Bamboo statue in Central Luzon town breaks Guinness world record

bamboo statue
The residents of Bayambang have unveiled this statue of their patron Saint Vincent Ferrer. (Photo by Ray B Zambrano).

An agricultural town in central Luzon is won a place in the Guinness Book of Records after building the tallest bamboo statue in the world.

The residents of Bayambang, in Pangasinan province near Tarlac City, have unveiled a 50.23-metre tall statue of their patron Saint Vincent Ferrer.

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Its record-breaking height was confirmed in front of a crowd this morning (Friday, April 5) by Guinness World Records adjudicator Swapnil Dangarikar from India.

The record will be officially announced tonight during an unveiling ceremony.

The statue is made of engineered bamboo over a steel frame. It is located at the Saint Vincent Prayer Park in the town’s Bani neighbourhood. 

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The statue is not the first world record won by the people of Bayambang. In celebration of the town’s 400th year Founding Anniversary on April 5, 2014, residents broke the Guinness world record for the longest barbecue grill. 

The previous record, held in Turkey, of a 6.116 kilometre grill was smashed by eight kilometres of interconnected grill pads simultaneously grilling 24,000 kilos of tilapia [fish].

Who was St Vincent Ferrer?

St Vincent Ferrer, (born c. 1350, Valencia, Aragon—died April 5, 1419, Vannes, France; canonised 1455; feast day April 5), Aragonese friar and renowned preacher who helped to end the Great Western Schism.

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In 1367 he entered the Dominican order at Valencia, where he became professor of theology. In 1394 the antipope Benedict XIII made him his confessor and theologian to his court at Avignon, but five years later Vincent resigned to undertake missions. Travelling through Burgundy, southern France, Switzerland, northern Italy, and Spain, he attracted crowds everywhere and had notable success in winning Jewish converts. He was known for his religious poverty and austerity, including perpetual fasting, and was believed to have the gift of miracles.

In an effort to end the schism, he had tried twice to persuade Benedict to relinquish his papal claim. In 1412 he was one of nine judges who elected Ferdinand I king of Aragon, and he persuaded Ferdinand to cease supporting Benedict, thus helping to end the schism. He lived to see the election of Pope Martin V in November 1417, whereby the Great Western Schism was officially ended. The last two years of his life were devoted to preaching in northern France.

(Biography from Britannica.com)

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