Sunday, May 6, 2018

80. 15 KAPAMPANGAN PLACES, THEIR MONICKERS AND MOTTOS

The use of short descriptive phrases--sobriquets, nicknames, monickers-- to describe places goes a long way back in history. "Pearl of the Orient" (Perla del Oriente) was first used in 1571 for Manila, now used as a sobriquet for the whole country. Central Luzon, which includes Pampanga, was dubbed as the "Rice Granary of the Philippines". Pampanga, of course, lays claim to the title of "Culinary Capital of the Philippines". Not all place nicknames, however, are positive in nature-- some are insulting, some amusing, many hilarious --but this naming tradition lives on today. Recently, town mottos, too, are being appended to rally people to support their municipality's vision/mission. 

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ANGELES CITY
Angeles earned its reputation as a center of entertainment with the rise of its barangay, Balibago as a recreation and leisure hub for serving both American and local patrons. The city’s proximity to Clark Air Base jumpstarted the establishments of night clubs, pubs, bars and gambling dens which lined the main avenue of Balibago, as well as the nearby perimeter roads known as Fields and Friendship Avenue. The entertainment strip was lit with neon marquees with Las Vegas inspired names such as Copa Cabana, Nina’s Papagayo, Little brown Jug, and Tropicana. Like Los Angeles, it was dubbed as the “City of Angels”, as it was named for both the founder (Angel Pantaleon de Miranda) and titular patrons  (Los Angeles Custodios).  The Casino Filipino, run by PAGCOR, is also located in Balibago.
“Abe-abe…Saup-saup…Agyu Tamu!” (Together...Helping Each Other...We Can!)


APALIT 
Apalit is the last town of Pampanga as one goes south to Manila, hence its nickname. The town is also famous for its long tradition in blacksmithing, and  the best bolos are said to come from Apalit. Today, th town doe not only produce bladed weapons like machetes and knives, but also domestic steel tools like rakes, hoes, anvils, picks, shovels and garden implements.
“Aplit…Apalit!” (Quicken the Pace...Apalit!)


BACOLOR
Like the ancient capital of Greece—Athens—Bacolor was the undisputed seat of arts and culture of the province, with the highest concentration of poets, artists, zarzuela performers, musicians, singers and writers. Bacolor is the proud home of such literary greats  as Juan Crisostomo Soto, Felix Galura, Luisa Gonzaga de Leon, Jose Gutierrez David, Mariano Proceso Pabalan Byron, Anselmo Fajardo, Zoilo Hilario, among others. Bacolor was also the country’s capital for two years during the Spanish colonial times when Manila was invaded by the British.
“Pluribus Unum, Non Plus Ultra" (Out of Many, No Further and Beyond)”


CAPAS
Capas is one of the richest, most historic towns of Tarlac,  the final site of the infamous Bataan Death March. It is a trekkers’ and mountaineers’ paradise as the challenging Mount Pinatubo treks were first offered by this town, which today continues to  attract thousands of tourists every year, unprecedented in number. This accounts for its latest nicknames as Tarlac’s tourism capital.
"Paspas..Capas!" (Make Haste, Capas!)


DAU
Camp Stotsenburg established its  Post Exchange in Dau, which presaged its rise from a barrio of Mabalacat to  the country's PX capital in the 70s. With the relaxation of Clark rules, PX goods flowed out of the base in abundance, to be resold later in stores  that quickly sprouted like mushrooms along MacArthur Highway of Dau. The completion of the North Expressway that linked Dau to Manila facilitated the great American experience as visitors trooped to Dau to buy Pringles, Oreos, Kellogg’s Corn Flakes, Hershey’s Chocolates, Almond Rocha, Hanes and Fruit of the Loom shirts, imported rubber shoes, branded cosmetics, apples and grapes, among others. The reversal of fortune began with the departure of American servicemen facilitated by the Pinatubo eruption of 1991. Business took a turn for the worse when PX Clubs opened at Clark-which extended PX shopping privileges to Filipinos.  Today, Dau shops continue to flourish, with toilet fixtures, military uniforms, various tools, and used surplus items replacing the once in-demand PX goods.


FLORIDABLANCA
The third largest municipality in the province has so much potential waiting to be untapped that the municipal government came up with a kilometric monicker for the province that reads more like a vision.
“Abe-abe king Panyulung!” (Together in Advancement)


LUBAO
The ancient town of Lubao (old name: Baba) has the sole distinction of producing two presidents: Diosdado Pangan Macapagal (b. Sep. 28, 1910/d. Apr. 21, 1997), who served from 1961-1965 as our ninth President, and daughter Gloria Macapagal Arroyo ( b.Apr. 5, 1947 ), who was our 14th President,  from 2001 until 2010.


MABALACAT
Over 97% of Clark Economic Zone is on Mabalacat land, hence the claim as Clarks economic breadbasket. ‘Makati of the North’ is a monicker coined by the long-running Morales Administration, which came across as too pretentious. The only similarity is, like the Binays of Makati, Morales’ term was a long one, stepping down only 2017, after 22 years in power. The Kamikaze monicker is in reference to the Divine Wind suicide attacks of Japan that was planned in the home of local Mabalacat resident,  Marcos Santos, during the last years of World War II.
“Misanmetung, Mabalacat! (United for once, Mabalacat!)


MACABEBE
In the art of peddling, perhaps no one can compare to the selling skills of the Macabebe cloth vendors. In fact, Macabebe takes pride in being called “Home of the Peddlers”, a reputation built by these native vendors who roamed across the Archipelago, travelling on foot and in groups of two or more, selling the famous ‘Macabebe cloth’—actually, Manila-bought fabrics. These humble, hardworking cloth vendors infused a lot of money into their town and in the 1930s, were largely responsible for pumping up Macabebe’s economy.
"Memalen Macabebe, tapat makiabe!" (Macabebe townfolks are loyal friends)


MAGALANG
Magalang aspires to become the sweet tamarind capital of the Philippines through a locally-propagated tamarind variety known as Aglibut. The late Professor Andres Aglibut, a consultant of Pampanga Agricultural College, successfully developed a  sampaluk type noted for it sour-sweet taste and juicy dark brown flesh. This is in consonance with the town’s “farm tourism” program which aims to revitalize the farm industry of this scenic, agricultural town.
“One Magalang! Metung King Panyulung!” (One Magalang, One in our Stride to Progress)


MINALIN
The town is known as the "Egg Basket of Central Luzon" because of its large scale production of eggs and chickens. According to the municipal government, Minalin earns P30 million per month or P1 million per day from the sales of eggs. There are 22 poultry raisers who own around 280,000 chickens. These chickens produce 479,100 eggs per day. So important is this egg industry that a laying chicken is even included in its town seal.


SAN FERNANDO
The capital city of San Fernando is popularly known as the "Christmas Capital of the Philippines" because of its traditional giant Christmas lantern industry. The establishment of the Paskuhan Village in 1990 served to reinforce its image, but the lantern-shaped complex folded up after the Pinatubo eruption and fell into disarray. Its Giant Lantern Festival held every December remains the city’s biggest attraction, in which the city’s barangays field their biggest and brightest lantern in a friendly competition attended by thousands of local and international tourists.


SAN LUIS
San Luis’ most famous son is the Huk Supremo, Luis Mangalus Taruc, who was born in the barrio of sta. Monica, of peasant parents on June 21, 1913. Following the Japanese invasion, Taruc formed the Hukbalahap (Hukbo ng Bayan Laban sa Hapon), along with Casto Alejandrino and other guerillas, in central Luzon in 1942.  San Luis became one of the hotbeds of Huk activities in the 50s and 60s. in 2017, Taruc was recognizedas a hero by the National Historical Commission of the Philippines (NCHP) for his role the struggle for  agrarian reforms.


SANTA RITA
Sugarcane was the cash crop that made Pampanga so rich, Sta. Rita included. The town is famous for its sweet delicacies-- turrones de casuy (wafer paper-wrapped cashew nougats) and sans rival (rich pastry made with layers of buttercream, meringue, and chopped cashew nuts). Ocampo-Lansang made these treats famous, and which in turn, gave the town’s nickname.
 “Sesen taya ing Santa Rita” (Let's care for Sta. Rita)


SANTO TOMAS
Santo Tomas is the smallest town of Pampanga but it has many unique homegrown industries like red clay pottery and funeral casket-making. The latter products are known for their beauty and fine quality,  made by craftsmen from about 100 registered enterprises, not to mention 200 backyard producers.  Its nickname as the casket capital of the country was given by the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) in the 1980s, and its reputation shows no sign of waning. It is estimated currently, that 40% of the town depends on the coffin-making industry. It has been the tradition of Sto. Tomas town to donate coffins to affected provinces during times of calamities.

SOURCES:
Dau: Photo by Jun Malig, Inquirer Central Luzon
Floridablanca: www.pampangatalents.com
Photo: by Chris Navarro,

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