Angeles before the malls: a town remembered

In 1964, Congresswoman Juanita Lumanlan Nepomuceno sponsored the bill that turned the town of Angeles into a city. A SunStar Pampanga columnist who moved to the town after high school in nearby Porac later wrote down what the place was like then.

Small eats

He remembered Iniang's Place, a small restaurant near police headquarters, serving jambalay for fifty centavos. Clark workers loved brewed coffee mixed with carabao's milk, at five centavos a cup. Dainty was the favourite Chinese restaurant, and Chew Chi's served American food.

Movies and PX goods

The Paraiso theatre showed Tagalog films while Marte and Devry showed Hollywood ones, orchestra seats for 25 centavos. There were no big malls yet, but near the railroad track the Marimar shopping centre sold PX items from Clark Air Base. Nepo Mart came later.

A magnet

Clark drew job seekers by the thousands, and the town grew fast into a melting pot. The first subdivision, Marisol Village, was rented by American servicemen and their families; Diamond Subdivision followed.

That Nepo Mart, now 58 years old, has just opened a Pasalubong Avenue of local products.