CITY OF SAN FERNANDO – This Dec. 11, Tuesday, is a special non-working holiday in Pampanga in commemoration of its 441st foundation by Spanish colonizers.
To local folk, it’s Aldo ning Pampanga (Pampanga Day) first marked by virtue of Proclamation No. 2226 of the late Pres. Marcos effective Dec. 11, 1982.
Then Gov. Estelito Mendoza initiated the approval of the proclamation after he consulted with historians on approximately when in 1571 Pampanga was founded.
It was in that year that Pampanga was founded by the Spanish conquistador, Martín de Goiti. The date Dec. 11, however, was approximated by Mendoza in consultation with local historians and writers.
Gov. Lilia Pineda urged yesterday all Kapampangans to join the activities slated for the commemoration as she noted Pampanga’s being the oldest province in the country.
The name Pampanga derived from the native Kapampangan words “pangpang ilog” meaning “riverside” with reference to early Malayan settlements along the Rio Grande de Pampanga.
In the 16th century, the Spaniards subdivided Pampanga into towns or pueblos, which were further subdivided into districts or barrios and in some cases into royal and private estates or encomiendas.
Pampanga’s territorial area then covered portions of the provinces of Bataan, Bulacan, Nueva Ecija, Pangasinan, Tarlac and Zambales. Some historians romantically referred to the area as Pampanga empire.
Pampanga which is about 850 square miles in area and presently inhabited by more than 1.5 million people, had its present borders drawn in 1873.
Many parts of Pampanga were submerged in lahar in the aftermath of the eruption of Mt. Pinatubo in 1991. The province since then has undergone significant rehabilitation.
