Cang Daba: how buro may have named Candaba

Was Candaba named after a place called Candawe, or after the big jars of fermented fish its people sold? Two stories.

✓ Reviewed by our editors

Discover Pampanga Editors · October 2026

A plate of burong isda, fermented rice and fish (illustrative photo)

Illustrative photo. Photo: Elmer Centeno Guevarra on Wikimedia Commons · CC BY-SA · via Wikimedia Commons

Candaba existed before the Spanish arrived, a farming and fishing community on the Pampanga River. Its name has two stories.

Candawe

According to the town chronicler Dr. Juan P. Gatbonton, the name comes from Candawe, a place near Sitio Calumanas. The Spanish turned Candawe into Candaba.

Brother of the jar

A livelier story points to the daba, the big earthen jar in which fish was packed with salt and rice to make buro, the Kapampangan fermented dish. People who were a bit overweight were teased by being compared to a daba. Outsiders who came to buy fish and the famous buro were jokingly called cang daba, brother of the jar, and the name stuck to the town.

Still a buro town

Whichever is true, buro is still at the heart of Candaba's table, served with roasted mudfish and mustard leaves. Find it at the Candaba Public Market, and read our Candaba food guide.

Also in: Food, History

Spotted something out of date? Suggest a correction.