Tinapa takes center stage and puts Pio Duran, Albay on the map

In this coastal town, its main attraction is found on a smoky plate.

While most travelers head to Albay for the majestic view of Mayon Volcano in Legazpi, a coastal town nearby is drawing crowds with a different kind of smoke.

Last Sunday, Pio Duran kicked off its 62nd Founding Anniversary with the 3rd Tinapa Festival—a week-long celebration of the town’s most famous heritage craft. The highlight is a sprawling, 225-meter boodle fight featuring over 300 kilos of tinapa (smoked fish). 

From the classic fried variety to creative local twists like tinapa dinakdakan, sisig, lumpia, embutido, and even a smoky Bicol Express, the feast was a sensuous culinary event.

Often overlooked in favor of Legazpi’s landmarks, Pio Duran’s edge lies in its waters, where smoking fish, or pagtitinapa, is a generational livelihood. Local groups like the Asenso Marigondon Irrigators Association are now elevating the craft, producing gourmet bottled tinapa to bring the taste of Albay to the global pantry.

On the first day, the Tinapa Festival’s boodle fight attracted thousands of local residents and tourists joining in the feast, giving local producers a bigger market to promote their products.