Aldo ning Kapampangan: the province that began in 1571

Pampanga counts itself as the first province the Spaniards created in Luzon, and one of the richest. On December 11, 1571, it was organised as a province, and that date is now Aldo ning Kapampangan, Pampanga Day.

A big river and a big province

The province takes its name from its great river. Old Pampanga was much larger than today, taking in parts of what are now Bataan, Bulacan, Nueva Ecija, Pangasinan, Tarlac and Zambales. For government and taxes, the Spanish divided it into pueblos, barrios and estates.

A parade of festivals

In recent years the provincial government has opened Pampanga Day by gathering the festival dances of its towns in front of the Provincial Capitol. One year's line-up included the Sabuaga of Santo Tomas, the Duman of Santa Rita, the Kamaru of Magalang, the Dukit of Guagua, the Sampaguita of Lubao, the Caragan of Mabalacat, the Ibon-Ebon of Candaba and the Kuraldal of Sasmuan.

SunStar noted that the Kuraldal is the oldest of them; most of the others were created more recently to attract visitors. Both kinds now tell visitors something true about each town. See Pampanga Day and our festival calendar.