.
Even as the issue on the city's 2005 grill event remains beclouded, Lim said the city will again stage the barbecue party this year.

I told some media people two days ago that we are no longer bidding for the Guiness record. But we still stage the "Kalutan ed Dagupan" because the "Kalutan" is the soul of the Bangus Festival, the mayor said.

He added that all grill owners who purchased their grills in 2002, 2003 or 2005 are requested to surrender their grills to the Bangus Festival Executive Committee for proper recognition and accreditation as integral part of Dagupan's successful bid.

Their grills will be stamped with the Guinness official logo as a fitting memento of their valuable participation in that record-breaking event and the same grills will be laid out on April 30 this year along A.B. Fernandez Avenue down to Burgos St. for the 5th Kalutan ed Dagupan.

Source: The Pangasinan Star