On April 5, the town of Bayambang in Pangasinan bagged the Guinness World Record for the Tallest Bamboo Sculpture: the 50.23-meter high statue of the town’s patron, Saint Vincent Ferrer. The day it was unveiled was actually the 600th death anniversary of its patron saint and the 400th year of the town’s parish church named after the saint.
The structure is made of steel and engineered bamboo, and is taller than two world famous landmarks: the Statue of Liberty in New York City and Christ the Redeemer in Sao Paolo, Brazil. Its construction took 10 months to complete and involved more than 600 workers.
The superstructure of Saint Vincent Ferrer was built to withstand even a magnitude-8 earthquake and was intricately designed using engineered bamboo panels that can last up to 25 – 30 years. It can be seen towering above the neighboring towns of Basista, Bautista, and Alcala.
Watch how the statue was built and erected in this video:Â The Construction of the St. Vincent Ferrer Sculpture
The unveiling of the statue at the Saint Vincent Ferrer Prayer Park in Barangay Bani also coincided with the celebration of the 405th Founding Anniversary of Bayambang. As seen on a livestream of the event on Facebook, thousands of Bayambangueños applauded and cheered when Guinness adjudicator Swapnil Dangarikar formally announced that the Saint Vincent Ferrer statue is officially the Guinness World Record holder for the category of Tallest Bamboo Sculpture.
Bayambang has previously set a Guinness World Record in 2014 for the longest barbecue at eight kilometers during the town’s 400th founding anniversary. It beat Turkey’s record. The record for statue however is a unique one or the first of its kind.
The statue is a project of the Kasama Kita sa Barangay Foundation Inc. and was said to have been conceptualized by Mary Clare Judith Phyllis (wife of Bayambang Mayor Cezar Quiambao), who is a devotee of St. Vincent Ferrer, dubbed as the patron saint of builders because of his fame for “building up” and strengthening the Church through his missionary work, in his teachings, as confessor and adviser. He is the son of St. Dominic.
In case you want to go and see the sculpture, Bayambang is only two to three hours away from Manila. It will be a perfect destination this Holy Week, with maybe a side trip to nearby Minor Basilica of Our Lady of the Rosary of Manaoag.
