In 1796, Don Angel Pantaleon de Miranda together with his wife, Dona Rosalia de Jesus, started the first clearing of Culiat, then the remotest barrio of San Fernando, Pampanga.
In 1795 Don Angel was Capitan (a position equivalent to Municipal Mayor) of San Fernando. After he had started the clearing of Culiat, some prominent residents of other towns of Pampanga at that time jestingly predicted, "Muti ne ing awak, tuling ne ing tagak, eya maging balen ing Culiat" (The crow will turn white, the heron will turn black, but Culiat will never be a town).
Don Angel refused to listen to all these dire predictions and persisted in the great task which he began. His main reason for developing Culiat was that it was situated on much higher ground than San Fernando where his ricelands were periodically underwater during the rainy season.
Culiat was named after the coarse woody vine [Gnetum indicum (Lour.) Merri. (Gnetaceae)] that abounded in the place at that time. The solemn inauguration of Culiat into a town was accomplished by Don Angel Pantaleon de Miranda. This was on December 8, 1829 and it was given the beautiful name of "Pueblo de Los Angeles" in honor of the Christian name of the founder and the Holy Guardian Angels, the titular patrons of the town.
In the early days, the real fiesta of Angeles was on October 2, the feast of the Holy Guardian Angels (Los Santos Angeles Custodios). The "Naval" was first celebrated in 1834 or 159 years ago, to commemorate the devotion of the early settlers, who, with Dona Rosalia de Jesus used to bring the image of the Blessed Virgin Mary of the Rosary in procession whenever there was a new clearing. It was also because of this belief that the founders of Angeles adopted the Blessed Virgin of the Rosary as the Patroness of Angeles. This devotion of the founders was the reason why the "La Naval" Fiesta has always been celebrated on the 2nd Sunday of October to venerate the Blessed Virgin Mary.
On the last Friday of October, the Fiesta Nang Apung Mamacalulu (Feast of the Lord of the Hoiy Sepulchre) is also celebrated as a form of Thanksgiving. The belief of the people is that they would be protected from untoward incidents, calamities and disasters. The first celebration of the Feast of Apu was on October 29, 1897 by the then Agustinian parish priest Father Rufino Santos Perez. This was preceded by a Quinario or 5-day Novena, in dedication to the Lord's five wounds. This was done after a series of locust infestations coupled with hostilities between Spanish Cazadores and Pampango Insurrectos and two successive fires that razed to the ground the public market in the latter part of 1897.
Angeles has an area of 8,120 hectares and is 97 meters above sea level. By 1850, it had 742 houses and a population of 4,452. It was then producing mainly agricultural products like sugar cane, rice, bananas, ebus (buri) corn, cabo negr (sugar palm), tayum (indigo), langis (sesame), gugu, and sasa (nipa). Angeles gradually evolved into a bustling community and business center mainly from its proximity to Fort Stotsenburg which was established in 1902 and later renamed Clark Air Base during World War II. Being strategically located, Angeles also served as a distribution, trading, and commercial center for the towns of Magalang, Mabalacat, and Porac, all within a 20-kilometer radius.
The greatest role that Angeles played in history was the celebration of the first and only anniversary of our true Philippine Independence.
On January 23, 1899, news was received in the town that General Emilio Aguinaldo proclaimed the inauguration of the Republic of the Philippines. But peace was short-lived. On February 4 of that year Filpino-American hostilities began. The town folks started evacuating to the barrios and other towns.
On May 8, 1899, Generalissimo Emilio Aguinaldo moved his seat of Government from San Isidro, Nueva Ecija, to Angeles. He transformed the Pamintuan Residence (now the Central Bank) into the presidential palace and general headquarters. On that same fateful day in Angeles, General Aguinaldo assumed command of all Filipino forces. During this time the American Army invasion forces were poised at San Fernando, Pampanga. They were being prevented from attacking Angeles by a strong defense line estabished by General Antonio Luna two months before, starting from Guagua, Bacolor, Angeles, Magalang, and Concepcion. This defense line was being held by 15,000 soldiers of the first Filipino Army.
On June 12, 1899, the first anniversary of the Philippine Independence was celebrated in Angeles. It started with a field mass at 7:00 a.m. for thousands of troops then stationed here. The Holy Mass was celebrated at the town square at barrio Talimunduc which is now the area between the Railroad Station and the Apu Chapel at Lourdes Sur. The celebrant was Fr. Vicente Lapuz of Candaba who was then the Filipino co-adjutor of the Angeles Parish Church, the Spanish curate having been rescued by the Spanish troops in 1898.
After the Mass, a big military and civic parade was formed, participated in by many Angelenos. Several Filipino Regiments were led by their officers like General Gregorio del Pilar, Gen. Manuel Tinio, Gen. Urbano Lacuna, Gen. Urbano Morales, Gen. Servillano Aquino and his Tarlac regmiment, Gen. Venancio Concepcion, Gen. Tomas Mascardo, Lt. Manuel Luis Quezon, and a Captain Jose Dizon y San Pedro, who was my paternal grandfather.
According to my mother's Aunt Dona Carlota Henson de Ganzon (who was then in her teens) she and several young ladies were dressed in typical kimona and saya and were made to ride on top of the beautifully decorated carosas (used during processions) and were part of the grand parade.
This massive parade passed through Sto. Rosario St. then veered toward Sto. Entierro St. to pay tribute to and salute Gen. Emilio Aguinaldo who watched this historic event from the second floor window of the old Pamintuan residence amid cheers from the towns-people.
After the parade, the citizens of Angeles opened the doors of their residences to the officers and troops who partook of the famous and delicious Pampango cuisine.
According to eyewitness accounts, Gen. Servillano Aquino and some of his officers proceeded to the house of Don Teofisto Ganzon and his spouse Dona Engracia Gonzales along Miranda Street on what is now the former Narciso Nursery School. At that time, Gen. Aquino left his two small children, Gonzalo and Benigno (the father of Ninoy) under the care of the Ganzons in Angeles. The reason for this was that Gen. Aquino's sister Brigida was the wife of Don Andres Ganzon, a son of Don Teofisto.
The first Philippine Independence Day Anniversary celebration here in Angeles has no comparison in significance because when Gen. Aguinaldo proclaimed Philippine Independence Day in Kawit, Cavite on June 12, 1898, it was under the protection of the American Forces. But when Gen. Aguinaldo celebrated the First Anniversary of our Independence here in Angeles on June 12, 1899, it was purely and entirely defended by Filipino blood, sweat, and tears. No other place in the entire Philippines except Angeles can claim this singular and noble honor.
During the stay of Aguinaldo in Angeles a member of his staff, Lt. Manuel L. Quezon, who became the first President of the Commonwealth, stayed in the house of Don Lorenzo Sanchez (in front of the Pamintuan residence).
One Sunday morning after mass he happened to see from the window of his college-mate in Letran, Don Emilio V. Moreno (the maternal grandfather of DILG Secretary Rafael Alunan III) to whom he called out in Spanish, "Oye, Moreno, Moreno! Me gusta mucho el chocolate que hacen en este pueblo. No le tienes en casa?" "Hey Moreno, Moreno! Ilove the hot chocolate that they make in this town. Haven't you some at home?"
President Quezon might have loved the lanzones fruits of this town too, if he had stayed here until October, because the Angeles lanzones are sweet, luscious, and have a different appeal to the discriminating taste. The original seedlings were brought here by Don Rafael Nepomuceno from Lukban, Tayabas (Quezon).
Aguinaldo stayed in this town until July when he transferred his government to Tarlac.
The Filipino Revolutionary Army and the United States Infantry engaged in a three-day fiery and bloody battle and on August 16 the latter succeeded in penetrating the town. However, the brigades of Generals Servillano Aquino, Maximino Hizon, Pio del Pilar, Venancio Concepcion, Tomas Mascardo with Col. Alberto San Miguel and later reinforced by the brigade of Gen. Macabulos, numbering about 15,000 troopers, were still entrenched and defending the Mabalacat side of the Abacan River.
On November 5, after three months of bloody and relentless fighting, the last and decisive flanking offensive movement of the American forces began with the use of cavalry. The fierce battle where both sides suffered heavy casualties, began from 9:00 o'clock in the evening until dawn.
The American units were the 32nd Infantry U.S.V. under Provost Marshall G.A. Densmore; Headquarters 41st Infantry U.S.V. Colonel Richmond; 2nd Brigade, 2nd Division, 8th Army Corps under Major General Arthur MacArthur, the latter using the Pamintuan residence as headquarters.
The Angelenos suffered greatly after the war. According to Father Vicente Lapuz, parish priest, there was irreparable loss to the church in destroyed properties and unpaid rentals which were never recovered and valued at $24,638. U.S. dollars.
On January 1, 1900, General Frederick D. Grant organized the first United States Civil Government in the town by appointing an Alcalde.
Although General Grant organized in 1900 the first U.S. Civil Government in Angeles, by appointing an Alcade it was one year later, July 4 that the Inauguration of the U.S. Civil Government was held.
By October of 1902 the United States Army in Angeles left the Church convent and moved to Talimunduc (now Lourdes Sur) near the Angeles Railroad Station. On the latter part of the following year they again moved further North to a place called Mangga and Sapangbato which was later named Camp Stotsenburg.
In 1904 the nearby U.S. Military Reservation started putting up at will its boundaries around "by order of the President of the United States in 1903". Annexed to said reservation of Camp Stotsenburg was one among some private lands over which a Spanish title was granted (Composicion onerosa con el estado) on June 12, 1888 owned by the late Don Jose P. Henson for which he had been paying yearly taxes to the Government, namely, Lot No. 727 at Barrio Palusapis, Angeles, Pampanga, containing 628 hectares more or less.
The title referred to constituted a title of exclusive ownership, but the U.S. Government never returned the 628 hectares nor paid the corresponding rentals to this day.
An American historian related a story as to why the Americans moved to the place which later became known as Fort Stotsenburg. According to the American, the horses of the cavalry could not feed on the grass on the surrounding fields near their bivouac as they got sick, so they had to import hay from the United States which was sent by ship. One day one of the horses was discovered missing and a search was conducted until finally the horse was found grazing on the pastures in Mangga. The horse did not get sick after eating the grass at that place so they tried grazing the other horses there and they too did not get sick. From that time on they brought their horses there to graze until they decided to move their bivouac there. Because the cavalry was there, a building for the blacksmith was constructed and this was followed by other buildings until it became a permanent camp and was expanded to become the second largest American air base in the world -- Clark Air Base. So, probably, if it were not for the horse Angeles could have been a part of Clark Air Base.
Although Fort Stotsenburg (Clark Air base) continued to expand, Angeles, even despite its proximity to the American camp, did not progress very much and was just like any other town in Pampanga.
From 1900 to 1941, the main bulk of the livelihood in Angeles was agriculture, mostly palay and sugarcane farming. Livelihood did not depend on the presence of the Base.
Some of the earliest small-scale industries in Angeles were a woodworking and wood carving industry which was started ty the late Don Teodoro Tinio (originally from Nueva Ecija who migrated to Angeles in 1919). In the early 30's Don Juan Nepomuceno established "Reyna" a soft drinks plant which produced several flavors like sarsaparilla, orange, strawberry, lemon and soda. At around this time, "La Providora" a rattan furniture factory wa also established by the late Mayor Emiliano Valdes. The first hacendero to sell his lands in order to pioneer in industry was the late Don Jose Ma. Fermin Ganzon. In the mid-20's he self-studied auto mechanics from books which he ordered from Spain. He personally trained people from Angeles and brought them to Manila and established one of the first auto repair shops there. One of those he trained and who profited from that venture was Francisco Mallari owner of "Kiko Bateria" later situated at Rizal Avenue. Don Jose Ganzon also pioneered the first modern poultry farm in Angeles in the early 30,'s. It was equipped with electronic incubators and electric hatcheries. He was the first to supply fresh eggs to the Base. The first movie production in Angeles was also pioneered by Don Jose Ganzon and it was a silent film entitled "Prinsesa sa Bundok" produced by Joaquin de Guzman and directed by Mr. Ganzon. The Lazatin Vinegar Plant was also established in the 30's and is still existing up to the present.
During the war, a few cottage industries mushroomed in Angeles like carved wooden shoes made of white laniti wood. These were sold in Central Luzon including Manila. This wooden shoe industry was owned by Mr. & Mrs. Armando Nepomuceno. Another small industry was cigarette-making where homemade contraptions were used to hand-roll each cigarette. At this time most of the backyards of the houses including those of the rich hacenderos were planted to all sorts of vegetables and these were sold in the market. One might say that the Americans depended on Angeles for their fresh produce.
Angeles was liberated on January 27, 1945 by the U.S. Army's 145th Infantry. Thousands of American troops poured into Angeles and resided on rented big residences and school buildings. The rest of them pitched tents around town. The American detachment deliberately overstocked their rations to give away or to barter with the townspeople. Angelenos exchanged fruits, chickens, vegetables and locally brewed liquor to the GI's. From this time on the economy of Angeles quadrupled a thousand fold. Hundreds of Angelenos and people from other provinces flocked to Angeles and struck it rich. This was the beginning of the PX goods business in Angeles and a lot of restaurants and entertainment places mushroomed. This was the start of Angelenos' dependence on Clark.
In 1947 an American construction company arrived from the USA. The Drake-Utah -Grove Co. or DUG undertook the rebuilding of Clark into a modern military air base. The majority of the male population of Angeles, its barrios, and the surrounding towns and provinces found lucrative employment during this reconstruction period of Clark (around 10,000 strong). After DUG finished the reconstruction of the base facilities, Clark absorbed more than 50 percent of the DUG employees. Livelihood dependency of Angeles to Clark started at this time and Angeles also became the melting pot of Pampanga.
On January 1, 1964, Angeles was formally inaugurated a city with the youthful Mayor Rafael del Rosario at the helm. It was also at this time that the housing boom commenced because of the Vietnam conflict. A lot of houses were needed for the U.S. fighting men and they could not be accommodated at the limited housing facilities in Clark. The various subdivisions were established like Villasol, Josefaville, Plaridel Subdivision, Villa Angela, Villa Gloria, Villa Angelina, L & S, Villa Teresa, Hensonville, Carmenville, Timog Park and others.
In 1978, the former employees at Clark started applying for jobs in the Middle East and Europe and also to Hongkong and Singapore.
It could be said that the turning point of Angeles City's economy was the eruption of Mt. Pinatubo on June 12, 1991, and the subsequent withdrawal of the American forces from Clark Air Base, reputedly the biggest single employer throughout the country after the Government.
Last year, the former "Sin City" image of Angeles was drastically erased and together with it, the city administration and its people were given ample opportunity to trek a new economic order and along with it, the city's new image as the culinary capital of the Philippines. During last year's month-long Fiesta celebrations the emphasis was on the Food Fest which proved to be very successful. This year the thrust of the Fiesta Committee was geared towards the reawakening of the city's historical and cultural heritage, which for a while went in slumber while the Americans were here.
This Historical Photo Exhibit was held at "Bale Herencia" (the old Santos residence at the corner of Sto. Rosario and Lakandula Sts.). It was opened by no less than Senator Heherson Alvarez and Congressman Carmelo Lazatin. Vintage photos of Angeles and Angelenos circa 1890's to the 1950's were displayed.
Prominently displayed were pictures of General Arthur MacArthur, President Manuel Quezon, President Osmena, Claro Recto, and others. Photos of native Angelenos like the Hensons, Nepomucenos, Pamintuans, Lazatins, Suarezes, Tayags, Dayrits, Paras, Lacsons, Narcisos, Quiasons, Timbols, Naguiats, Sicangos, Tinios, Santos, Gomez, Aysons, Dizons, Angeles, Davids, Sandicos, etc., were also featured..
This month-long Photo exhibit was a brainchild of three Youth Groups: Aksyon headed by Editha Estrada, 501 headed by Roden Biag and Ramsee D. Henson, and Rotaract Club headed by Eder Mutuc. There was a minimal entrance fee of 5 pesos for adults.
A 3-day Culinary Workshop was also a part of the Fiesta activities and there were more than thirty participants. It was partly sponsored by PRAGMA, the Private Sector Development Training Program of USAID (PRAGMA CORP) STMS, ACCII, CFC and Magnolia Corporation.
This year's Tigtigan at Terakan Ken Dalan was held for 2 days and was bigger and better than last year. There were 2 name bands: The Dawn and Advent Call. This culminating activity of Fiestang Kuliat has become so successful that it is now included in the DOT's National Tourism Calendar.###
*Mrs. Josie Henson is the President of Akademyang Kapampangan (AKKAP) as well as the Overall Chairperson of the Fiestang Kuliat '93 Committee.